Its Mexican culture, not "latino" culture. Mexico´s celebration of the death is Aztec, Mexican mariachis, Mexican food, Mexican Piñatas. Why Pixar wants to include "latinos" in something that only belongs in Mexico, a culture of its own. No, its not "latino" culture. Dia de los Muertos, the way Mexicans celebrate, and mariachis only belong to Mexico.
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"How Disney Made Sure they Wouldn't Be Accused of Racism"
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To say Coco, as Mexico´s mariachy and the way Mexican celebrate day of the death is not only Mexican but "latino" is as equally wrong as to say the Egypt pyramids belong to all "arabic countries".
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"Miguel is the first minority lead in a Pixar movie." Important to note that Russell from "Up" was Asian-American....
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We live in Mexico in the winter and I saw this last week in the Spanish lanugage version. It is an incredible film and all my Mexican friends have loved it. My Spanish teacher has seen it twice already and wants to go again. I would also pay to see it again (movies are cheaper down here). For people who speak Spanish and English, try and see both versions. It is funny, tender, sometimes a little sad, and just plain gorgeous. The music is lovely. Best movie I have seen this year.
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I'm really delighted that the makers of Coco, like those of Moana, have taken the time and trouble to research the cultures they portray, and that Mr. Unkrich is actually aware that he (like us all) needs "to safeguard against his ineluctable biases and blind spots."
However, he need not have bothered to fear that "Hollywood hall of shame." Does one exist? Can we name any filmmaker who was ostracized for cultural appropriation?
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No matter how Pixar spins it, the movie's development was driven by political correctness, which is a just another word for censorship. This is not how art should be created.
With that said, Pixar's intentions were obviously honorable, and I'm sure the film will clean up at the box-office.
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I guess such severe cynicism isn't out of place in 2017, but you really ought to reserve your judgment for after watching the movie. Also, striving for cultural accuracy is not political correctness, it's aiming over a pretty low bar.
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Disney tried to copyright "Día de los Muertos"! It was dropped due to uproar. Keep an eye out for a wolf in a sugar skull. ¡Muy diabólico!
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In fact I couldn't think of a less culturally conscious thing to do. Nobody at Disney sensed the ensuing uproar?
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Based on this article, my family and I will take a pass. That should help with the paranoia regarding "cultural appropriation." Guess I should be upset when someone other then a fat, white, nordic guy plays Santa Claus this season. What's good for the goose....
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“The Latino community is a very vocal, strongly opinionated community,”
Some white guys can't even open their mouths without a stereotype falling out.
As for cultural appropriation, what could possibly go wrong when an American financial entertainment giant tramples around on a complex, rich historical tradition?
Well, when you begin with the fact that "lawyers for Disney applied to trademark the phrase 'Día de los Muertos'" there really is no end to what might unravel from there.
May the spirit of the spanish-speaking cast, and the effort to at least try to look like you consulted folks more familiar with the tradition you're harnessing your massive corporation to...may all that end up moving the spirit of inclusiveness a tiny bit forward.
The real skeletons aren't holding their breath.
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Can't wait to see it.
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Did they consider hiring a director with a connection to Mexico?
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Latino - Refers to those whose mother tongue is linked and comes from Latin. That includes; Spanish speakers plus; French, Italians and Portuguese.
No wonder there is so much racial tension in this country. If just a more accurate race/ethnicity cannot be put on place...
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I'm not being negative towards Pixar, I'm way excited for this movie as I am for all of them! I love how conscientious they always are about making sure they've thoroughly done their homework. But, to the writer of this article, if Unkrich didn't mention Trump by name, then why is there the need to point that out? You don't know what he was thinking when he said that!
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It's funny that, in a way, Disney has come full circle; the moves they're making now are the same ones they made when creating Mulan, including hiring a voice cast from the target background and involving people with the target cultural heritage in the creative process. I'm not sure what happened to make them forget the secret to storytelling success, but it's good to see them getting it right again.
