“Coco” Respect for the overflowing Mexican culture!

*Information at the time of article publication in March 2018.

"Coco" synopsis

The main character is Miguel, a young guitar genius who dreams of becoming a musician. However, due to strict family rules, he is forbidden from playing the guitar or even listening to music... One day, looking at an old family photo, Miguel deduces that his great-great-grandpa is the legendary musician Dela Cruz. The moment I sneaked into his grave and picked up a beautiful guitar, I wandered into the "land of the dead" where my ancestors lived!

It is a dream-like, beautiful world, like a theme park, where skeletons live happily. However, if Miguel does not return to his home world by sunrise, his body will disappear and he will be unable to see his family forever. The only person he can rely on is Hector, a cheerful but lonely skeleton who wants to meet his family. However, a fate awaits him: ``If he is forgotten by his living family, he will disappear from the land of the dead.'' Miguel's favorite song, "Coco," is the only key that connects the two in a desperate situation and their families. This song, which has a mysterious power, transcends time and is now causing miracles!

Index

• Mexican music that colors movies
• Gael García Bernal's journey overlaps with Hector's border crossing
• Why is the original title named after the most silent and plain character?

Mexican music that colors movies

Disney/Pixar animation ``Coco.'' Miguel is a young boy who grew up in a house where music was forbidden, as his great-great-grandfather (his great-great-grandfather) dreamed of becoming a success in music, left home and never returned. This is an adventure drama in which a man who dreams of becoming a musician wanders through the land of the dead on Mexico's Day of the Dead in search of an encounter with his great-great-grandfather. What saves young Miguel from his crisis are his beautiful guitar tones and boy soprano singing voice.

The person in charge of this voice is Anthony Gonzalez, who has been singing with a Mexican mariachi (an orchestra that plays Mexican music consisting of vihuela, guitar, guitarron, violin, trumpet, flute, and alpa) since he was 4 years old. I was 12 years old at the time. With her free-spirited voice full of joy, anger, and sadness, she bounces around lively through the roller coaster-like development. Well, to put it bluntly, Mr. Gonzalez is a genius.

“Coco” (C) 2018 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. (C) 2018 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

At the Academy Awards held on March 5, 2018, the theme song ``Coco'' won the Best Theme Song Award. Composers: Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez. Speaking of theme songs that the couple worked on, there is also the theme song " Let It Go " for the 2013 mega-hit "Frozen ", which loudly sang "Religo" and praised the independence of girls, This is a song that gently sings of the sadness of the dead, who are almost forgotten by their descendants.

In the movie, Benjamin Blood, who plays the role of Ernesto Delacruz, an old movie star that Miguel admires, sings in a mariachi style, and Miguel himself sings a guitar solo when he feels lonely after wandering into the land of the dead. And by chance, Hector (voiced by Mexican star Gael García Bernal) is full of generosity and ends up helping Miguel along the way. By the way, in the Japanese dubbed version, Miguel is played by Yosai Ishibashi, Dela Cruz is played by Satoshi Hashimoto, Hector is played by Naoto Fujiki, and the ending song is the uplifting "Coco" by Shishido Kafka feat. Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.

Director Lee Unkrich originally intended to ask Mexican musicians to compose the film's music, but in the end he ended up working with musicians such as The Incredibles , Ratatouille , and Old Carl's Flying House. We commissioned the music from Michael Giacchino, who can be said to be Pixar's preferred composer.

Giacchino is a multi-talented The Graduate of Juilliard School, so in addition to the mariachi sound mentioned earlier, he also creates San Jarocho, a traditional dance music from the Veracruz region in east-central Mexico, and banda, which is characterized by the band sound of brass instruments. , which incorporates a variety of Mexican sounds, invited 50 top musicians from various fields, and combined with an 83-piece orchestra to create the film's distinctive sound.

By the way, the model for Miguel's favorite movie star, Ernesto dela Cruz, was Pedro Infante (1917-1957), a national star that almost every Mexican knows about.