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 In "Coco," Disney-Pixar's colorful animated
adventure into the land of the dead, a story of family, memory
and legacy is hoping to not only celebrate Mexican culture but
to bridge the political gap between the United States and
Mexico.
"Coco," out in U.S. theaters on Wednesday, follows a boy named
Miguel who accidentally finds himself in the land of the dead
during the Mexican celebrations for Dia de los Muertos, or Day
of the Dead.
As Miguel, voiced by newcomer Anthony Gonzalez, is reunited with
his ancestors, he learns how the memories of the living help
keep the legacies of the dead alive.
Tensions between the United States and Mexico have been high
after U.S. President Donald Trump promised during his election
campaign to build a wall along the border of the two countries
to curb illegal immigration.
"There's a lot of divisive rhetoric that aims to make us (Latino
people) less than," said Benjamin Bratt, who voices Miguel's
musical idol and late great-great-grandfather Ernesto de la
Cruz.
"It's unintended but by demonstrating what really exists, (this
film) goes a long way to showing that we're all in fact in this
together and are more alike than we are different," Bratt added.
"Coco" traces Miguel's journey to get blessings from his
ancestors and his return to the land of the living, but he faces
obstacles when his dead family refuse to support his musical
ambitions.
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Miguel finds an unlikely guide through the Land of the Dead in
Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal), whose legacy is about to be forgotten
once his last living relative, his daughter Coco, dies.
The film is co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina, who said
they were careful to reflect Mexican culture and beliefs "in a story
free of cliche and stereotype," and drew on the experiences of their
Latino and Mexican colleagues.
"I'm Mexican-American myself so I had a vested interest in being
able to see a family on screen that was representative of what I
experienced growing up," said Molina.
Bratt said he never grew up seeing Latino people reflected on
screen.
"That my own children, who are brown-skinned and brown-eyed, can
happily see an image of themselves on a big screen that's being sent
out globally, it affirms something that for a long time has been
denied, which is that we're all the same ultimately. We're all human
beings and we all are equal," he said.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by James Dalgleish)
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