BACKGROUND
After Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, though Pixar continued to exceed expectations by releasing hit-after-hit for many years, there was a surprising focus on sequels and the need to push their most popular movie franchises to the brink of overexposure.
I’m not here to moan about Disney or Pixar’s sequels, because some of them I actually like more than the originals; this is purely for context. Strangely enough, of the eleven movies that Pixar released in the 2010s, Pixar created seven sequels or prequels that span off from some of their earliest movies. This might suggest a lack of creative freedom, a massive marketing and synergy opportunity for various other areas of The Walt Disney Company, or even a “money grab” to the more cynical amongst us. There were also a few Pixar movies that missed the mark with audiences during this decade.
Luckily, Coco proved that Pixar were still capable of making a movie based on an original idea that had no link to any prior hit. It was also new to Pixar because it was their first movie to be set in Mexico, and set against the traditional holiday of Día de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead in English. This was no easy feat, for an American filmmaking studio to do justice to a whole culture and sacred tradition. Many didn’t think they could do it.
Thanks to multiple research trips, visits to Mexican families, input from the Latino and Hispanic filmmakers at Pixar, as well as input from cultural specialists, and an all-Latino cast, a global blockbuster was made, becoming one of the most popular movies ever in Mexico. It has fans all over the world, and with its message about the importance of family and remembering our loved ones, it successfully struck a chord with everyone. Coco is a real tearjerker, and a movie full of heart and soul.
I watched Coco at the cinema when it first came out. I remember not thinking much of the trailer and generally being uncertain about the film. To be honest, I still go in to watching many Disney and Pixar movies not knowing what to expect because their trailers don’t like to give too much of the story away.
With Coco, I was moved to tears on multiple occasions throughout the film and I was very impressed. It was colourful, full of music, without being a Disney-type of musical, and very powerful. To know the amount of effort that went into the creation of this movie gives me an even greater level of appreciation of what an incredible movie Coco really is.
PLOT
The story of Coco begins in the small town of Santa Cecilia, with a twelve-year-old boy called Miguel. He is part of a large extended family, the Riveras, who are well-known for their shoemaking. Miguel tells us how this came to be. His great-great-grandmother was left to raise her young daughter, Coco, because her husband went off to be a musician and never returned home. Instead of wallowing in self-pity, the woman knew she’d have to make a living for herself and her child, deciding to go into shoemaking. This craft was passed down from generation to generation, and music in any form was forever banned by the family.
Only, Miguel really loves music and hates shoemaking. Miguel wants to play the guitar just like famed musician Ernesto de la Cruz, who was crushed to death by a bell during a performance of his famous song “Remember Me” back in 1942, so he has become a town hero, since he is also from Santa Cecilia. Miguel loves Ernesto de la Cruz so much that he even has a hidden room where he has built a sort of shrine to him, where he plays some of Ernesto’s most popular movies so Miguel can play along with the songs.
On Día de los Muertos, the Mexican holiday where families welcome back the souls of their loved ones, Miguel is in the town plaza, talking about his love of music to a mariachi. The mariachi tells him that if he is a real musician, then he needs to play in front of a crowd and suggests he enters that evening’s talent contest. Miguel’s grandmother, Abuelita, arrives and drags Miguel away from the plaza, telling the mariachi to leave her grandson alone and to stop poisoning his mind with nonsense abut music.
That evening, Miguel is about to head to the competition, with street dog Dante in tow, when he is stopped by Abuelita. She shows him the family ofrenda, where families leave photographs of their loved ones, as well as offerings of food and flowers. Abuelita tells Miguel that family is the most important thing in the world. Miguel’s parents then tell him the best news: that they are going to teach him the shoemaking trade so he can become a part of the family business. This doesn’t please Miguel. The family walk away, but Dante, who has been hiding under the ofrenda, starts trying to eat some of the offerings. Miguel then bumps into the ofrenda and knocks the photo of his great-great-grandmother, Mamá Imelda, his grandmother, Coco, and his great-great-grandfather, whose identity is unknown as his head has been ripped off the photo, off the ofrenda. The frame shatters on the floor. Miguel picks up the photo, and notices part of it has been bent over. As Miguel reveals this hidden side, he sees that Ernesto de la Cruz’s famous guitar is in the photo; this must be his great-great-grandfather! Amazed by this news, Miguel announces this revelation to his family, and says he wants to be a musician too, showing his own guitar to the family. Abuelita is horrified to learn that he has been playing music in secret and breaks the guitar. Miguel runs away, saying he doesn’t want to be a part of this family anymore.
Miguel gets to the plaza but no-one will lend him a guitar so that he can play in the competition. Losing hope that he’ll find one, Miguel goes to the cemetery, and sees Ernesto de la Cruz’s mausoleum with his famous guitar hanging on the wall. Miguel picks it up, just wanting to borrow it, and strums the strings just once. But something strange happens. Miguel hears policemen outside the mausoleum. As he is about to say he wasn’t stealing the guitar, only wanting to borrow it, Miguel realises that the policemen can’t hear him or see him; they simply put the guitar back on the wall. Confused, he runs outside and asks for help from the townspeople but they can’t see him either. Miguel then falls into a grave and is helped out by a woman. At last, someone who can see him! This is no ordinary woman though. She is in fact a skeleton. Miguel freaks out again and runs through the cemetery some more, eventually coming across his own dead relatives. They realise something is wrong, and take him back to the Land of the Dead for assistance. Dog Dante follows.
Walking across a huge bridge made of bright orange marigold petals, they arrive at the Land of the Dead. Miguel and his family are taken to the Department of Family Reunions, where they discover Mamá Imelda there, arguing with an office worker, who can’t let her leave the Land of the Dead as her photo is not on anyone’s ofrenda. Mamá Imelda believes this to be a mistake, but Miguel says he is carrying the photo, as he broke the frame. Mamá Imelda is shocked to see Miguel, a living boy, here and the family ask what has happened. They are told that Miguel stole from the dead and has now been cursed. The only way to lift the curse is to get his family’s blessing to return to the Land of the Living before sunrise. Since the family are here, this is an easy solution. Mamá Imelda picks up a marigold petal and says she gives Miguel her blessing to return, with the condition that he forget all about his dreams of being a musician. Miguel complains that’s not fair, but as its Mamá Imelda’s blessing, she can add any condition to it. Miguel relents and is returned.
