Coco (2017)

Coco Poster — October 20, 2017 (Morelia)
November 22, 2017 (United States)

Coco is a 2017 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy-drama-family film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on an original idea by Lee Unkrich, it was directed by him, co-directed by Adrian Molina, and produced by Darla K. Anderson, from a screenplay written by Molina and Matthew Aldrich, and a story by Unkrich, Molina, Aldrich, and Jason Katz. The film stars the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía and Edward James Olmos. The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel (Gonzalez) who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead, where he seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family among the living and to reverse his family's ban on music.

The concept for Coco is inspired by the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Pixar began developing the animation in 2016; Unkrich, Molina, and some of the film's crew visited Mexico for research. Composer Michael Giacchino, who had worked on prior Pixar animated features, composed the score. With a cost of $175–225 million, Coco is the first film with a nine-figure budget to feature an all-Latino principal cast.

Coco premiered on October 20, 2017, during the Morelia International Film Festival in Morelia, Mexico. It was theatrically released in Mexico the following week, the weekend before Día de Muertos, and in the United States on November 22, 2017. The film was praised for its animation, voice acting, music, visuals, emotional story, and respect for Mexican culture. It grossed over $807 million worldwide, becoming the 16th highest-grossing animated film ever at the time of its release. Coco received two awards at the 90th Academy Awards, and numerous other accolades. The film was chosen by the National Board of Review as the Best Animated Film of 2017.

Storyline[]

In the Mexican town of Santa Cecilia, a young woman named Imelda marries a man who eventually leaves her and their daughter Coco to pursue a music career. When he never returns, Imelda bans music from her family and opens a shoemaking business.

Decades later, Imelda's great-great-grandson Miguel lives in the family home with his parents and relatives, including an elderly and ailing Coco. Despite the family's continued ban on music, Miguel secretly loves it and teaches himself to play guitar by watching videos of his idol, the late musician Ernesto de la Cruz. On the Day of the Dead, Miguel inadvertently bumps the family ofrenda and breaks a frame containing a photo of Imelda and an infant Coco. He discovers a hidden section of the photograph that shows his great-great-grandfather (whose head has been torn from the photo) holding Ernesto's famous guitar. Believing this proves Ernesto is his relative, Miguel excitedly tells his family about his musical aspirations. In response, Miguel's grandmother destroys his guitar.

Distraught, Miguel breaks into Ernesto's mausoleum and takes his guitar to use in a local talent competition. Once Miguel strums it, he becomes invisible to all living people. However, he can interact with his skeletal dead relatives, who are visiting from the Land of the Dead for the holiday. Taking him back with them, they realize Imelda cannot visit since Miguel removed her photo from the ofrenda. Miguel also discovers that he has been cursed for stealing from the dead: he must receive a family blessing to return to the living world before sunrise or he will remain in the Land of the Dead forever. Imelda offers him a blessing on the condition that he abandons music, but Miguel refuses and seeks Ernesto's blessing instead.

Miguel encounters Héctor, a down-on-his-luck skeleton who once performed with Ernesto. Héctor offers to bring Miguel to Ernesto in exchange for Miguel placing his photo on an ofrenda so he can visit his daughter before she forgets him, which would cause him to fade from existence. Héctor helps Miguel perform in a talent competition to win entry to Ernesto's mansion, but Miguel flees after being discovered by his family.

Miguel sneaks into Ernesto's mansion and is welcomed by a surprised Ernesto, but Héctor appears and accuses Ernesto of stealing his songs. As the two argue, Miguel slowly pieces together the truth: Ernesto and Héctor were once a musical act on the brink of fame until Héctor grew homesick and tried to leave. Unable to write songs himself, Ernesto poisoned Héctor and stole his guitar and songs to pass off as his own. To protect his legacy, Ernesto seizes Héctor's photo and has Miguel and Héctor thrown into a cenote pit. There, Miguel realizes Héctor is his actual great-great-grandfather and that Coco is Héctor's daughter.

After being rescued by his family, Miguel reveals the truth about Héctor's death, and Imelda and Héctor reconcile. The family infiltrates Ernesto's concert to retrieve Héctor's photo. Ernesto's crimes are exposed to the audience, who quickly turn on him, and he is crushed by a falling bell (mirroring his fate in real life), although Héctor's photograph is lost in the chaos. As the sun rises, Imelda and a fading Héctor bless Miguel and return him to the living world.

Back home, Miguel apologizes to his family for running away and plays "Remember Me" on Héctor's guitar, brightening Coco to sing with him. She shares that she kept the torn piece of the photo with Héctor's face, then tells her family stories about her father, preserving his memory and existence in the Land of the Dead. Miguel reconciles with his family, ending the ban on music.

One year later, Miguel shows his new baby sister, Socorro, the family ofrenda, now displaying photos of Héctor and the recently deceased Coco. Coco's collected letters from Héctor prove Ernesto's theft of his songs, leading to Ernesto's disgrace and Héctor's rightful recognition. In the Land of the Dead, Héctor joins Imelda, Coco, and their family to visit the living world. Miguel performs a heartfelt song for his living and dead relatives.

Coco (2017)

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