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I was lucky enough to see an advanced screening of "Coco" last night at Pixar. It is difficult for me to imagine how anyone can get political about a beautiful film about keeping the memory alive of those who you have lost and rebuilding family connections. Not only that, the music is breathtaking, such a nice change from other animated films with their endless pop culture recycling.
Regarding "Book of Life", another animated film about Dia de los Muertos, "Coco" is vastly different and developed from a different story. Besides, are you really saying there can only be one Dia de lost Muertos movie out there? But don't take my word for it - see them both. You will be better for it. The tradition is so beautiful. The movie could not come at a better time.
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I hope that "Coco" has the same careful attention to cultural details and magical-realism whimsy as Robert Redford's "Milagro Beanfield War."
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Can't wait to see this movie. The Pixar Filmmakers also spend a lot of time on story.
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I was in I was in a Puerto Vallarta when Coco came out in Mexico. The sales person at the shop loved it and thought it portrayed the holiday and Mexico nicely. He lived the movie and told us not to miss it.
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I think that this could be the beginning of Hollywood studios learning that in order to portrait a different culture they need to do their research and spend the time, effort and energy into researching cultural roots, and and navigating the complexities of correctness and fairness for proper depiction. I think a lot of studios were getting too comfortable in appropriating from other cultures/ethnicity, and hence we see the results of that in films from the 80's, 90's and the early 2000's - still a lot more work to do, but glad there's some work in progress.
Well done, Pixar!
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I lived most of my life within 100 miles of the Mexican border. I enjoyed the Latino and Native American vibes that surrounded me. A few years ago I moved to a southeast coastal state. It's been a great adventure, but I have missed some things for sure. I'm definitely looking forward to this film, even more so since reading "we code-switch from English to Spanish seamlessly". I'm giddy at the thought of hearing my native tongue: Spanglish!!
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"the first to feature a minority character in the lead role" is a bit of a misleading statement. Russell, the young lad in Up!, would fall into this category as far as humans are concerned.
Of course, Pixar has also given us a fish, a robot, some plastic toys, a few cars, a pair of monsters, clever rats, bugs and some brain emotions as leads as well.
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"Moana" is not a Pixar film - it's Walt Disney Animation Studios.
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This would have been a nice story if Disney hadn't attempted to trademark the name of the holiday(!!!) I'm glad that the artists decide to practice cultural sensitivity. It's time for their marketing and legal departments to do the same.
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The reason why they couldn't trademark it is because a Mexican filmmaker owns the rights already. Also, trademarks are limited to a specific use (e.g., movies) so it would be perfectly fine for them to trademark it to name their movie. Just as the Mexican company did.
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Isn't this pretty much exactly like an earlier film from 2014 -- "The Book of Life" -- also an animated film about the Day of the Dead? Also with hispanic characters and by a lesser animation studio, but my grandkids enjoyed it.
Pixar has done some great films, but frankly this sounds like a tedious exercise in "scared rabbit" political correctness. It's hard to make something really funny and interesting and beautiful, when you are terrified of offending anybody.
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Because one other movie was made that focused on the Day of the Dead, you think it's been done and can no longer be part of a film, even if the stories behind them are completely different? Because the company sought to make details of a culture accurate, you are automatically assuming that the film will be tedious? The reviews coming in are glowing! Perhaps you should give the movie a try before dismissing it in advance.
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The Book of Life may have come out first, but production on these films are measured in years. If you watch that first film and Coco you can tell which put more time into the production. No question. It is a common occurrence that when Pixar goes into production, other studios learn what their films are and try to "beat them" to market. It happened with Pixar's A Bug's Life and Dreamworks Ants. Looks like that happened here with the film you mentioned.
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It didn't sound like the creators were terrified of offending. The concern and sensitivity they expressed was a gift they would have offered to any culture they respected and honored.
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Hopefully this sets a precedent on how to faithfully research and make a film set in a different cultural world. However, I'm afraid that a live action version would still have at least a few white actors playing Mexican characters. It would also only reach a small portion of the audience of an animated version.
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