‘Coco’ Trailer: Pixar’s Love Letter To Mexico Looks Absolutely Stunning
With the onset of fall, the season of Halloween and pumpkin spice is upon us. But more importantly, fall signals the coming of the joyous Mexican celebration, the Day of the Dead, also known as Día de los Muertos.
The Day of the Dead is the centerpiece of Pixar’s upcoming filmCoco, a love letter to the Mexican holiday and the country’s music. Following a young aspiring musician named Miguel who finds himself stuck in the Land of the Dead during the Day of the Dead, the newCocotrailer showcases a lush, vivid vision of both the afterlife and the family in the Land of the Living that Miguel is so eager to leave behind.
Thefirst trailer forCocogave us only a glimpse of the Land of the Dead, instead choosing to focus on Miguel’s (played by newcomerAnthony Gonzalez) relationship with his idol Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt) and his life-or-death passion for music. Here, we get a deeper look at Miguel’s quest once he finds himself trapped in the Land of the Dead, and his foolhardy fixation on Ernesto de la Cruz. But that fixation leads him to meetGael Garcia Bernal’s scene-stealing ragamuffin skeleton named Hector, who joins him on his mission. The trailer gives us a longer introduction to Hector, as well as thesupernatural creature Pepita, a spirit guide. We also get a first look at Miguel’s skeletal form, which he gradually transforms into the longer he stays in the Land of the Dead.
During myset visit to Pixar’s headquarters to previewCoco, I witnessed directorsLee UnkrichandAdrian Molinaand the animators' unflagging dedication to getting every cultural nuance inCocoright. Even thedetails in the fictionalizedMexican village of Santa Cecilia and the Land of the Dead were all influenced by Mexican history and culture — which bodes well for a movie that comes at a contentious political time for immigrants. My reservations about a movie that only has a few people of Mexican descent behind the scenes were put to rest by the filmmakers' dedication to research and authenticity — not to mention thatadorable dog.
Here’s the official synopsis forCocobelow:
Despite his family’s generations-old ban on music, young Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead. After meeting a charming trickster named Hector (Gael García Bernal), the two new friends embark on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
Alongside the trailer, a new poster was released for the Pixar animated film that shows Miguel’s competing loyalties to his family in the sun-drenched Land of the Living and his new friends in the lantern-lit Land of the Dead.
