The latest eagerly awaited project from Disney and Pixar is Coco – a story about a boy who longs to become a musician who is magically transported to the folkloric Land of the Dead.
Both Disney and Pixar have a history of bringing adorable animal sidekicks to the screen – notably Kevin, the giant bird in Up and Dug the dog from the same film, as well as Sven the reindeer in Frozen and Maximus the horse from Tangled.
We’re going to go out on a limb and bet that the moth-eaten mongrel you see in the trailer will fall into the same camp – and become a much-loved scene-stealing sidekick.
The Power of Music
In the trailer, we see the film’s hero, Miguel, watching a video of his favourite singer, Ernesto de la Cruz, and hanging onto his words. Inspirational words like: “Never underestimate the power of music.”
When he comes across a guitar that seems to have belonged to his idol, he appears to be transported to a colourful, magical land populated by skeletons. Luckily, his faithful doggy companion has been taken along for the ride too…
Here’s the film’s official synopsis from Disney:
Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of newcomer Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Hector (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.
Coco is directed by Toy Story 3 helmer Lee Unkrich, alongside co-director Adrian Molina who was a story artist on Monsters University. Coco opens in the US on November 22 and the UK on December 1, 2017.