In the Land of the Living, Miguel finds himself back in Ernesto de la Cruz’s mausoleum and simply picks up the guitar again. He is promptly returned to the Department of Family Reunions in the Land of the Dead. Miguel refuses to abandon music forever and runs from security, vowing to get a blessing from his great-great-grandfather, Ernesto de la Cruz, instead. As he is hiding, he spots a man from earlier who was trying to leave the Land of the Dead, disguised as Frida Kahlo. He cannot leave as his photo is not on an ofrenda. Miguel overhears this guy trying to bribe the official with tickets to Ernesto de la Cruz’s annual Sunrise Spectacular. Miguel figures this guy can take him to Ernesto de la Cruz.
Miguel confronts the man, who is surprised to find a living boy in front of him. The man is called Héctor and agrees to help him, if Miguel promises to put a photo of him on his family’s ofrenda by the end of the night so he can visit his daughter in the Land of the Living. Miguel agrees, and after disguising Miguel as a skeleton, they head to the Sunrise Spectacular rehearsal space. Miguel meets the real Frida Kahlo here, which is nice, but him and Héctor learn that Ernesto de la Cruz doesn’t show up to rehearsals, revealing that Héctor doesn’t actually know him at all. Instead, they learn that the winner of the night’s talent competition gets to play at his exclusive party. That’s the aim now.
In Héctor’s living space, living alongside others whose photos are not on any ofrendas, the two talk to his friend Chicharrón, to borrow his guitar. Chicharrón is not in a good state, believing that he is about to be forgotten in the Land of the Living. He asks Héctor to play something for him and then he can take the guitar away with him. Héctor does as he’s told but by the end of the song, Chicharrón has vanished, having been forgotten forever. Héctor fears this will be his fate soon, as he can feel his daughter forgetting him.
At the talent competition, Miguel becomes nervous at the thought of playing in front of a crowd for the first time. Héctor helps him deal with his stage fright and they are a huge hit. However, Miguel’s family, along with Mamá Imelda’s alebrije and spirit guide, Pepita, a huge panther-like creature with wings, has tracked Miguel to this location, causing Miguel and Héctor to flee before the winner can be announced. Héctor was led to believe that Miguel’s only family here was Ernesto de la Cruz and is upset at being lied to. He wants to take Miguel back to his family now so Héctor can get out of the Land of the Dead quicker. Miguel doesn’t want that so runs from him too. Mamá Imelda catches up to him at one point and sings to him, to show she once loved music too, but that it ruined her family, hoping Miguel will understand why she banned it. Miguel doesn’t understand and keeps running.
He sneaks into Ernesto de la Cruz’s party in the tuba of the band that actually did win the talent competition. Once there, he sees Ernesto de la Cruz and sings one of his most popular songs to him. He gets Ernesto’s attention – and then falls in the swimming pool! This causes all of his skeleton make-up to come off, and he is helped out by Ernesto, who realises this is the living boy that everyone has heard made it into the Land of the Dead. Miguel announces himself as Ernesto de la Cruz’s great-great-grandson. Ernesto de la Cruz is excited by this and introduces him to all of his important guests.
Soon, they realise Miguel has to get back home as he is starting to turn into a skeleton. Ernesto picks up a marigold petal and says the blessing, however, it doesn’t work. Héctor then arrives, having snuck into the party dressed as Frida Kahlo. He accuses Ernesto de la Cruz of stealing his songs and getting famous off of his back. Ernesto says this is all lies, but Miguel starts to feel wary of him. A video clip of one of Ernesto de la Cruz’s films is playing in the background and Miguel realises, as the two adults argue, that Héctor’s death sounds a lot like this movie, but in the film, the man was poisoned. Héctor and Miguel learn that Ernesto de la Cruz poisoned Héctor as Héctor wanted to go home, back to his family, meaning that their duo was going to be broken up. Ernesto de la Cruz then stole Héctor’s songs and his guitar. Angered by the reveal, Ernesto orders Héctor be thrown into a pit, taking his photo that Miguel was going to put on his ofrenda. Miguel tries to leave, but knowing Miguel’s knowledge is a threat to his legacy, Miguel is thrown into the same pit.
Whilst in the pit, both losing hope, Miguel realises that Héctor is actually his great-great-grandfather as Héctor talks about the lullaby he wrote for his daughter, Coco. Luckily, Dante arrives and signals to Mamá Imelda and Pepita that Miguel is in there. The two are rescued, however, the reconciliation between Mamá Imelda and Héctor, her long-lost husband, isn’t exactly amicable. As Mamá Imelda plans to return Miguel, she learns that Héctor is about to be forgotten by their daughter – but Ernesto de la Cruz has his photo. The whole family sneak into the Sunrise Spectacular to retrieve it.
After disguising themselves as dancers, struggling against the security guards, Mamá Imelda comes face-to-face with Ernesto de la Cruz and smacks him in the face, telling him that he killed “the love of my life”. She takes the photo but is then lifted up onto the stage. Mamá Imelda begins to sing “La Llorona” to the crowd, with Héctor providing guitar accompaniment backstage. Ernesto de la Cruz also comes onto the stage and tries to get Héctor’s photo back, but it doesn’t work. As Mamá Imelda is about to return Miguel home, Ernesto de la Cruz grabs Miguel and threatens to throw him off the roof. Some of Miguel’s family turn the cameras to this incident so the crowd can know what their hero is really like.
Ernesto de la Cruz confirms that he did kill Héctor and stole his songs, so Miguel cannot ever return to the Land of the Living as he knows too much. He lets go and Miguel falls. As all looks lost for Miguel, Pepita flies down and retrieves him at the last moment, though Héctor’s photo is lost. Ernesto de la Cruz goes back on stage but is booed by the audience. Pepita throws him into the bell tower, where he is once again crushed by a bell.
As Héctor starts to fade away, Mamá Imelda quickly gives Miguel her blessing – with no conditions. Miguel finds himself back in the Land of the Living and runs home. He begs Coco to remember her father, but Coco’s memory is going. As the family confront Miguel for upsetting his great-grandmother, Miguel sings “Remember Me” to her, her father’s lullaby. Coco starts to sing along, remembering him. She reveals the torn-off head from the ofrenda photo and starts to tell stories about her father to the family so they can remember him.
