Chupa (2023) Netflix Movie Ending Explained: Netflix’s latest addition, Chupa (2023), is a heartwarming family adventure. It follows the story of a young boy named Alex who visits his family in Mexico during spring break. He becomes friends with a young chupacabra cub named Chupa during his stay. As Alex bonds with Chupa, he also faces the grief of losing his father. Together with Chava, his grandfather, and his cousins Luna and Memo, they embark on a journey to find Chupa’s family.
Directed by Jonás Cuarón, son of the legendary filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón, the film explores the theme of friendship, family, and grief, making it a relatable and emotionally investing experience. However, despite a promising concept and some touching moments, the film could have benefited from a deeper exploration of the chupacabra myth and the characters’ backstories to create a more fulfilling viewing experience.
The film obviously has some stunning cinematography. The creature looks like a large-sized bobcat with an adoring purring sound, wearing a blue feathered suit straight out of a Marvel movie. If you are looking forward to a heartwarming, cute story of friendship that uplifts your mood, Chupa is just right.
Here is a detailed look at the Netflix movie, explaining what occurs at the film’s end.
Chupa (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
In San Javier, Mexico, somewhere in 1996, three men are exploring a remote cave and stumble upon ancient murals on the wall. Suddenly, they hear a rustling sound and a small creature runs past them. One of the men shines his flashlight toward the sound and discovers a beautiful blue feather on the ground. Excitedly, he picks it up and rushes to their leader to show him their potential discovery. The boss examines the feather with a sense of satisfaction as if he has finally found what he’s been searching for.
Together, the men return to the cave, hoping to find the legendary creature they believe the feather belongs to. As they search, they come across a baby cub of the creature, but before they can get a closer look, the mother appears and attacks them. She snatches her cub and takes off, with the men in hot pursuit armed with guns.
The mother, unfortunately, gets hit by a passing vehicle in the desert and is badly injured. Despite this setback, she continues with her baby, desperately trying to escape the men. Eventually, the mother is severely injured and decides to sacrifice herself to save her cub. She puts herself in harm’s way, diverting the men’s attention towards her while hiding her cub behind some trees so that he remains safe.
Next, we see a news broadcast on a TV discussing the legendary creature known as El Chupacabra, a mysterious animal said to feed on the blood of goats. This creature has now become a modern-day legend. We are then taken to Lakewood Middle School in Kansas City, where a young boy sits alone during lunchtime. His classmate teases him for being different, calling him a loser. It seems he is bullied because he does not fit in with the rest of the group.
The boy’s name is Alex, and we see him returning home, finding his mother cooking barbeque tacos, which annoys him. He expresses his frustration and complains about why they can’t have normal food like everyone else. In response, his mother pulls a passport from a drawer and hands it to him, but Alex does not seem interested. His mother senses something is wrong and asks him what’s going on. Alex reveals that he doesn’t want to go to Mexico and is not interested in Mexican food or music.
Despite his mother’s intuition that he was bullied at school, Alex brushes it off, claiming he just had a bad day. However, he expresses nervousness about going to Mexico without his mother being there with him. His mother tries to reassure him, explaining that his grandfather will take good care of him and help him connect with his roots during spring break. She also reminds him that his cousins will be there, making it fun for him.
Alex’s father had died from cancer, and the young boy deeply misses him. He longs for his father’s presence in his life. To comfort him, his mother reminds him that they still have each other, despite the difficult times they are going through. She assures him that they will get through this period of grief together.
Upon arriving in Mexico, Alex is warmly welcomed by his grandfather. The old man is overjoyed to see his grandson, who bears a striking resemblance to his (dead) son. However, he is a bit surprised to learn that Alex does not speak much Spanish.
When they reach their house, Alex’s grandfather introduces him to his cousin, Memo, who does not know a word of English. Alex is completely taken aback by the house decor, filled with elements of their family’s Spanish heritage. Memo takes the opportunity to give Alex some essential instructions, including rules he should be aware of, such as not entering his sister’s room.
The house is filled with action figurines of a masked man and posters and trophies that represent their family’s involvement in Spanish cultural activities. It is clear that Alex’s family takes great pride in their heritage and enjoys celebrating it in their home. After exploring the house, Alex finally finds his place in the attic. While settling his things, he finds his second cousin, Luna, singing outside on the window top.
Alex discovers from his cousins that their grandfather was a renowned wrestler who fought against the world’s most challenging contenders and won every match. His grandfather was a strong advocate for justice and had made it his life’s mission to defend the weak and vulnerable. Unfortunately, during one of his matches, his arch-nemesis El Chakal severely injured him. After going through a challenging fight with his enemy during the match, his grandfather eventually had to give up fighting.
When its time for dinner, we see Luna and Memo trying to decide on their meal options, but Luna notices that one of their goats is severely injured. Memo assumes that it was the work of El Chupacabra, which had been rumored to be sucking the blood of livestock in the area. However, Chava (their grandfather) dismisses the theory as nonsense. Alex, on the other hand, notices that the bite marks on the goat were gradually healing on their own.
Why is Quinn searching for El Chupacabra?
Quinn, the man we saw in the movie’s epilogue, receives a visit from a representative of his investors, expressing displeasure over Quinn’s inability to capture the creature, despite his promise to do so in exchange for funding. The envoy is particularly dissatisfied that Quinn could only obtain a blue-tinted feather from the creature, which possesses healing powers that would help them revolutionize medicine. The scientists in the project funded by the investors are growing increasingly desperate, and Quinn is given a strict deadline of one week to fulfill his commitment.
