Coco: Oscar-winning animated adventure from Pixar about a young musician from Mexico who visits his relatives in the underworld on the Day of the Dead.
Film plot and background
Oscar-winning animated adventure from Pixar about a young musician from Mexico who visits his relatives in the underworld on the Day of the Dead.
12-year-old Miguel (originally voiced by Anthony Gonzalez) has a dream: just like his idol, singer Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt), Miguel just wants to play guitars and become a musician. But his family has something against the plan. Ever since his great-grandfather left his wife to become a musician, the Riveras have believed that music is cursed. But the talented Miguel is determined to follow his passion.
When Miguel discovers his idol’s real guitar in a chapel, the instrument magically opens a portal that leads to the underworld. For one day, Miguel is allowed to enter the magical realm of the dead. There he will meet some members of his family, among others. Miguel is accompanied on his adventurous journey by his faithful dog and the clumsy swindler-skeleton Hector (Gael García Bernal). But Miguel must hurry – the underworld can only be travelled on the Day of the Dead.
“Coco” – Backgrounds
“Coco”, the seventh animated film from Pixar to date, is set against the backdrop of the Mexican “Día de los Muertos” (Eng: Day of the Dead). The traditional festival to honour the dead is held on 1 and 2 November. However, it is by no means a grey mourning ceremony. Instead, according to legend, the dead return to their families for a day. To celebrate this gift, the Day of the Dead is celebrated with colourful costumes, fancy puppets, lots of music and delicious food.
The colourful animation festival “Coco” is directed by “Toy Story 3” director Lee Unkrich. Unkrich has been a permanent member of the team of the successful animation studio, which now belongs to Disney, since the early days. For example, the director worked with company boss John Lasseter as co-director on “Finding Nemo” and “Monster AG”. With “Coco”, Pixar is now breaking new ground: in the company’s long history, it is the first animated musical film.
“Coco – More alive than life!”
At the 2018 Golden Globes, “Coco” won the Best Animated Feature category and also prevailed at the 2018 Academy Awards in both categories in which the film was nominated. “Coco” was named Best Animated Feature and won the award for Best Song – the hit song “Remember Me” by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.
