Pixar’s Coco became the first film with a nine-figure budget to feature an all-Latino cast. Its budget was reportedly about $175 million, American studies scholar Ben Railton notes.
Lee Unkrich directed the 2017 film, with Adrian Molina serving as co-director. Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal and Benjamin Bratt led the cast.
It premiered at Mexico’s Morelia Film Festival in October 2017, per the Motion Picture Association. Pixar had spent six years developing it.
Its $72.9 million five-day U.S. debut put it at No. 1 over Thanksgiving.
In his blog post, Railton highlighted the film’s bold attempt to break barriers.
“Coco represents an important step in casting such big-budget animated (and non-animated) films, and one that nicely lines up with current conversations about diversity and inclusion riders.”
But before the film’s success, Disney had stumbled badly four years before its release.
How a Trademark Backlash Led Pixar to Seek Cultural Advice
In May 2013, Disney filed to trademark “Día de los Muertos” for the untitled Pixar film, per CNN.
The filing covered merchandise from fruit-based snacks to Christmas ornaments. A Change.org petition against it drew more than 21,000 signatures.
Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz was among the loudest critics.
“How could Disney allow such a blunder,” he told CNN. “I knew they weren’t copyrighting the holiday, but I couldn’t believe they would let someone in their legal department let this happen. On the surface, it looks like Disney is trying to copyright the holiday.”
He answered with a cartoon called “Muerto Mouse.” Disney withdrew the application within a week, per the MPA.
Story supervisor Jason Katz told the Montreal Gazette the backlash stung at Pixar. “It wasn’t something we were expecting,” he said.
Pixar then hired three cultural consultants, including Alcaraz himself. Alcaraz told OC Weekly that consultant Marcela Davison Avilés suggested bringing him aboard.
On Nov. 15, 2017, Coco became the highest-grossing film in Mexican box-office history. According to Box Office Mojo, the film has earned an estimated $830.6 million worldwide.
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