DVDizzy Forum

Nice to finally get some details on this film, however little.

Did they explain the title at all?

There is a lot of potential with the visuals for this one, so I hope they really go all-out with it. Definitely interested in how Pixar's first musical will turn out.

ce1ticmoon wrote:Nice to finally get some details on this film, however little.

Did they explain the title at all?

There is a lot of potential with the visuals for this one, so I hope they really go all-out with it. Definitely interested in how Pixar's first musical will turn out.

No, they didn't reveal who (or what) Coco is . . .

Lee Unkrich and Darla K. Anderson were there in person to talk about the film. Lee talked about family and asked what if you got a chance to talk with your ancestors and said something like Dia de los Muertos being like a big family reunion.

As for the diorama, a term I hadn't heard before but it was a film clip, but one they meant for test purposes but not necessarily containing final designs, here's what I remember: it starts in a graveyard that's all lit up by candles with families paying respects to their loved ones, then there is an old woman hunched over throwing flower petals through the graveyard as she walks through it. It then transitions to a village street where the townsfolk are throwing petals from their balconies after row after row of male and female skeletons are dancing in the street. At one point the torsos are jumping from one set of legs to another. That probably sounds gory but it was more like The Skeleton Dance silly symphony. Eventually the scene focuses on a skeleton mariachi band that's playing the song we've been hearing. The face falls off and it's Miguel who has been wearing a mask. One skeletons jaw falls off from astonishment. Miguel picks it up, hands it back to him. And the dead mariachi band shrugs and then resumes the song as the camera angle zooms out from the town and yo see fireworks and the footprint of the town is shaped like a skull. It was all festive/cute/charming and not horrific or overly macabre.

I'm really excited for this movie! Probably more excited than I am for any other movie that was discusses in the animation panel.

Thanks for all the first hand details of the panel, RyGuy! The way the you said the directors' described "Coco" reminds me a Mexican play I read in high school. You said the film wasn't particularly macabre, so how would you say the clip you saw compared to any other animated movie about the dead like The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride, or The Book of Life? Thanks and I hope you enjoy the rest of the con!

UmbrellaFish wrote:I'm assuming it's a Latin take on the Katharine Hepburn Chanel musical of the same name.

I first thought of Conan O'Brien's nickname.

It's nice to read some updates on this. I remember Lee Unkrich first mentioning wanting to make this shortly after Toy Story 3 was released. People are bringing up comparisons to The Book of Life, but I assume while the setting will be the same, the story is different enough that Pixar was willing to proceed. So it's not another Rio-Newt situation.

I thought Lasseter detested musicals.

But this concept sounds intriguing. And I wonder why turning this concept into a musical.

UmbrellaFish wrote:Thanks for all the first hand details of the panel, RyGuy! The way the you said the directors' described "Coco" reminds me a Mexican play I read in high school. You said the film wasn't particularly macabre, so how would you say the clip you saw compared to any other animated movie about the dead like The Nightmare Before Christmas, The Corpse Bride, or The Book of Life? Thanks and I hope you enjoy the rest of the con!

Sure! I only went yesterday. Too much standing/waiting for my taste but I am a wimp!

Granted it was just the one diorama but the color palette was so much more vibrant/cheery thanTNBC. As for The Book of Life, the color scheme was different, but reminded me of the scene where Manolo goes to the land of the remembered. and of course the Book of life has such a unique look anyway (puppets/dolls) which wasn't copied.

I first thought of Conan O'Brien's nickname.

lol so did I! also coco is Spanish for coconut? somewhere else they suggested it could be reference to el coqui(sp?) a latin culture cryptid...

the story sounds intriguing. I havent had the chance to see BOL yet but I hope Pixar takes this in a totally different direction...maybe a bit darker and not so bright cheery cartoony, though being Pixar I doubt it will get too macabre or depressing...

Miguel!
https://36.media.tumblr.com/595b629cbe8 ... 1_1280.jpg

I don't know much but I am excited from what little I have heard.

I do hope it has that corpse bride feeling. There is no reason macabre can't be fun and colourful.
I'm shocked it's a musical. I love musicals and I don't see why Pixar can't churn out a good musical. I'm skeptical as to if it will stay a musical but I'm hopeful.

maxxie03 wrote:Miguel!
https://36.media.tumblr.com/595b629cbe8 ... 1_1280.jpg

Aaaaw. He looks adorable! Even for a Pixar-character.

I wonder what made them decide to do a musical ? As someone said previously on here, there is nothing really separating the two studios now, they just kind of are as one .... ? Not that its a bad thing, but just can't see the divide any more.

I'm not going to go into tremendous detail, but I will say that this is really the one Pixar film I'm really interested in seeing over the next couple of years.

DisneyFan09 wrote:I thought Lasseter detested musicals.

But this concept sounds intriguing. And I wonder why turning this concept into a musical.

I assumed Lasseter never hated musicals per se, but simply didn't want to follow the precedent set by The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast when the studio he was working for was starting to make films for themselves; by not doing so, he could give a unique quality to the Pixar films. Even so, a lot of Pixar films have had songs in them, in particular Toy Story. I think the musical genre for Coco is apt enough due to the festival/folk setting alone; a lot of the characters technically have an excuse to break out into playing music, singing and dancing.

November 2017: Good luck Pixar.

Lee Unkrich announced yesterday that animation on the film has started:

https://twitter.com/leeunkrich/status/7 ... 0510772224

'Coco' Update: Lee Unkrich Introduces Team Members
http://www.pixarpost.com/2016/04/lee-un ... -team.html

unprincess wrote:

I first thought of Conan O'Brien's nickname.

lol so did I! also coco is Spanish for coconut? somewhere else they suggested it could be reference to el coqui(sp?) a latin culture cryptid...

You probably have already found out about that given that this post is from last summer, but apart from coconut, coco is a colloquial word for the human head or mind and also the Spanish equivalent of the bogeyman. I don’t know if in Mexico it has other meanings. I guess the title of the film refers to one of the last two meanings, probably the last one as one of the appearances of this monster is described as a ghost with a pumpkin as a head and that would fit with the Día de los muertos holiday theme.

Benjamin Bratt to Voice a Character in Pixar's, 'Coco'
http://www.pixarpost.com/2016/07/benjam ... -coco.html

Pixar Employee 'Coco' Crew Shirt and Updated Logo for The Film?
http://www.pixarpost.com/2016/08/coco-crew-shirt.html

Lee Unkrich's Impromtu Twitter Q&A Session Showcases His Excitement For 'Coco'
http://www.pixarpost.com/2016/10/lee-un ... er-qa.html

New Coco logo revealed
http://animatedviews.com/2016/new-coco-logo-revealed/