Coco

***Coco*** is Pixar's nineteenth feature film. It was directed by Lee Unkrich. It was released in the United States on November 22, 2017, and in the UK on January 18, 2018; however, it was released in Mexico about a month prior, on October 27. It marks the second film directed by Lee Unkrich, after *Toy Story 3*.

## Plot

***Coco*** follows a 12-year old boy named Miguel who sets off a chain of events relating to a century-old mystery. The official story description is "Coco is the celebration of a lifetime, where the discovery of a generations-old mystery leads to a most extraordinary and surprising family reunion." **Coco** follows the secret musical ambitions of Miguel, who resides in a lively, loud Mexican village but comes from a family of shoemakers that may be the town's only music-hating household. For generations, the Riveras have banned music because they believed they've been cursed by it; as their family history goes, Miguel's great-great-grandfather abandoned his wife for decades earlier to follow his own dreams of performing, leaving Imelda (Miguel's great-great-grandmother) to take control as the matriarch of the now-thriving Rivera line and declare music dead to the family forever. But Miguel harbors a secret desire to seize his musical moment, inspired by his favorite singer of all time, the late Ernesto De La Cruz. It's only after Miguel discovers an amazing link between himself and De La Cruz that he takes action to emulate the famous singer and, in doing so, accidentally enters the Land of the Dead. In the beautiful underworld, it's not long until Miguel encounters the souls of his own family - generations' worth of long-dead but no less vivacious Rivera ancestors, including great-grandmother Imelda. Still, given the opportunity to roam around the Land of the Dead, Miguel decides to track down De La Cruz himself. He teams up with another friendly (and skeletal) spirit, a trickster named Hector, to find De La Cruz, earn his family's blessing to perform, and return to the Land of the Living, before time runs out.

## Voice cast

* Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel
* Gael Garcia Bernal as Héctor
* Benjamin Bratt as Ernesto De La Cruz
* Alanna Ubach as Mama Imelda
* Renee Victor as Abuelita
* Ana Ofelia Murguia as Mama Coco
* Edward James Olmos as Chicarron
* Jaime Camil as Papa
* Sofia Espinosa as Mama
* Selene Luna as Tia Rosita
* Alfonso Arau as Papa Julio
* Luis Valdez as Tio Berto
* Herbert Siguenza as Tio Oscar & Tio Felipe
* Lombardo Boyar as Mariachi
* Octavio Solis as Arrival Agent
* Carla Medina as Departure Agent
* Gabriel Iglesias as Head Clerk
* Cheech Marin as Corrections Officer
* Blanca Araceli as Emcee
* John Ratzenberger as Juan Ortodoncia

## Production

Unkrich said the culture of Dia de los Muertos left on him a lasting and inspiring impression. The story originated from him wondering what if one could meet his deceased relatives.

Disney/Pixar first announced Lee Unkrich's next film after *Toy Story 3* at CinemaCon on April 24, 2012. It was referred to as *The Untitled Pixar Movie About Dia de los Muertos*. The following official synopsis was provided:

> From director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson, the filmmaking team behind the Academy Award®-winning *Toy Story 3*, comes a wholly original Pixar Animation Studios film that delves into the vibrant holiday of Día de los Muertos.
>
>

The title of the film, *Coco*, and the expected release date of fall 2017, were first revealed at 2015 D23 Expo. The official synopsis is:

> Coco is the celebration of a lifetime, where the discovery of a generations-old mystery leads to a most extraordinary and surprising family reunion.
>
>

On April 12, 2016, Lee Unkrich announced on Twitter that animation has officially started on *Coco*. The film's writer, Adrian Molina, was promoted to co-director in 2016.

## Cameos

Lee Unkrich confirmed that there is a reference to a Stanley Kubrick film.[1]

Mike from *Monsters Inc.* and *Monsters University* appear as piñatas, as well as Woody and Buzz Lightyear from *Toy Story*

A Pizza Planet Truck, also from Toy Story, also appears in the film.

Miguel’s hometown can be seen in *Cars 3* in the Rust-eze Training Center, on a computer screen Cruz Ramirez pulls up.

Flip flops resembling several cars from the *Cars* universe can be seen.

## Attached Short Film

*Olaf's Frozen Adventure*, a half-hour short film based on the 2013 Walt Disney Animation Studios film *Frozen* that was originally to be aired as a television special on ABC, accompanied *Coco* for a limited time.

As the short film was meant to have a limited run, Disney pulled it from all theaters showing *Coco* starting December 8, 2017, meaning that its televised debut would proceed as planned.
 *Olaf's Frozen Adventure* made its television debut on ABC on December 14, 2017.

This is the first time a Pixar film is not accompanied by a proper Pixar short film, or, after December 8, any short film, for that matter.

## Transcript

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1. ↑ [2]
2. ↑ D23: Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios Live Blog
3. ↑ Pixar’s Dia De Los Muertos Movie Is Titled ‘*Coco*’ [D23 Expo 2015]
4. ↑ Let it go: Disney is stripping 'Olaf's Frozen Adventure' from *Coco* screenings - LA Times
5. ↑ Why the Frozen short playing before Pixar’s *Coco* kicked up so much controversy - Vox