Rogelio (8) wants to unravel the mystery of death. When his parents send him off to Yucatán, he meets the Xibalba Monster, an old hermit who is sick but has made a deal with the Lords of the Underworld to remain amongst the living.
All animal harm is in the context of farming or eating, but there is a scene of a sheep being shot and cut open so a baby can be removed, some characters rough-housing with a dog by pulling on its legs, and a man cutting open a fish.