Brand loyalty depends on many things, but for the average consumer, quality counts.

Things like “Star Wars,” Marvel, and Pixar are popular brands within the biggest brand name of them all — Disney. So many of us love some aspect of Disney, even though most of us are aware of their all-powerful (and sometimes manipulative) grasp on culture as a whole. But quality counts, and a major reason why Disney dominates the industry is because they’ve given us enough of something special that we keep coming back.

Disney is one of two major brands competing for eyeballs at movie theaters this weekend. Disney/Pixar’s “Coco” opens to battle against the second weekend of “Justice League,” the supposed high point of the DC Comics extended movie universe that includes Batman, Wonder Woman and Superman.

Though the target demographics may be (slightly) different, it’s interesting to compare the two films — one is another impeccably-detailed, story and character-driven adventure, and the other is “Justice League.” Whereas “Coco” is good enough to be judged on its own merits of quality, “Justice League” is a product from a brand with little to offer in and of itself.

Plenty of people will go to “Justice League” and have fun with its quippy superheroes and CGI brawls. Nothing wrong with having fun at a movie, but I think most people who enjoy it would still acknowledge its shortcomings from a storytelling perspective. The movie is stitched together from so many different rewrites and reshoots that it doesn’t have any feeling of cohesion. Sure, it delivers the necessities — The Flash says funny things and Wonder Woman punches bad guys — but it does so without concern for logic, context or to serve a larger story.

The film is officially directed by Zack Snyder, though a family tragedy forced him away from the production after a major rewrite but before a couple months of reshoots. Joss Whedon (“The Avengers”) punched up the script and handled those reshoots, and many have credited him with the film’s occasional wit and the absence of Snyder’s typically dour tone.

To me, though, the lighthearted “fun” in “Justice League” plays like a corporate shadow of what Whedon managed to do with the characters in his “Avengers” movies. Nevermind that many of the jokes people seem to like in “Justice League” appeared in marketing materials released long before Whedon came onboard.

Maybe I shouldn’t assume the logic of major studio bosses, but the trajectory of “Justice League” always seemed to be pitched as an apology for last year’s grim “Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice,” a movie that made a ton of money (though not enough) and that few people liked.

As much as I personally disliked “Batman vs. Superman,” I appreciate how it is 100 percent a Zack Snyder movie. It has a voice and tone that, like it or not, comes from a distinct vision. It’s bad, but it’s bad in fascinating ways that only a talented filmmaker could do with unrestricted creative control.

“Justice League,” on the other hand, has no voice. It is strictly product. The villain is a boring CGI blur and the heroes fight CGI minion blobs against CGI backdrops. The movie takes a decent cast and does the bare minimum with them.

Comparing the beleaguered DC movie universe with something as sterling as the Pixar brand isn’t really fair, but the proximity of the “Coco” release date to “Justice League” is too convenient to ignore. “Coco” probably ranks as middle-tier Pixar, which still places it above most every other animation release from other studios. It features multiple dynamic characters following a thoughtful and cohesive narrative — all while delivering strikingly beautiful images in every frame.

The film follows a music-loving boy who becomes trapped in an underworld full of skeletons on the eve of the Mexican holiday of Dia de los Muertos. The plot chugs along fast enough for kids but still allows for quiet moments for the characters to show personality. While a third act “reveal” is too easily telegraphed from the start, and attentive moviegoers will see the climax coming, “Coco” still manages to be an emotionally moving experience about life, death and the memories and traditions shared from generation to generation. (Pixar’s business model can probably be summed up best as “We make grown-ups cry”).

Both “Coco” and “Justice League” are products, but one proves that mass consumption doesn’t have to be a soulless experience. I didn’t share many details of “Coco” because the film works better with little knowledge of its plot and ideas (though the death-themed content is probably too heavy for young children).

On the other hand, I didn’t share many details on “Justice League” because they don’t matter, and, honestly, I didn’t remember much of anything about the movie five minutes after I left the theater. It’s a greasy, fast food cheeseburger — it goes down perfectly fine, but afterward you have less money and the feeling it may not be worth the stomach ache to consume it the next time.

One more thing to note: As much as I’ve always been a proud Disney consumer, even I have my limits. “Coco” is preceded by a fairly mediocre Christmas-themed “Frozen” adventure — one that goes on for 21 minutes. Usually, the short films ahead of an animated feature run about 6-8 minutes. I know kids love Elsa, Anna and Olaf, but this new short isn’t half as good as “Frozen” and seems better suited as a TV special I can just ignore.

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Tyler Wilson can be reached at twilson@cdapress.com