9 Facts About the Movie Coco That Makes It One of the Best Animated Films of All Time
Pixar leaves no stone unturned when it comes to delivering the best-animated movies every time. With Coco too, the team made sure that they spared no detail to showcase the Mexican culture in a very heartwarming way. Apart from learning about the culture and character development, they made sure of every teeny-tiny animated detail that brings the movie to life. We’ve listed the best bits below on what makes Coco one of the best Pixar movies of all time.
1. It took 6 years to get the music figured out.
Coco bears top-notch animation with a Latino voice cast along with the magic that lies in Mexican music to make the movie come to life. The protagonist wishes to become a musician and he chases his aspirations only to pave his way through his family’s history. And in order to deliver something spectacular, Pixar tried its best to blend everything with Mexico’s exceptional traditional rhythms. They took 6 years to figure out the music that would bring out the best of Mexican traditions and themes, and composed original songs.
2. Dante belongs to one of the most ancient breeds of dogs that are over 3,500 years old!
The breed is called Xoloitzcuintle or Xolo, which is also the Mexico’s national dog. These dogs lose their teeth quite often which makes their tongues hang out from their mouths, and this is where the inspiration for the character Dante came from.
3. The movie includes many Mexican musical genres.
The music in the movie includes a lot of mariachis and son jarocho tunes. And the soundtrack itself bears many genres like ranchera, huapango, banda, and modern Mexican electronic music.
4. The character of Ernesto de la Cruz was inspired by many Mexican musical idols.
The voice of Ernesto de la Cruz was dubbed by Benjamin Bratt. The role was so flawlessly played that it made everyone wonder if Ernesto was a real-life singer back then. Turns out he wasn’t and Benjamin Bratt was very influenced by the work of Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete, who are renowned Mexican musicians. Apart from Infante and Negrete, Vicente Fernandez and Javier Solís were also an inspiration for Ernesto’s role.
5. The Pixar team learned the art of alebrijes, a form of Mexican art, to bring the movie to life.
Alebrijes are brightly-colored, wooden figures of fantastical creatures. They’re a renowned form of Mexican folk art. To make the movie Coco look livelier, Pixar pros made the most of this beautiful art by showcasing a character called Pepita, who is a part jaguar, part eagle. She also has a lizard’s tail and ram horns.
Pepita wasn’t an alebrije herself but she is a magical creature based on one. She was also a reminder of this dreamy art because her body is covered with exceptionally vivid designs. Apart from Pepita, there were also other magical creatures in the movie that represented this Mexican art.
6. Originally, Miguel was only supposed to play guitar in the movie.
He wasn’t supposed to sing in the first place. Later, the director, Lee Unkrich found that Anthony Gonzalez can actually sing pretty well too. Hence, it was eventually decided that Anthony could showcase both of his talents in the movie.
7. The movie paid homage to a lot of Mexican celebrities.
There are a lot of cameo appearances of many famous historical Mexican celebrities in the movie like Cantinflas, El Santo, Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, Frida Kahlo, María Félix, and many more. The director claims that many of them were hidden in the film too.
8. The animators took special care of Miguel’s dimples.
When Miguel smiles, you may see a dimple near the left corner of his mouth and not on the right. The actor who voices Miguel, Anthony Gonzalez, has a similar feature.
9. There’s a subtle detail about Hector’s feet.
In the entire movie, Hector is barefoot. However, when he reunites with his family and is accepted by everyone, he gains access to the family legacy: shoes.
What were your favorite bits from this amazing movie? Share them with us in the comments below.