Disney Pixar’s Coco deserves all the awards and here’s why.

By Dalia Gudino Landeros: Feb 1, 2018

On March 15th 2017, Disney Pixar released a teaser trailer for their upcoming movie Coco and the Latino community on the internet was overwhelmed with excitement, praise, and curiosity. Although the Latin community has seen Latino culture on Disney before, there has not been a full on dedicated movie on latino culture by Disney or Disney Pixar before Coco. Coco stunned the world for many amazing reasons and impressions that were solely based on the magical trailer itself and later on, the actual movie.

If you live under a rock and don’t know what Coco is about, let me tell you. Coco is the story that follows Miguel, a 12 year-old boy and his adventures in the colorful and beautiful Land of the Dead on Dia De los Muertos where he landed accidentally. Miguel is on a mission to prove to his passed loved ones and family that he is destined to become a musician. He must also receive the blessing of his great grandfather to return among the living. The movie’s concept is based on Mexico’s beloved holiday Dia de los Muertos, Day of the Dead. From October 31 to November 2, the people of Mexico celebrate and honor their loved ones that are no longer here with colorful and festive graves and ofrendas (altars). Coco truly emphasized how important this holiday is to the people of Mexico all around the world and showed perfectly how the people of Mexico celebrate Dia de Los Muertos. The movie perfectly captured how we celebrate, honor, love and miss our dearly beloved ones that are no longer here with us.

The responses and success that the extraordinary movie has received is beyond words. Coco premiered in Mexico before any other part of the world, makes sense right? Well after the movie released in theaters, Coco received an overwhelming title of the largest box office success in Mexican history. Coco also has become Mexico’s highest-grossing film of all time. Due to the amazing response Coco had received in Mexico, the director of Coco, Lee Unkrich announced that the movie in the United States would also be available in spanish in theaters. That announcement added to the excitement and praise everybody had already. Making the movie available in Spanish here in the United States is more important than one may think. It allowed Mexican Americans and latinos to connect closer to the movie and its story. Take this heart warming story for example. A woman who reached out to the director told him about how she took her mother out to the movie theaters to see Coco in spanish, the only language her mother understood. Not to mention her mother hasn't been in a movie theater in 30 years, she never felt at home and comfortable watching a movie because of the language barrier, Coco changed that. They laughed, cried, and felt truly at home when watching Coco.

Let’s also not forget to give a round of applause to the musical production of the movie as well, especially since music is a huge aspect of the film. The music in the film is so indescribable. The musical production of the film truly expressed the bond music can have with the audience. The music sets the tone for the storyline of the film. The emotion of the character could be felt through the music being played. One of my personal favorites out of the whole film is “Recuerdame”. Not only do I love this song for the message, vocals and instrumental background but also because it reminds me of one of the most important women in my life, my grandmother. When the song was being played, towards the end of the movie, it reminded me of a story my mother once told me. One night my maternal family back in Mexico had a party. In that party my grandmother had a little too much to drink and she was later that night surprised with a mariachi. That night the mariachi sang to my grandmother a song that will always be in her heart. A song that reminds her of her late father. I have personally never been told stories about him but the emotion my grandmother has when he is in the conversation means everything. In the video that was captured during this moment my grandmother was laughing-crying and she was saying “apa, apa, apa…” and just singing along the whole time. Something about this song reminds me of her and never have I had this type of connection with a song from a film.

The amazing production, hard work, beautiful music, colourful visuals, heartwarming storyline and successful outcome of Coco did not go unnoticed. In the 75th annual Golden Globes on January 7th, 2018, Coco took home two awards that night, one for Best Animated Feature and the other for Best Animated Motion Picture. If you have not yet seen Coco, I highly recommend it. Coco is a spectacular motion picture nobody would want to miss out on. Coco is one of those movies that will forever be recognized as a film that changed the way people look at latin culture, thanks to the help of Disney Pixar.