“The original idea was to have the characters speak only in English with the understanding that they were really speaking in Spanish,” said Octavio Solis, a Mexican-American playwright who was a consultant on the film. “But for us, language is binary, and we code-switch from English to Spanish seamlessly.”
In interviews, Gael García Bernal has mentioned that they did the English recordings first, and then based the animations off of the English voice. After the animation, the Spanish-speaking cast dubbed over the English version with the Spanish recordings.
Disney put notable effort into making the film as authentic as possible. Co-Director and Co-Writer, Adrian Molina, said the following in a LA Times Interview, “It was very important to the team that it be a true representation of a Mexican family.
The concept for Coco is inspired by the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Pixar began developing the animation in 2016. Unkrich, Molina, and some of the film's crew visited Mexico for research. Composer Michael Giacchino, who had worked on prior Pixar animated features, composed the score.
Since the story of Coco is based around the Mexican holiday Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead), you're probably wondering Why isn't Coco in Spanish on Disney Plus? Actually, there's a separate Spanish version of Coco on Disney Plus!
Anthony Gonzalez & Sean Oliu Cover Coco's "Un Poco Loco" | Oh My Disney
Why are there two versions of Coco?
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.
Etymology. The word cocoa comes from the Spanish word cacao, which is derived from the Nahuatl word cacauatl. The Nahuatl word, in turn, ultimately derives from the reconstructed Proto-Mixe–Zoquean word kakawa.
The cocoa bean was first domesticated at least 5,300 years ago in what is present-day southeast Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe Province) by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture, before being introduced in Mesoamerica. Originally prepared as a drink, chocolate was served as a bitter liquid, mixed with spices or corn puree.
Mexicans usually appear in American cinema either as killers, bandits, migrants, or the help. Coco does something else entirely, a movie set in rural Mexico, rooted in popular Mexican culture in which not one single mention of crime or migration (other than the journey to the afterlife).
Do you feel like the movie Coco is an accurate portrayal of Mexican culture? It is partially accurate. Día de Muertos is celebrated more or less that way in the central regions of México, but not in all the country. Most of the iconography in the picture was well researched by the Pixar team, but not all.
Coco focuses on Miguel, a young boy living in a fictional Mexican village. Both of his parents are alive, and he and his siblings live in a multigenerational family context.
Santa Cecilia is the main setting in the 2017 Disney/Pixar animated feature film Coco. It is a small and lively Mexican town that cherishes music, and is located parallel to the fabled Land of the Dead.
Encanto follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch whose children and grandchildren—except for Mirabel Madrigal—receive magical gifts from a miracle, which they use to help the people in their rural community, called the Encanto.
“The original idea was to have the characters speak only in English with the understanding that they were really speaking in Spanish,” said Octavio Solis, a Mexican-American playwright who was a consultant on the film. “But for us, language is binary, and we code-switch from English to Spanish seamlessly.”
The title refers to Miguel's great-grandmother Mamá Coco, whose father is key to the anti-music mystery. This tale unfolds in an unspecified Mexican town on the eve of El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) as the entire community is preparing to honor their departed loved ones.
Legend. In Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, parents sometimes invoke the Coco or Cuca as a way of discouraging their children from misbehaving; they sing lullabies or tell rhymes warning their children that if they don't obey their parents, el Coco will come and get them and then eat them.
From its origins in the Amazon basin of South America cacao traveled to Southern Mexico (which is technically North America) where it was used first by the pre-Olmec peoples, then the Olmecs, the Mayans and the Aztecs.
It all started in Latin America. Chocolate's 4,000-year history began in ancient Mesoamerica, present day Mexico. It's here that the first cacao plants were found. The Olmec, one of the earliest civilizations in Latin America, were the first to turn the cacao plant into chocolate.
Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade perform a pop version of the song that is featured in the film's end credits. Carlos Rivera recorded a cover version of the song, titled "Recuérdame" for the film's Spanish-language soundtrack album. It won Best Original Song at the 90th Academy Awards in 2018.
Pixar's "Coco" has been a catalyst in the appreciation and desire to watch movies in their original language. Its authentic and respectful portrayal of Mexican culture has generated growing interest among audiences to enjoy it in Spanish, providing a more authentic and emotional experience.