The next year on Día de los Muertos, a lot has changed. Coco has sadly passed away; however, she has been reunited with her father and mother in the Land of the Dead. They also find that Héctor can finally return with them to the Land of the Living as his torn-off head has been reattached to the ofrenda photo! Miguel has a new baby sister, and is free to play his music as much as he wants. Coco’s letters from her father have also shown Ernesto de la Cruz’s theft of Héctor’s work and a museum has been set up to remember Héctor. Like in the Land of the Dead, Ernesto de la Cruz is now a disgraced figure in the Land of the Living. On Día de los Muertos, the whole Rivera family, both living and not, are reunited for a night of song and dance, finally together once again.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Miguel is a music-loving kid, who cannot understand why his family would want to ban something like that forever. He is the odd one out in his family, not wanting to become a shoemaker like everyone else, finding this to be a boring way to make a living. Though he knows the story of Mamá Imelda and her musician husband, I guess Miguel thinks it was so long ago, the family should have gotten over it by now! Although not a fun tradition, it is still a tradition that has been passed down faithfully from generation to generation. Luckily, Miguel’s stubbornness allows all of the Riveras to finally learn the truth about Héctor, and that music was not the reason he didn’t come home, but was in fact the jealousy of Ernesto de la Cruz that took him away from them; music was never to blame. Miguel just wants to do what he loves in life. In a way, he is similar to Ariel in The Little Mermaid (1989). Both of their families fear what they love the most – in Miguel’s case it’s music; for Ariel, it’s humans – and they have to teach them why their loves aren’t bad.
Emilio Fuentes was initially the voice actor for the character of Miguel, however, production on Coco took so long that Fuentes’ voice had started to change, so Anthony Gonzalez was brought in as a temporary replacement[1]. Gonzalez was so impressive though, with both his acting and singing abilities, that Pixar ultimately gave him the part. Gonzalez won an Annie Award and a Teen Choice Award for his performance as Miguel. He went on to be cast as Santiago in the US series Shameless (2011-21) and Jordan in Grand-Daddy Day Care (2019), a direct-to-video sequel of the Daddy Day Care film series. More recently, Gonzalez provided motion capture and voice for Diego in the game Far Cry 6 (2021).
Héctor is Miguel’s great-great-grandfather, though neither of them learns of this until late into the film. Héctor seems to be quite a suave, charming trickster, who lets life – and death – roll off his back, but, that’s not true at all. Despite his stoic nature, Héctor is actually very fearful of his future. He is scared that he will never get to see his daughter in the Land of the Living. Because his photo has never been on an ofrenda, and because she is the only one alive who remembers him, should she pass away, then Héctor will forever be gone from the Land of the Dead, meaning a reconciliation is not possible. Because of this, he perhaps isn’t as kind and empathetic to Miguel’s plight to become a musician as he could’ve been, but it is desperation to see his family again that leads him to make the choices he does. Ultimately, everything does end happily for him: he gets to meet his great-great-grandson; does reunite with his daughter in the Land of the Dead; and even reunites with his wife who thought he’d left her.
Héctor was voiced by Gael García Bernal, who had previously been cast as Victor in Letters to Juliet (2010), alongside Amanda Seyfried, and as Hector in the Netflix film The Mother (2023), alongside Jennifer Lopez. In the world of television, he starred as Rodrigo De Souza in the series Mozart in the Jungle (2014-18) winning the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Television Series in 2016 for his performance. Recently, he starred as Jack Russell in Werewolf by Night (2022) for Disney+ and the Marvel Cinematic Universal. Gael García Bernal got his start by acting in multiple Spanish-language films, with two of these being Alfonso Cuarón’s Y tu mama también (2001) as Julio Zapata, and Pedro Almodóvar’s Bad Education (2004). He also dubbed Héctor’s voice in the Spanish-language version of Coco.
Ernesto de la Cruz seems to be a typical famous musician. He’s talented but also quite arrogant and thinks the whole world adores him. He lives in a huge mansion, has parties with major celebrities, and gets his own show, the Sunrise Spectacular, every year on Día de los Muertos. His fame probably only increased because of his death; being crushed by a bell is not a pleasant way to go, I don’t imagine! All Ernesto de la Cruz’s bravado just hides a figure who is desperate for fame, and will go to any lengths to preserve it, such as poisoning his best friend and stealing his work, and then trying to kill a child just so news doesn’t get back to the Land of the Living that he’s a fraudster and a monster. Ernesto de la Cruz turned out to be a brilliant surprise villain from Pixar. Surprise villains have become fairly commonplace in recent Disney and Pixar movies and I’m all for it. It was a great twist.
Benjamin Bratt was cast as the voice of Ernesto de la Cruz. He said that he wanted to give the character swagger. For inspiration, Bratt studied movie clips of film and music stars like Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, but he was also inspired by his father, who was larger-than-life with a booming voice and a presence that commanded attention[2]. Bratt had experience with voice acting prior to Coco, having voiced the character of Manny in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (2009) and its 2013 sequel, and the character of El Macho in Despicable Me 2 (2013). Bratt also appeared as FBI Agent Eric Matthews in Miss Congeniality (2000) and as Detective Reynaldo Curtis in Law & Order (1990-present) for many seasons. He was later cast as Steve Navarro in the miniseries 24: Live Another Day (2014). More recently, Bratt starred as Will in Mother of the Bride (2024) for Netflix, and as Cliff LeGrand in the series Poker Face (2023-present).
Mamá Imelda is quite strict and authoritative, but she means well. She felt like she had been wronged by her musician husband, leaving her to raise their daughter on her own and then find a way of making a living for them so they didn’t end up destitute. This would’ve been a lot for Imelda to deal with, and just thinking about music would’ve brought back all these bad memories for her. There were unresolved issues for her here, but without knowing about the circumstances around her husband’s death, Imelda couldn’t get any closure for herself, so it was just easier to avoid the pain of that time by forgetting about it completely and not telling anyone else about it. Sadly, this leads to Héctor being forgotten, which you can see Imelda actually feels quite guilty about when she sees him fading away, and the guilt is even greater when she realises he was on his way back to her when he died. Luckily, thanks to Miguel, and her bravery in standing up to Ernesto de la Cruz, we all learn the truth.
Alanna Ubach was chosen to voice Mamá Imelda. Earlier in her career, Ubach had been cast as Serena in Legally Blonde (2001) and its 2003 sequel, as well as Isabel in Meet the Fockers (2004). She went on to appear as Jeanine Pirro in Bombshell (2019) and in the recurring role of Suze Howard in the series Euphoria (2019-present). In recent years, Ubach was cast as Nova Moon in Venom: The Last Dance (2024) and as Susan, John’s mother, in the series Ted (2024-present). I didn’t like the Ted films but I love the series, and Ubach is brilliant as Susan here. Ubach also voiced the character of Katherine “Cutter” Sterns in Monsters at Work (2021-present) for Disney.
