Disney Pixar’s Coco (2017): An Acclamation to the Culture of Mexico (2024)

Reviewed by Kat Bacani ||

Disney Pixar’s 2017 animated film, Coco, follows the journey of aspiring musician Miguel, who finds himself plunged into the Land of the Dead in search for his late great-great-grandfather to return him back to the world of the living. Beyond its hilarious adventure, lively jams, and gorgeous visuals, this film presents an invigorating story about cultural representation and familial love that transcends time. The film Coco upholds itself as one of the most impactful and stirring Pixar films of today, exploring meaningful themes of identity with visuals and sound while placing value in the rich culture of Mexico.

The visual aspect of Coco is a critical part of constructing its themes on cultural representation and self-identity. Strategic color scheme is a valuable tool in cinematic storytelling and can express details about a character and the tone of the scene. Miguel, for example, sports a muted red jacket with an off-white tank top underneath. Although it is a simple and small detail, Miguel’s red jacket can be interpreted as an embodiment of “passion” and even suggests “challenge.” The muted color scheme allows for Miguel’s character to blend with the vivid setting and expresses a balance of challenging familial traditions without completely rejecting cultural customs. The protagonist reflects a fervorous spirit with some room for learning and embracing his heritage, relying little in his actions or dialogue to express that.

Disney has strived to challenge the limits of cinematography in its most recent years use of Computer-Generated Imagery (CGI) animation, releasing visually stunning pieces like Moana (2016) and Incredibles 2 (2018). Coco is not an exception to Disney’s endeavors and not only presents vibrant, breathtaking art in its film but also a story that is heavily reliant on the thematic color scheme and visual design. Coco’s main color scheme consists of deep orange, blue, and purple hues that motivate deep tones of nostalgia and warmth. The color scheme takes direct inspiration from the traditional colors seen in papel picado, a Mexican decorative folk-art cut into elaborate banners and aims to represent the art of Mexican culture. The papel picado is wittily incorporated and animated into the contextualization scene in the first minutes of the film, its vibrant colors presented against a thematically wistful lavender sky. Amongst countless examples beyond the first scene, Coco takes every opportunity to not only visually blend Mexican references into its storytelling but bring striking energy that emphasizes its theme of cultural representation.

Coco establishes its theme of identity with a unifying musical motif and soundtrack, expressing diverse emotions and creating a driving force to the theme of cultural representation. Disney is heavily shaped by its timeless soundtracks and contribution to musical history, incorporating Broadway-esque elements to their stories and becoming the universal definition of “musical films.” Coco pursues a different musical approach to the other Disney films that precede it. The textured sound of mariachi is a grounding style in the soundtrack of this film, thematically aligning with representing Mexican culture and identity. This film does not incorporate the cliché Disney format of “breaking into song,” but rather artfully weaves its music into the emotional expression of the scenes. Using various arrangements of “Recuerdame,” a powerful musical motif, to convey different scene tones is a great example of Coco’s sound style. The elements of mariachi are even promptly introduced in the Disney theme in the first seconds of the film. This artistic decision not only adds a moving layer of emotion to the visuals but subverts the viewer’s expectation of what a “musical film” can look like. Musical sequences are more than a cheesy way of moving the plot forward or an excuse to commercialize its film. It is clear that the creators of Coco aimed to tell a story and nothing more than that.

The creators of Coco have released two versions of their film and soundtrack, one in English and one in Spanish. There is significance in the incorporation of Spanish music and not exclusively English songs “inspired by Spanish songs.” It brings a firm acknowledgement to the culture the film is honoring. The songs composed for Coco, both the Spanish and English versions, heavily echo the traditional sounds of mariachi, incorporating instruments like the guitar, trumpet, and violin. Beyond the instruments that build traditional mariachi, the creators even included an integral musical detail that defines Mexican music and culture: the grito. This Mexican interjection resembles a spirited laugh followed by a trill that trails off and can be found in many traditional Mexican songs. Coco does not formally explain this term to the audience but still places significant value in its inclusion in its song, as seen in the “Un Poco Loco” sequence, persistent with its theme in exposing Mexican culture down to the smallest details. Coco fiercely seizes its opportunity to extend Mexican culture in its music, and with such a powerful and universal platform to tell a story, Coco becomes an inexpressibly meaningful piece for its audience and the culture it aims to represent.

Coco delivers a compelling story through its most significant value on Mexican heritage and emphasis on the tradition of Día De Los Muertos. This film strives to finely interlace cultural references into its story, using real Mexican figures and locations as inspiration for character design and setting. Ernesto de La Cruz’s character was based on the famous Mexican singer, Jorge Negrete, whose fame of singing and acting was cut short when he suddenly died due to health complications. Ernesto’s story and physical appearance closely reflects Negrete’s, and although he is a loose interpretation of a famous Mexican singer, Ernesto serves as a subtle nod to Mexican history. Similarly, the Land of the Dead parallels the beautiful Mexican town of Guanajuato, a famously known hilly city with vibrantly colored houses. This little town in central Mexico brings life to The Land of the Dead of Coco, inspiring the stylistic architecture and the cobblestone streets featured in the film. In the same sense in the creation of Ernesto de la Cruz, the creators of Coco aspired to bring some authentic truth into the world of Coco and ultimately pay homage to the land that they are representing.

Coco integrates cultural details into the film in both subtle and direct ways. The film firmly establishes the rhythm of exposure from the very first scene, casually mentioning piñatas, fireworks, and lucha libre wrestlers. This brief backstory scene conveys so many defining aspects of Mexican culture, and the viewers at this point had not even met the protagonist yet! Another example of direct culture exposure lies in a passing scene of Miguel’s family members preparing for Día De Los Muertos, arranging marigold petals in the courtyard. Miguel’s mother explains to the two children the meaning behind creating a clear path of petals and how those petals guide their ancestors home. Although it was a brief moment, barely considered a sequence, this part established the symbolic value to the marigolds heavily featured in the film and informs the viewers that there is purpose in these flowers beyond providing Coco visually compelling scenes.

The world of Coco unveils a perspective of Mexican culture that is often excluded in mainstream media and film, one that brings an inspired light to Mexico’s rich aromas, physical textures, flavors, and unique sense of community. This film aims to deconstruct the restrictive and often negative image of Latino representation and develops a refreshing identity of Mexican culture, a multifaceted character of vivid color and pride. Coco faced the potential of disconnecting with audiences unfamiliar with Mexican traditions, but this gap was taken as an opportunity to enlighten and share the beauty of Mexican culture. The themes of familial love, challenge to the status-quo, and the value in music was enough to transcend cultural gaps and were cleverly used as a vehicle for exposing Mexican culture. Mexican traditions, specifically Día De Los Muertos, are integral parts of this film and irreplaceable with any other culture or setting for the plot of Coco. This choice of intertwining Mexican customs into the pillars of the plot establishes the value in the representation of Mexican culture. The film creators sought out to send an indirect love letter to its Mexican audience and successfully brought meaning to their way of life.

Disney Pixar’s Coco is a film I’ve fallen in love with over and over again. Beyond the grander accomplishments Coco has fulfilled, it is simply a fun story to uncover. Animated skeletons. Alebrijes. Discreet and heavily hidden adult jokes. Guitars and trumpets. A gorgeous marigold petal bridge. This review only touches the surface of how wonderful this film truly is. And strangely enough, it does not receive the recognition it deserves despite its incredible soundtrack and soul-stirring scenes. I cannot express my recommendation enough for all who have not watched Coco yet. My overall rating of Coco would be 10/10!

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