The upcoming animated movie "Coco" is a musical "Wizard of Oz"-type adventure of a young Mexican boy finding his way back home from the City of the Dead.
Based on a preview for the anticipated movie from Pixar, "Coco" is about a young boy named Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez) who wants to focus on music and playing his guitar just like his dead idol Ernesto De la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). However, what his family wants is that he joins the family shoe business and give up his dreams of music because it will bring him nowhere in life.
Miguel does not heed his family's advice and plays his guitar when they are not around. Unfortunately, he is found out and his guitar is shattered into a hundred pieces, leaving him dismayed and dejected.
He doesn't give up though and devises a plan to steal the guitar from his dead idol's tomb. However, this turns out to be a mistake because he does it during the time of Dia de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) and there are harsh consequences for raiding tombs.
Miguel nonetheless goes to Ernesto's tomb and upon touching the dead man's guitar, he is magically sent to the Land of the Dead, just like when Dorothy was sent to Oz in "The Wizard of Oz." Now, Miguel has to find a way to get home from the strange city where everyone is made out of skeletons.
Miguel is joined by Dante, a hairless dog similar to Toto from the "The Wizard of Oz" as well as a wisecracking huckster named Hector (Gael Garcia Bernal) who is just like the Scarecrow from the same movie. In order to get back, the young boy has to get the approval of Ernesto who is reminiscent of the Wizard.
In related news, director Lee Unkrich recently said in an interview with Den of Geek that he didn't set out to make a message movie but due to recent political times, it has seemingly become one.
"We need to accept that we're living with other people who have other cultures and different beliefs than we do, and I think putting a movie like this into the world... might be a step towards more acceptance and of embracing our global community," he said.
"Coco" will hit theaters on Nov. 22.