Miguel states that he is very close to his great-grandmother Coco, wanting to tell her all about his interests, like wrestling, and how he learnt to run properly. Him singing “Remember Me” to Coco is a beautiful scene, and it is so lovely when her memory is unlocked by this music, and she can remember things and communicate again. Early on, it’s obvious that Coco is getting older, being confined to her wheelchair, and not talking much. Abuelita is very happy to see her mother talking about her family again after this moment, and despite her not being happy with Miguel for playing music, like Mamá Imelda, her strictness shows how protective she is of her family.
Abuelita being head of the family matches the fact that Mexican families are generally matriarchal. Abuelita was originally given a wooden spoon to use to reprimand people, but this was changed to be a sandal, which she uses to chastise the mariachi talking to Miguel, as well as to chase off Dante[3]. Early screenings of Abuelita showed her to be too scary as a grandmother. Luckily, Pixar listened to their consultants who could correct any errors made in the story in order to truly reflect Mexican culture. These consultants said that although Abuelita should be strict, she is protecting her family because she loves them above all else. Marcela Davison Avilés was the lead consultant, having already worked with Disney on their series’ Handy Manny (2006-13) and Elena of Avalor (2016-20)[4].
Abuelita was voiced by Renée Victor, who has appeared in the series’ Weeds (2005-12) as Lupita, and as Marta Delgado in With Love (2021-23). Victor was also cast as Mama Grandé in Seasons 1 and 2 of Snowpiercer (2020-24). Coco was voiced by Ana Ofelia Murguía, who as one of the last surviving stars from the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema until her death in December 2023. Coco was her final film role.
The inspiration behind the character of Coco has been questioned in recent years. Maria Salud Ramirez became a viral sensation after the film for her resemblance to the character, with her braided white hair, squinting eyes, and her smile. She died on 16th October 2022 at the age of 109, with visitors coming to her house in Santa Fe de la Laguna in Mexico around Día de los Muertos to remember her. Although the Ramirez family claim the Pixar filmmakers met Maria and photographed her, Pixar have denied that Coco is based on anyone in real life. The Ramirez family have tried to ignore the controversy in recent years but are glad to have visitors to come and remember her[5].
Although Chicharrón, Héctor’s friend who disappears, only appears for a few moments, his death makes an impact on both the characters of Coco as well as the audience. This is because Miguel and the viewers learn that even though the Land of the Dead seems like a place where the deceased will live forever, that is actually not true, and you can die again. Chicharrón’s scene is heartbreaking, especially when Miguel says he’ll go home and remember him, and Héctor tells him it’s not that simple; Chicharrón can only be remembered by those who knew him in life. It was during the Pixar filmmakers’ research trip in Mexico that they learnt about three different deaths. The first is when you stop physically being alive anymore. The second is after burial or cremation. The third is when there is nobody left living to remember you[6]. This shows why family is so important to many cultures, because even believing in an afterlife cannot guarantee you’ll live forever.
Edward James Olmos provided the voice of this character. Edward James Olmos had been cast as Jaime Escalante in Stand and Deliver (1988) being nominated for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for Best Actor for his performance. He also won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his role as Martin Castillo in Miami Vice (1984-90), later winning ALMA awards for his role as Abraham Quintanilla Jr. in Selena (1997) and for his performance as William Adama in Battlestar Galactica (2003-09).
MUSIC
The soundtrack for Coco was released in multiple different languages, as is quite usual, with versions of songs being re-recorded by other famous singers from the respective countries. However, there is something a little bit different with Coco, and that is that the Spanish-language version of the soundtrack includes exclusive songs inspired by the film. These include “El Corrido de Miguel Rivera”; “La Bikina”; and “Bésame Mucho”.
Though Coco features many songs, it is not a musical in the sense that Disney animated movies are, with their Broadway-style songs and characters spontaneously breaking out into song to reflect their feelings and inner thoughts. For Coco, the characters do sing, but these are either performances, in movies, or with family, so they are more natural in that sense.
As Miguel wants to be a musician, it makes sense for him to perform in Coco on multiple occasions, with the Pixar team being very impressed with voice artist Anthony Gonzalez’s singing talents. My favourite songs of Miguel’s are “The World Es Mi Familia”, which he sings at Ernesto de la Cruz’s party, seemingly being a song from one of his movies, and “Un Poco Loco”. I like how fun “Un Poco Loco” is and I like the involvement of Héctor in this high-energy performance in particular. It’s a song about knowing that your loved one is kind of annoying, and that they drive you crazy but you love them anyway, which I think most people can relate to. Miguel’s finale song “Proud Corazón” isn’t one I particularly like, but I understand the sentiment behind it, the fact the whole family is together again and that’s something to be happy about.
For “Remember Me”, the most recognisable song in the movie, there are three versions in the film. The first is by Benjamin Bratt as Ernesto de la Cruz and it is a big showy number, full of dancers and even a moving escalator. It’s all going well until that big bell lands on his head… There is then the lullaby that Héctor sings to Coco, which is very sweet, with Gael García Bernal providing Héctor’s singing voice. García Bernal also gets to sing the silly song “Everyone Knows Juanita” where he has to improvise a more child-friendly line, much to Chicharrón’s annoyance as he requested the song be sung to him properly!
The third version of “Remember Me” is when Miguel is singing the song to his great-grandmother Coco, to get her to remember Héctor. All looks lost for a moment, but she does join in, just to make sure that if the tears weren’t flowing by then, they certainly would be now! “Remember Me” was the first song to be written for Coco and helped drive the story. Songwriters Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, who had written the songs for Frozen (2013) at this point, were approached to write this song. There is even a fourth version of “Remember Me” which features as Coco’s End Credits song. It is performed by R&B singer Miguel and Mexican artist Natalia Lafourcade as a pop duet.
A couple of other songs appear in the movie and the one I like the best is “La Llorona” performed by Alanna Ubach as Mamá Imelda. She performs it when she is lifted up on to the stage for Ernesto de la Cruz’s Sunrise Spectacular, being encouraged by Miguel and Héctor to sing instead of standing there looking stunned!
The guitar playing in Coco has been praised for being incredibly accurate, and there’s a good reason for this: the Pixar filmmakers studied guitar players to ensure the playing was as realistic as possible, strapping GoPro cameras onto the instruments. It is a pet peeve of director Lee Unkrich that when watching a movie, it is incredibly frustrating to see actors only pretending to play the instruments[7]. One instance where we can see accurate guitar playing up close is when Miguel is playing along to one of Ernesto de la Cruz’s movie clips, as the song “Much Needed Advice” briefly plays. Miguel goes into himself and instead of playing along, he starts to improvise and just feel the music.
