COCO Trailer
The good old days of Pixar leading the animation pack may be behind us, but new content from the beloved studio is still something to get excited about.
Coco is the first non-sequel from Pixar since 2015’s The Good Dinosaur, and it’s currently the only one on their official slate. While returning to some of their best films are welcome (and continuing the merchandise behemoth Cars is understandable), it’s left the Day of the Dead-inspired Coco under the microscope, for better or worse.
The fear of cultural appropriation has always lingered around the Mexico-set film, and the 2013 trademark controversy, wherein Disney tried to trademark the phrase ‘Día de los Muertos’, inflamed fears that the American company would use Mexico’s culture inappropriately. The trademark request was pulled and a cultural consultant group was formed, hoping to avoid any more pitfalls.
The project has since been on a more self-aware track, assembling an all-Latino voice cast and generally re-upping efforts to get the studio’s first Latino protagonist right. After all, the whole project assumes that audiences everywhere will connect with the holiday’s festive spirit of remembrance, and with so much of the studio’s reputation riding on it, that’s not only a well-intentioned assumption, but an integral one.
Coco is directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina. It stars Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, and Benjamin Bratt. It will be released in the U.S. on November 2nd, 2017 and in the U.K. on January 19th, 2018. For international release dates, click here.
Are you ready for another Pixar original? Let us know in the comments!
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.
