Coco

[D82]

Some news about the music:

Updated 'Coco' Teaser Poster, Logo & Music Updates
http://www.pixarpost.com/2016/11/coco-t ... oster.html

[unprincess]

very cool that they are being as authentic as they can with the music. Wish they would reveal a bit more about plot or characters though, this film still really feels like a mystery so far.

[Sotiris]

So another kid who has a close relationship with his grandma and she dies? Isn't it a little too soon to reuse this trope after Moana?


Source: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/12/06/pi ... -cast-plot

[disneyprincess11]

Extremely too soon. They should rewrite it like the Marco/Angelina/Jack story in Gigantic, so that wouldn't clash with Frozen.

[thedisneyspirit]

^Which makes me wonder if Gigantic will get a rewrite again. What they recently had was kinda unique in the Revival (a little giant girl makes friends with a normal guy), but I wouldn't be surprised if due to the success of Moana and Zootopia that's changed to something more conventional for Disney now (quirky girl meets jerk, don't get along initially, big roadtrip).

Otoh, I can see people complaining about Coco being a "ripoff" of the Book of Life...

[unprincess]

I just hope the movie is good and we dont end up with another Good Dinosaur situation. I dont know how much audiences would be interested in this theme to make it a big hit. Im worried Pixar will be disappointed with its performance and it will just be sequels we get from then on.

[Warm Regards]

Source: http://www.ew.com/article/2016/12/06/pi ... -cast-plot

Miguel reminds me of a CG Marco.

[D82]

Vanity Fair gives more details about the story:

The footage, raw though it may be, spun a compelling story about Miguel, a sweet kid who loves music despite the fact that his abuelita (Victor) banned music long ago, thanks to an ancient drama involving Miguel’s great-great-grandfather—a dashing musician—who walked out on the family. That musician, Miguel discovers at the start of the film, is his town’s most famous son: deceased film star and music supernova Ernesto de la Cruz (Bratt). On the eve of Día de Muertos, Miguel breaks into de la Cruz’s mausoleum in order to borrow the famous skull guitar that hangs there so that he can enter a talent competition and convince his family to embrace music again. So, yes, this is almost a musical (though Pixar is reluctant to call it one), with snatches of original and traditional music sung by Bratt, Gonzalez, Bernal, and more.

All this is prologue to the real adventure: once Miguel touches the guitar, he becomes something of a living ghost. His family can no longer see him, but Miguel can now see all of his dead ancestors—who look like fantastically decorative skeletons—crossing over a bright bridge made of marigold flower petals from the Land of the Dead. Looking for help and answers, Miguel travels to the Land of the Dead—a dazzlingly vibrant, stacked metropolis inspired by the Mexican city of Guanajuato—himself and sets off an adventure with trickster skeletal companion Hector (Bernal) to find the rest of his family, de la Cruz, and the answer to how he can fix this curse.

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/201 ... tos-miguel


In the same article it's also revealed that the film's writer Adrian Molina has been promoted to co-director, and that Pixar formed a group of Mexican consultants similar to the oceanic trust from Moana. We also may know why the film is called Coco, in the caption of the concept art it says the following: "Aspiring musician Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) feels a deep connection to his great grandmother, Mama Coco." So his relation with her must be quite important to the story. And it seems she's his great grandmother, not his grandmother.

So another kid who has a close relationship with his grandma and she dies? Isn't it a little too soon to reuse this trope after Moana?

Apart from that, other similarities with Moana are that the protagonist is also banned from what he likes most (music, in this case) and that he will have a trickster as a companion on his journey. The ancestors theme is also present in both movies. Despite all these parallels, I think they'll be different enough and there haven't been a lot of grandmothers in Disney or Pixar films before so I don't mind another one, even though it is so soon after Moana.

[Sotiris]

What they recently had was kinda unique in the Revival (a little giant girl makes friends with a normal guy), but I wouldn't be surprised if due to the success of Moana and Zootopia that's changed to something more conventional for Disney now (quirky girl meets jerk, don't get along initially, big roadtrip).

It's not really unique. It's another trope imported from Pixar where an older guy befriends a child serving as a surrogate father/big brother to them. Sully and Boo, Carl and Russell, then Ralph and Vanellope, and now Jack and Inma. Make no mistake, Gigantic is still going to be a buddy, road trip flick. They just don't know how to make movies that don't follow that formula anymore.