Germaine Franco and Adrian Molina, co-director of Coco, are credited with writing the other original songs that are not “Remember Me”. Germaine Franco went on to compose the music for Disney’s Encanto (2021), as well as compose the music for other movies such as Netflix’s Work It (2020) and The Mother (2023).
Although Coco did not turn out to be a full musical movie, there was a time when it was going to be. A whole opening song was written to teach the audience about Día de los Muertos, that would have begun in present day, as women sing in the cemetery, leaving marigold petals on the ground. It would then have taken viewers back to 1953, to see a big performance of the song with Ernesto de la Cruz, with the finale being the bell dropping on his head, as per the final film. This number was written by Lopez and Anderson-Lopez, however, although fun to watch, it gave the audience too much information to absorb. Another song, titled “The Way of the Riveras” was also cut. It was a song sung by the Rivera family about their family legacy and the traditions they’ve followed, but it made no sense for a family who hate music to start singing[8]!
Another piece of music I noticed was during the opening of Coco, where the classic Disney castle is seen. Normally “When You Wish Upon a Star” can be heard. In Coco, this song is performed by a mariachi band, setting the tone for the movie from the outset.
Michael Giacchino composed the score for Coco. The use of traditional instruments, guitars, and mariachi bands has been seamlessly combined to create a score that had to move from fun celebration, to magical moments, to feelings of heartbreak, as things change quickly for Miguel in the Land of the Dead. Although I didn’t pick out any favourite instrumentals here as I have done with Disney animated movies, I think the level of research, of spending time with musicians to get the sound just right for the film, is inspiring and the overall score is good.
Giacchino had previously composed the score for Pixar’s film Up (2009), for which he won the Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Critics’ Choice Award for Best Score. Giacchino has composed numerous scores for Pixar movies, beginning with The Incredibles (2004), and its 2018 sequel, Ratatouille (2007), and Inside Out (2015). Outside of Pixar, he has composed music for the most recent Spider-Man films, the three latest Jurassic World movies, and for the series of Disney television Christmas specials, Prep & Landing (2009-11). Giacchino was also nominated for Primetime Emmy awards for his work on the series Lost (2004-10), winning one for his underscore of its pilot episode.
The Coco soundtrack won the Annie Award for Music in an Animated Feature, and “Remember Me” won awards for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards, and the Critics’ Choice Movie Awards. Giacchino won a Saturn Award for Best Music, where Coco also won Best Animated Film. The song “Remember Me” and the score were both nominated for Grammy Awards, however, lost out to “Shallow” from A Star Is Born (2018) and the score of Black Panther (2018) respectively.
PRODUCTION
Production on Coco is said to have started around 2011, as Lee Unkrich, who had just directed Toy Story 3 (2010) for Pixar, found inspiration for the movie whilst riding the Gran Fiesta Tour boat ride in the Mexico pavilion of Epcot at Walt Disney World. There is a scene within that ride that shows animatronics enjoying the holiday of Día de los Muertos, and a mariachi skeleton band is playing for the festivities. This gave Unkrich an idea; about telling a story set against the culture of Mexico, during the time of Día de los Muertos[9].
The Pixar team wanted to represent the Mexican culture faithfully by physically seeing all the great traditions that exist there. Research trips in general are a good way of finding ideas to create fantastical places, or seeing real-life places and architectural landmarks that can be recreated accurately in a movie.
Whilst in Mexico, the Pixar team met with numerous families to get a feel for what an extended family living in the country looks like, so that viewers could identify with the characters on screen and feel like aspects of their heritage are being represented. The filmmakers were invited into family homes, where they were warmly welcomed by kind, generous people. During their meetings, the filmmakers discovered that many families have a trade or craft that is passed down from generation to generation, with one family they met being shoemakers. This gave Pixar lots of inspiration to make the Riveras a shoemaking family too. The Pixar team were amazed at how everything was made by hand, with tools and methods being inherited from the generation before them. Though the families here were happy to all have a hand in the production of different items as part of their family business, Pixar thought about how someone might feel if they were working for a family business despite not having a passion for the craft, which became a central point of conflict between Miguel and his family. Other crafts were looked into as well, such as pottery making and papel picado, which is the intricately detailed and beautifully designed paper bunting that is used in Coco to tell the backstory of Mamá Imelda and the Rivera family.
Since Día de los Muertos is the focal point of the story of Coco, it was necessary for the filmmakers to fully understand the meaning behind the holiday, as well as the traditions it involves. They were allowed to visit family ofrendas, where they were encouraged to pay their respects to their hosts’ ancestors. Ofrenda means offering in English, so alongside photographs of family members being featured on the ofrendas, offerings of fruit, flowers, and incense are also included, to provide something for their returning ancestors. Instead of Día de los Muertos being a melancholic ceremony as some may expect as some cultures do not like to think about death, Día de los Muertos is a time for celebration, to remember those you love. People go to their ancestors’ graves to clean and decorate them, with many keeping vigil by the gravestones through out the night. As the daylight fades, candles and bright colourful flowers light up the area. It is a time for joy, not sadness[10].
To match this feeling of celebration in the Land of the Living in Coco, the Land of the Dead had to feel colourful and alive, not spooky or macabre. This was Pixar’s opportunity to create a new land. For the vertical structures found within the Land of the Dead, the Pixar filmmakers wanted to design these towers to show that new ways of living have been built on top of previous generations. The base of these towers are Mayan pyramids, with pre-Colonial structures on top. This then moves into colonial architecture, and then to those of the 1950s. More modern structures are built on top of those and cranes are placed at the very top to show new building work. As well as this, to make the Land of the Dead feel like its own city, haciendas, docks, plazas, alley ways, and methods of transportation, such as suspended trolley cars, were all included in the sets[11].
The characters in the Land of the Dead, since they have all died during different time periods, have outfits that go back to the 1800s all the way through to present day, with these coming from all areas of Mexico. Clothing would naturally fall differently on skeletons, and despite reference modelling being used, especially for some of the layered, full skirts that dancers wear in the movie, this wouldn’t necessarily match how it would work on a skeleton. Would the fabric hang differently? Would it sit on their bones instead of falling past them? Would it feel less heavy on a skeleton? All of these questions had to be answered, and in animation tests, clothing kept getting caught between the bones of the skeleton, becoming so much of an issue that Pixar had to create software to deal with this recurring problem! Costuming is just as important in Santa Cecilia with the present-day Riveras who wear a mixture of contemporary and traditional clothing. Miguel’s cousin is wearing a soccer top and his aunt is wearing jeans and a bright top. Miguel’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother wear more traditional garments. Miguel is wearing contemporary clothing, with his jeans, white top, and red hoodie, which became complicated during animation with all its zips, pockets, and that hood, as Miguel uses all these aspects of the hoodie in the film[12].
