Coco (2017 film)

Coco is a 2017 American animated fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Lee Unkrich, co-directed by Adrian Molina, and produced by Darla K. Anderson, from a screenplay written by Molina and Matthew Aldrich, and a story by Unkrich, Molina, Aldrich, and Jason Katz, based on an original idea conceived by Unkrich. The film stars the voices of Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Renée Victor, Ana Ofelia Murguía, and Edward James Olmos. The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Miguel (Gonzalez) who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead, where he seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family and reverse their ban on music.

The concept for Coco is inspired by the Mexican holiday Day of the Dead. Pixar began developing the animation in 2016. Unkrich, Molina, and some of the film's crew visited Mexico for research. Composer Michael Giacchino, who had worked on prior Pixar animated features, composed the score. With a cost of $175–225 million, Coco is the first film with a nine-figure budget to feature an all-Latino principal cast.

Coco premiered on October 20, 2017, during the Morelia International Film Festival in Morelia, Mexico. It was theatrically released in Mexico the following week, the weekend before Día de Muertos, and in the United States on November 22, 2017. The film received acclaim for its animation, voice acting, music, visuals, emotional story, and respect for Mexican culture. It grossed over $814 million worldwide, becoming the 16th highest-grossing animated film ever at the time of its release. Coco received two awards at the 90th Academy Awards and numerous other accolades. The film was chosen by the National Board of Review as the Best Animated Film of 2017.