Students Enjoy the New Pixar Movie Coco

Lee Unkrich strikes again with another fascinating Pixar movie Coco, but this one is a bit different than his previous movie titles.

Unkrich admits that making this movie made him very nervous.

“I did have a lot of anxiety when we were making this film about the fact that we were taking on a real culture in the world, and the fact that I’m not Mexican or Latino myself,” Lee Unkrich said in an article from The Verge web site.  

Everything in Coco is about the Mexican Culture, so to bring that out, Unkrich wanted to immerse himself into the Mexican Culture.

Many people believed that this story was about this boy who was starting to learn more about his Mexican heritage, when in reality, it’s about the little boy trying to move past his grandmother’s death.

“It was less about a kid discovering his Mexican heritage,” Unkrich said. “The primary thrust was a kid who had lost his mother, and it was very much about him learning to let go of her and moving on with his life,”.

Some GHS students saw the film and enjoyed it.

“The storyline is so beautiful and heartfelt. The scenes are incredible and vibrant and I felt like I was in Mexico,” junior Michaela Sarenac said.

Other GHS students did not see the film, but still thought the movie showed importance within the Mexican culture.

“For just being animations, I think they represent Hispanic culture very well. I think this movie and The Book of Life, as another example, show important aspects of Mexican culture in regards to Dia de Los Muertos,” junior Mya Colon said, “which does very well when representing the importance of family in our culture. So, if anything, I’d expect the movie to show how family always comes first.”

Different emotions ran through the minds of the audiences as they watched the film.

“The portrayal of each of the characters felt so real. I cried and laughed and sang and danced. I was speechless after seeing it,” Sarenac said.

The film even brought memories to surface for some of the audience who also had loved ones who passed.

“It reminded me of my Busha (grandma) in the best way possible and the lessons learned I will carry with me forever,” Sarenac said.

The movie had a mix between Spanish and English language.

“We know from screening the film as often as we have that when we do have Spanish-speaking people in the audience, they really laugh at that,” Unkrich said in the Verge article. “It’s such an inside-joke phrase to be using. We did our homework and went the extra mile to try to move beyond stereotypes or clichés, and try to do something real.”