Disney And Pixar’s ‘Coco’ Updates: ‘Day Of The Dead’ Musical Movie Has An All-Latino Cast Plus More Details Revealed


Disney and Pixar got some heat when they announced the then-untitled animated film Coco a few years back. It was clear from the very start that Coco will surely focus on the “Day of the Dead” Mexican holiday but at that time, there were no clear details about Coco yet. So in 2013, Disney and Pixar decided to trademark the holiday “Dia de Los Muertos.”

This action irked a lot of Latinos which resulted in a massive outcry against Disney and Pixar. Huffington Post reported that it resulted in a barrage of social media protests, an online petition, and even Chicano cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz made an illustration about the incident. Luckily, it was withdrawn before causing further damage. A statement issued to the news publication reads as follows.

“As we have previously announced, Disney-Pixar is developing an animated feature inspired by the Mexican holiday Día de Los Muertos. Disney’s trademark filing was intended to protect any potential title for our film and related activities. It has since been determined that the title of the film will change and therefore we are withdrawing our trademark filing.”

Fast forward to 2016, Disney and Pixar finally has a title for the movie. They named the movie Coco. The movie is about a 12-year-old boy named Miguel Rivera who is the lead character in Coco. He breaks all the rules of his Mexican family who has banned music for several generations. The strictly imposed ban was due to his great great grandfather abandoning his family to pursue a career in music. The title Coco was from Miguel’s great grandmother.

However, Miguel is so super passionate about music that he decides to go against his family’s wishes and pursue music. Entertainment Weekly showed the first glimpse of Coco where Miguel just took a guitar from his dead idol’s grave. He then decided to play the guitar in front of his family in the hopes of finally lifting the music ban.

The report further stated that Miguel, unfortunately, did the grave robbery during the “Day of the Dead” which prompted him to be sent to the Land of the Dead. Here, he will see his relatives who had long been dead and had imposed the music ban to their family. What will his dead anti-music relatives do when they find out how he got to the Land of the Dead? Eager viewers will have to find out as soon as Coco is released.

Coco will be directed by Lee Unkrich, who also made Toy Story 3. He knew that a big weight is on his shoulder to make the movie work. He is eager to make the movie as authentic as possible and that he is responsible for doing it right.

Director Lee Unkrich managed to put together an all-Latino cast to do voices for Coco. Anthony Gonzales, who is a new comer in the industry of voice acting, will give life to the main character, Miguel. The musician that Miguel idolizes is Ernesto de la Cruz will be voiced by Benjamin Bratt. Gael Garcia will voice Hector, who is a skeleton that will help Miguel during his time in the Land of the Dead. Renee Victor will voice the character of Miguel’s Abuela, who strictly imposes the music ban on the family.

Mexico’s “Dia de Los Muertos” celebrates the life of their deceased loved ones. It is celebrated every first day of November and fuses both indigenous and Spanish culture. What was once a celebration held in Mexico and Central America, the “Day of the Dead” is now celebrated in different cities in the United States. The movie Coco which focuses on this celebration is slated to be released on November 22, 2017.

[Featured Image by Jesse Grant/Getty Images]

Share this article: Disney And Pixar’s ‘Coco’ Updates: ‘Day Of The Dead’ Musical Movie Has An All-Latino Cast Plus More Details Revealed
More from Inquisitr