Coco might follow a series of human and skeletal characters, who all had to look and feel real, but they are not the only characters in the movie. Alebrijes are brightly coloured sculptures. These works of art are traditionally carved from wood and hand painted, with these alebrijes being fantastical animals that are said to be spiritual guides. Although alebrijes are not traditionally linked to Día de los Muertos, when the filmmakers saw these creations after visiting an alebrije workshop in Oaxaca, they knew they had to include them in some way in Coco[13]. They are seen as sculptures in the Land of the Living, but in the Land of the Dead, they come to life, being all shapes and sizes. Mamá Imelda’s alebrije is green-blue big cat with huge wings, called Pepita. She helps find Miguel in the Land of the Dead to reunite him with his family. Other alebrijes also fly around the world too.
The most surprising alebrije of them all is Dante. He is seen to just be an ugly street dog, complete with missing teeth, a floppy tongue, and a broken tail. Dante is Miguel’s friend; however, others just find Dante to be a stray that is probably only begging for food. Dante is able to follow Miguel into the Land of the Dead, where Frida Kahlo tells Miguel he is a Xolo dogs, and Xolo dogs are said to be great spirit guides. This goes back to Aztec myth; people would have to make their journey to the Land of the Dead having a Xolo dog with them to accompany them there. Because of this historical connection to the Land of the Dead, the filmmakers knew they had to include a Xolo dog in the film. Dante is soon found to have an important purpose, as he spends his time trying to keep Miguel on his journey to reuniting the family, by pushing Miguel towards Héctor, even though Miguel thinks Ernesto de la Cruz is his family. Once this mission is complete, Dante suddenly changes colour and sprouts wings, becoming a full alebrije, like Pepita[14].
Even with all this information and research into Mexican culture and Día de los Muertos, the final story did not come together easily. Originally, the story was going to be about an American kid discovering his Mexican heritage. Then, this changed to being about a child losing their mother and struggling with their grief. Through the story, they would learn to move on with their life and deal with the grief. However, this idea is fundamentally at odds with the whole point of Día de los Muertos, where family is never forgotten and everyone has an obligation to hold on to the memories of their ancestors and pass them down to others, so that the ancestors never die. Pixar had to start again.
Adrian Molina had previously worked with director Unkrich on Toy Story 3 (2010), having worked as a storyboard artist for Pixar. He had gone on to work on Monsters University (2013) and The Good Dinosaur (2015), before working on Coco. When story troubles began, Molina went away and wrote whole redrafts of the story and sent them over to Unkrich. Unkrich read these story treatments and was amazed by them, asking Molina to come on as the screenwriter for Coco. He later stepped up to be the co-director as well. Thanks to his Mexican heritage, Molina could use his family history to keep the story on track with its basis in Mexican culture.
From this point, other versions of the story were considered and then edited. One of these was the story point of Marco, the original name for the character of Miguel, and his guitar. Marco would have had his guitar in the Land of the Dead and this would be his means of returning to the Land of the Living. At one point, Marco’s family were going to want to break the guitar as a way of reversing a curse. Naturally, a family that hates music in the Land of the Living would then be cursed to sing forever in the Land of the Dead! Ernesto de la Cruz was also going to successfully break the guitar, barring Marco from returning to the Land of the Living, until the family rebuild the guitar for him. I think there was also a deleted scene showing that Miguel, now using his final name, would need to return the guitar back to Ernesto de la Cruz to get home, although I was so distracted by the main concept of the scene – that Héctor was running a celebrity bus tour of the celebrities in the Land of the Dead – that I missed some of the intricacies of the story.
The mechanics of Miguel getting back home from the Land of the Dead became a regular topic of discussion, where an option was for Miguel to simply cross the bridge back to the Land of the Living before the end of Día de los Muertos. During this deleted scene, Miguel is almost out of time, trying to jump over huge gaps in the bridge as the petals forming it fly away. Ernesto de la Cruz chases him, trying to prevent him getting home to destroy his legacy. Miguel runs through a crumbling Ernesto and leaps off the end of the bridge. Though these ideas all sounded interesting to me, I can see why these were ultimately not used, as the blessing is a much more poignant way of returning Miguel home. This was Adrian Molina’s idea based on a real moment in his life, when he was given his parents’ blessing to do whatever he wanted in life as he was heading off to college[15].
Even with the seriousness of the themes within Coco, Pixar couldn’t ignore their usual Easter eggs to treat their viewers. A113 and the Pizza Planet truck exist in every one of Pixar’s movies, referencing a classroom at CalArts where many of the animators studied, and the famous truck from Toy Story (1995), their first full-length animated feature film. In Coco, A113 is the room number for the Bureau of Family Grievances, and the Pizza Planet truck can be briefly seen passing by Miguel as he looks out the window near to the start of the film. John Ratzenberger, who voiced characters in the majority of Pixar movies, can be briefly heard here as Juan Ortodoncia, the skeleton who is leaving the Land of the Dead as Miguel arrives there because his picture is on his dentist’s ofrenda; this is a very small role. Another Easter egg I enjoyed is that a skeleton wearing a skull t-shirt performs at the talent contest in the Land of the Dead. This is clearly a reference to Sid, the crazy kid in Toy Story, showing that he has apparently died, though the events leading to it remain unknown…
RECEPTION
Coco ended up being in development for around six years, after first being announced in 2011. Disney had been criticised early on in the development of the movie, as they attempted to trademark the phrase Día de los Muertos in 2013. This was because Día de los Muertos was going to be the title for the movie, however, this was heavily condemned as it seemed like Disney were trying to demean the tradition of Día de los Muertos, concerning many that this film was not going to be culturally sensitive or accurate[16]. The trademark attempt was later cancelled.
To make matters worse, in 2014, The Book of Life was released, a movie also about Día de los Muertos, produced by 20th Century Fox and directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez. This would mean that Coco was going to be compared with this movie after its release.