Apart from that, other similarities with Moana are that the protagonist is also banned from what he likes most (music, in this case) and that he will have a trickster as a companion on his journey. The ancestors theme is also present in both movies.

That's a lot of similarities. The whole banning music aspect reminds me of Ariel's Beginning.

[D82]

The whole banning music aspect reminds me of Ariel's Beginning.

Yes, it's true. I didn't remember that. Though the reason behind the banning was different there. In The Sound of Music music was also forbidden for similar reasons to Ariel's Beginning.

[DisneyEra]

https://twitter.com/DisneyStudiosLA/sta ... wsrc%5Etfw

[Sotiris]

Stop stigmatizing musicals, Pixar! I can't wait for a whole year of marketing with Pixar being all "It's NOT a musical. We swear!" nonsense.

EW took a recent trip to Pixar and can now reveal a few additional details about the music-packed-but-not-quite-“musical” film.

Source: http://ew.com/article/2016/12/06/pixar-coco-cast-plot/

So, yes, this is almost a musical (though Pixar is reluctant to call it one), with snatches of original and traditional music sung by Bratt, Gonzalez, Bernal, and more.

Source: http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/201 ... tos-miguel

Though it’s not strictly speaking a musical, there are a lot of songs in “Coco,” as virtually all of the characters are performers. The soundtrack will be a mix of original music and Mexican standards.

Source: http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la ... story.html

Still, don’t call Coco Pixar’s first musical. Director Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3) says the film isn’t “a break-out-into-song musical,” but rather, one “set against the backdrop of musical performance.”

Source: http://ew.com/movies/2016/12/25/coco-first-look-pixar/

[thedisneyspirit]

Pixar thinks of themselves being so high and mighty and looks down at everything Disney has done as being "vulgar", like they're ashamed of the things that were successful in the company...

[disneyprincess11]

So, it has characters singing original songs out of nowhere, but it's not a musical. Kay then, Pixar

[jazzflower92]

I think they don't want to step into Disney's realm, since they are the masters at what they do. Pixar's Coco does seem very 90's Disney like in it's execution.

[DisneyFan09]

So another kid who has a close relationship with his grandma and she dies? Isn't it a little too soon to reuse this trope after Moana?

Obviously not At least Moana wasn't centered around the actual grief.

Stop stigmatizing musicals, Pixar! I can't wait for a whole year of marketing with Pixar being all "It's NOT a musical. We swear!" nonsense.

Oh my gosh! But since it's Pixar, it's not surprising at all! Musicals aren't their foray, so of course they're going to make up all excuses to cover up for it.

[ce1ticmoon]

To me, it just seems like they aren't calling it a musical because it really isn't one in a traditional and/or Broadway-esque sense. Music is an important aspect of the film, to be sure, since the whole plot revolves around music, but it doesn't seem like the characters will necessarily be breaking into song to propel the story forward or convey a specific plot point. I haven't seen Sing, but it seems the musical element will be more similar to that, where the music is based on in-story performances and such, and the characters are well aware that they are singing and performing.

But whether you consider that sort of film or production a musical or not, I think it really just comes down to semantics here. It seems like Pixar is just making sure that people know what to expect, telling us that what we're getting with this film is not exactly what we'd expect when we hear the word "musical." It really doesn't seem to me like they are looking down on traditional musicals or necessarily trying to distance themselves from that sort of thing. At least, not from what has been said about the project so far...

Personally, I was hoping for a traditional musical, so I'm a little disappointed. But I'm still pretty optimistic about it.

[Disney's Divinity]

Stop stigmatizing musicals, Pixar! I can't wait for a whole year of marketing with Pixar being all "It's NOT a musical. We swear!" nonsense.

They did the same thing with Tangled and initially with Frozen, too. Clearly a diversionary tactic because Pixar has never done a musical and they don't want icky girl cooties that they seem to think musicals imply to be a reason the film fails, apparently.

[D82]

Updated 'Coco' Details, Vocal Cast & Soundtrack Notes
http://www.pixarpost.com/2017/01/coco-v ... pdate.html

[Sotiris]

Teaser poster.