Back at home, Alex observes Chava taking a music box to the shed at night and decides to follow him. However, he gets frightened by the presence of an animal in the bushes, which he initially believes to be a chupacabra cub. His screams draw the attention of others, but they soon discover it is just a rabbit. Chava notices Alex’s wounded hand and brings him inside, calling him by his son’s name.
The following day, Alex wakes up to find the chupacabra licking his wounded hand. It makes Alex panic and scream, but he finds that his wounds have healed. He then finds Luna outside the window top as the frantically searches for the creature who made a run because of his scream. While talking to her, Memo comes and says that Chava is missing. Luna explains to Alex that their grandfather has memory loss and often wanders off.
Fortunately, Luna knows how to drive, so the three children take their grandfather’s car to search for him. After exploring the market, they see Chava wandering with a goat. As they return back home, they come across Quinn’s team, who are still searching for the creature, and they discover a license plate on the roadside, indicating that the mother chupacabra might have crashed into a vehicle.
How does Alex meet his new friend, Chupa?
Upon returning home, the three children tune into the news, hoping to catch any updates on the mysterious creature. However, Chava quickly dismissed their curiosity and insists that the creature was fictional.
Later that evening, while sitting alone outside the barn, Alex notices the presence of the creature’s cub. Surprised but unafraid, he offers the cub some food from the house. As they bond, the cub leads Alex to its favorite spot in the barn, and the two have a heartwarming interaction. When the sudden sound of the thunder startles the cub, Alex comforts it.
The following day, Memo looks for Alex and finds him with the cub. Luna soon joins them, and the trio quickly forms a close bond with the Chupacabra’s cub. Alex names his new friend “Chupa.” Their newfound friendship is interrupted when Chava visits them, and upon seeing them together, he reveals the truth behind the legend of the Chupacabra.
How does Chava save Chupa the night of the attack?
Chava reveals to the children that while driving home, he accidentally hit the mother of the Chupacabra cub with his car. When he returns to the place to get his car towed, he discovers the orphaned cub all alone and brings it back to his property.
Meanwhile, Quinn paid Chava a visit after learning that the license plate he found belonged to him. Quinn demands to search Chava’s property, but the old man refuses and asks him to leave. As time passes, Chupa formed a deep bond with the three children, becoming increasingly attached to them with each passing day.
Is Chava able to fight Quinn and save Chupa?
Alex finds solace in his bond with Chupa, which helps him process the grief of losing his beloved father. One day, Chava notices Alex’s struggles and attempts to talk to him about his father. However, the boy ignores the conversation, and Chava decides to take his video game way to get through to him.
Chava suggests they wrestle for the game, encouraging Alex to channel his emotions and use his grief to fuel his anger in the match. Despite Alex’s efforts, Chava wins, and in a fit of rage, Alex pushes his grandfather, causing him to fall and pass out.
When Chava is unconscious, the children discover that Quinn has arrived at the barn and taken Chupa to a corner. The kids try to fight off Quinn, but he sedates the cub and prepares to leave with it.
Alex rushes to his grandfather’s side, trying to wake him up. However, Chava suffers from an episode of dementia and doesn’t remember anything. Instead, he becomes confused and begins to relive his wrestling memories, ranting about his rival invading their home. Chava then puts on his wrestling clothes and confronts Quinn.
During the scuffle, Chava drop-kicks the scientist and steals his vehicle. With the children and Chupa in the car, Chava sets out – as they drive by the spot where Chava had accidentally hit the cub’s mother, hoping to find the creature’s family.
How does Chupa save Alex from the wild cat?
As they arrive at the spot where Chava had hit the cub’s mother, Chupa becomes excited and runs away. Alex follows him, and as they reach the edge of a cliff, Chupa howls for his mother into the open space. To their surprise, they hear a howl in return. Chupa bids farewell to Alex and dashes across the valley using a pipe.
However, Alex is soon cornered by a wildcat and climbs up the pipe out of fear. Chava, Memo, and Luna arrive and try to scare off the wild cat, but the pipe crumbles under Alex’s weight as he desperately clings to it. Hearing Alex’s screams, Chupa rushes back to save him. As they are about to fall, Alex grabs Chupa’s tail, but to their amazement, the little cub has learned to fly, which saves them both from falling.
Chupa (2023) ‘Netflix’ Movie Ending, Explained:
Does Alex help Chupa reunite with his lost family?
After Chupa saves Alex, the children, and Chava hug the little cub in relief. However, their moment of joy is short-lived when Quinn reappears. He sedates Chupa and threatens the family with an electrocution stick. Quinn tosses Chupa into his vehicle and drives off, but suddenly, four adult chupacabras appear out of nowhere and start attacking the car.
Quinn jumps out to save himself, and Chava uses a wrestling move to take him down with a suplex. Chupa manages to break free and reunites with his family. Alex approaches Chupa and promises to always be by his side. The two friends bid each other farewell, and Alex watches as Chupa and his family fly away.
After a momentous day, the family returns to celebrate with tacos. On the day of Alex’s departure back to Kansas City, Luna gives him her Walkman with a mixtape of her favorite Mexican songs. Memo shows his love for Alex by playfully attacking him with his wrestling moves.
Due to his deteriorating mental health, Chava decides to move in with Luna’s family. He asks Alex to remember their holiday together as he cannot rely on his memory. Alex gives his video game to Chava and hugs him goodbye. As he looks out of the plane window during his flight, Alex is surprised to see his friend, Chupa, flying alongside him, bringing a heartwarming end to their adventure.