In 2017, to build anticipation for the release of Coco, more details and clips were revealed at that year’s D23 Expo. A performance of “Remember Me”, dubbed the signature song of the film, became the grand finale of this panel presentation. It was also confirmed that Coco would be released on 22nd November 2017 in US theatres. At Disney Springs in Walt Disney World, a whole area was set up for around two weeks with banners, food, and music to promote the film. This ran until 26th November 2017, this being just enough time to see out Coco’s opening weekend in cinemas. A sneak peek of the film was also shown at Walt Disney Presents at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, along with a small exhibit about the movie’s animation and creation, as is common for new Pixar and Disney releases[17]. At Disneyland’s Disney California Adventure Park, a preview of the movie was shown at Sunset Showcase Theater in Hollywood Land, and the area, Plaza de la Familia, was created at Paradise Gardens to celebrate the movie[18].
Coco was released on 22nd November 2017 in the US, in time for Thanksgiving Weekend. But Coco was first released in Mexico on 27th October, almost an entire month before the US release, after premiering during the Morelia International Film Festival on 20th October. Coco was a huge hit in Mexico, becoming the No.1 movie there and earning 965m pesos in its first month, surpassing the highest-grossing release The Avengers (2012) with its initial 827m pesos[19]. Coco later exceeded the 1-billion-peso mark at the box-office.
One thing that was a complaint echoed across the world but first in Mexico was that Coco was released alongside Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, as a double-feature. Normally, Pixar movies would be preceded with a five-minute short but Olaf’s Frozen Adventure is around twenty-minutes long, much too long to come before a full movie, especially if you want to keep kids interested and not make them wonder if they’ve accidentally walked into a showing of Frozen (2013). Olaf’s Frozen Adventure was meant to be an ABC TV special, so I’m unsure why the decision was made to release it alongside Coco. Audiences in Mexico complained about the length of the short before the main feature, so it was removed[20].
Although some may have expected to see a lot of clichés and stereotypes within Coco, it was appreciated by most that Coco shows a positive side of Mexico, whereas many American movies set in Mexico have either been stereotypically comical or quite sinister. Many also said it was comparable emotionally to Up (2009) and was much better than Cars 3 (2017) and The Good Dinosaur (2015) that came before it. The message around death, heritage, and family was appreciated. However, a few negative comments referenced the fact that kids may have been bored by the serious nature of the movie and the lack of humour and comedic moments. Speaking as an adult though, it’s a beautiful film with many tearjerker moments. It might not be as funny as other movies, but it wouldn’t have felt right to make an outright comedy when Coco is supposed to be sensitively portraying a celebratory but sacred tradition. It still has its funny moments.
Coco pulled in $71.2 million in the US and Canada in its five days over the Thanksgiving Weekend. Overall, the movie grossed over $800 million worldwide and won various awards. Coco won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and won numerous Annie Awards in areas such as character design, directing, music, and Best Animated Feature. Coco won Best Animated Feature Film at the Golden Globe Awards, and at the Imagen Awards, which are dedicated to recognising positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry, it won for Best Picture and Best Director. Coco also fared better than The Book of Life in terms of accolades, box-office results, and reviews, however, the two are very different, both in story and animation, so it’s worth watching both to come to your own conclusion on which is “best”.
LEGACY
Because of Coco’s huge success, it makes sense that the story did not end there. Though a sequel was never made, other ways of extending its reach have been developed.
One of these is A Celebration of the Music From Coco. This came to Disney+ in 2020 and it is a recorded performance of a concert held at the Hollywood Bowl in November 2019 as a one-weekend-only special event. It was hosted by Eva Longoria and Benjamin Bratt, and featured music from both the English- and Spanish-language versions of the soundtrack, as well as other traditional Mexican songs. The concert used dancers, puppets, an orchestra, and clips from the movie to enhance the performances. Mexican singer Carlos Rivera and Spanish singer-songwriter Natalia Jiménez took to the stage, as did Benjamin Bratt and Alanna Ubach, voices of Ernesto de la Cruz and Mamá Imelda. Anthony Gonzalez’ younger brother Alex took over the role as Miguel as his brother’s voice had changed. There have also been talks since 2023 that a Broadway musical version of Coco will be coming to the stage in due course, though no opening date has yet been announced.
At the Disney Parks, Coco has been featured in some form at many of them. In Walt Disney World’s Epcot Park, there is a whole pavilion dedicated to Mexico, so it is only natural that has been themed to Coco in places. The entrance to the pavilion houses the Remember Me exhibit, which is about the history and traditions of Día de los Muertos. There has been discussion about the boat ride, Gran Fiesta Tour, which is currently themed to The Three Caballeros (1944) being rethemed to Coco, but that has been ongoing for years and nothing has been announced – yet. Epcot’s resident mariachi band, Mariachi Cobre, sometimes play music from Coco and, for Hispanic and Latin American Heritage Month, they played the show Together We Are Magia! With Miguel, which ran from 15th September to 15th October 2024, where Miguel made an appearance. Miguel as a puppet has also appeared at other times during Mariachi Cobre performances in Epcot as well for events or festivals.
At Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park, Miguel is a character within the Disney Adventure Friends Cavalcade and Miguel and Héctor’s performance of “Un Poco Loco” was also added to the Mickey’s PhilarMagic 3D show here, with this version of the show now existing at Disneyland, Disneyland Paris, and Tokyo Disneyland too. Finally, for the revamped Country Bear Jamboree Big Al now sings “Remember Me” instead of “Blood on the Saddle” but don’t get me started on that…
At Disneyland Paris, they have the Casa de Coco – Restaurante de Familia quick-service location, serving Tex Mex food and being themed to the movie, with a statue of Miguel playing his guitar outside the entrance. It opened in Summer 2023, replacing Fuente del Oro Restaurante. There is also a Coco segment within their Together: A Pixar Musical Adventure show. At Shanghai Disneyland, Miguel features within the show Mickey’s Storybook Adventure briefly during the finale section of the show, within one of the pages of the storybook. At Hong Kong Disneyland, “Remember Me” plays within their fireworks show Momentous, and Miguel and the song appear in the stage show Follow Your Dreams. At Tokyo Disneyland, there is a Coco section within their parade, Harmony in Color.
The most exciting Coco update though for Disney Parks is that a Coco-themed boat ride was announced for Disney California Adventure Park at Disneyland during the D23 Expo in 2024. This will be the first ever attraction themed to Coco. Not many details have been announced yet, only that it should begin construction in 2026[21].
Also at Disney California Adventure Park, the Plaza de la Familia has been home to The Musical World of Coco, an outdoor show being performed by The Storytellers of Plaza de la Familia, dancers and puppeteers, as well as the Mariachi Divas, who help tell the story of Miguel and his journey to the Land of the Dead. This show began in September 2017, before the movie was released in theatres, with multiple showings throughout the day. Over the years, the show has changed in some ways, and now seems to only run for the Halloween season, which in the world of Disney runs from August to 31st October, but as Día de los Muertos runs into the first few days of November, so does this show. One of the biggest changes is that around 2019, a hand-crafted puppet Miguel was added to the show, who performs “Un Poco Loco” and “Proud Corazón” to the crowd. Additional props have been added too. This show also ran at Hong Kong Disneyland around 2018.
Other limited time offerings are available at this time to celebrate Coco and Día de los Muertos, such as Coco-inspired food being served at Paradise Gardens, and the opportunity to make paper alebrije masks, or post personal messages to loved ones on the Memory Wall. At Disneyland Park, Frontierland is home to celebrations for Día de los Muertos, although this doesn’t seem to be specifically themed to Coco.
Since Coco is a Pixar film, and one that has not been forgotten, it featured at Pixar Fest 2024 with Coco-inspired treats; Miguel on a float during the Better Together Parade; and the song “The World Es Mi Familia” and projections from the movie being shown during the Together Forever fireworks show. There is also a Coco-themed suite at the Pixar Place Hotel, and small references to the movie are likely to be found at the Lamplight Lounge restaurant at Pixar Pier at Disney California Adventure. Miguel, in his mariachi suit from the finale of the show, along with Mamá Imelda and Héctor as animatronics featured in a Coco float for the Magic Happens Parade, with a huge float of Pepita following on behind, as versions of “Proud Corazón” and “Remember Me” play, however, the Magic Happens Parade stopped running in Summer 2024, though it may return at some point. Miguel will appear for the seasonal ¡Viva Navidad! event at Disneyland from November 2024 to January 2025.
In terms of meet-and-greets, Miguel and Ernesto de la Cruz are the most common ones to encounter, although Ernesto de la Cruz has only been seen at Disney California Adventure’s Halloween party, the Oogie Boogie Bash. He made his debut in 2022, and has been seen every year since as part of the Trick or Treat trails. If you’re lucky, he might even sing “Remember Me” for you. Ernesto de la Cruz has not yet made it to Walt Disney World’s Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party but people are hopeful.
Miguel recently made an appearance as a meet-and-greet character in his hoodie and jeans at Disneyland Paris in Frontierland for the Halloween Festival in 2024. This same costume was what Miguel met guests in at Hong Kong Disneyland in 2021. Miguel has also been in his mariachi costume at Frontierland in Disneyland. Previously, the Miguel puppet had been the primary way that guests met Miguel at Disneyland, either after the show or in his own character spot in Plaza de la Familia. Puppet Miguel is the only way that guests at Walt Disney World have met Miguel before, and he was also spotted at Disneyland Paris during Halloween in 2018 and Shanghai Disneyland in 2018.
FINAL THOUGHTS
There is no doubt about it, Coco was a huge success for Pixar. It gained fans for its brilliant music, its relatable characters, and its stunning animation.
But just making another money-making hit was not the point of Coco. This story had to be handled with respect and thoughtfulness. The effort taken to do this is evident.
Coco delivered a touching message to all who saw it, about the importance of our loved ones, both here and not. Families aren’t perfect and they all have moments of conflict or disagreement. Despite that, memories can last a lifetime if our family stories are preserved and told to the younger generations.
We have to remember our loved ones, or risk losing them forever.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: Carolyn Giardina, ‘‘Coco’: How Pixar Brought Its “Day of the Dead” Story to Life’, HollywoodReporter.com, 12th December 2017.
[2] Credit: Courtney Potter, ‘5 Especial Things We Learned from Coco’s Cast & Filmmakers’, D23.com, 17th November 2017.
[3] Credit: Pixar, Mi Familia (2018), Disney+.
[4] Credit: Diana Aguilera, ‘How Disney Got It Right with ‘Coco’’, StanfordMag.org, March 2018.
[5] Credit: Theo Farrant & AFP, ‘Day of the Dead: Family of the woman who allegedly inspired Pixar’s Coco pay their respects’, EuroNews.com, 2nd November 2022.
[6] Credit: Tasha Robinson, ‘Pixar’s Lee Unkrich on the ‘anxiety’ of directing Coco’, TheVerge.com, 22nd November 2017.
[7] Credit: Rob Lowman, ‘Why ‘Coco’ filmmakers strapped GoPro cameras onto musicians’ guitars’, DailyNews.com, 18th November 2017.
[8] Credit: Pixar, Deleted Scenes (2018), Disney+.
[9] Credit: Carolyn Giardina, ‘‘Coco’: How Pixar Brought Its “Day of the Dead” Story to Life’, HollywoodReporter.com, 12th December 2017.
[10] Credit: Pixar, Coco: A Thousand Pictures (2018), Pixar Facebook Page, 21st September 2018.
[11] Credit: Pixar, Land of Our Ancestors (2018), Coconut Press YouTube Channel, 22nd October 2023.
[12] Credit: Pixar, Fashion Through the Ages (2018), Coconut Press YouTube Channel, 23rd October 2023.
[13] Credit: Disney News Contributor, ‘We Took a Trip to Mexico With the Filmmakers Behind Disney Pixar’s Coco’, News.Disney.Com, 27th February 2018.
[14] Credit: Pixar, Dante (2018), Frozen Bus Channel YouTube Channel, 5th March 2018.
[15] Credit: Tasha Robinson, ‘Pixar’s Lee Unkrich on the ‘anxiety’ of directing Coco’, TheVerge.com, 22nd November 2017.
[16] Credit: Diana Aguilera, ‘How Disney Got It Right with ‘Coco’’, StanfordMag.org, March 2018.
[17] Credit: Jeremiah Good, ‘Disney•Pixar’s “Coco” Around Walt Disney World’, LaughingPlace.com, 16th November 2017.
[18] Credit: Rikki Niblett, ‘Sneak Preview of Pixar’s “Coco” Coming to Disney Parks’, TouringPlans.com, 13th September 2017.
[19] Credit: Author Unknown, ‘Disney•Pixar’s ‘Coco’ Uses Innovative Visual Effects to Celebrate Family and Tradition’, TheWaltDisneyCompany.com, 22nd November 2017.
[20] Credit: Jim Korkis, ‘Disney Christmas Cartoons’, MousePlanet.com, 27th December 2017.
[21] Credit: Alexandra Hurtado, ‘‘Coco’ and ‘Encanto’ rides are coming to Disney Parks: What we know!’, Hola.com, 13th August 2024.
The Disney Purist 