The 黑料吃瓜 Alumni Behind Coco
黑料吃瓜 alumni Lalo Alcaraz (87) and Darla K. Anderson (82) played major roles in the production of
Updated 3/5/2018鈥淲e鈥檙e just so happy and grateful that it鈥檚 reached so many people and that this extremely specific love letter to Mexico had universal appeal.鈥�
Disney/Pixar鈥檚 鈥淐oco鈥� won Best Animated Feature Film at the 90th Academy Awards on March 4, 2018.
It鈥檚 a relatively quiet morning at Downtown Disney in Anaheim, California. Still, there鈥檚 a gathering of mickey-ear-modeling onlookers nearby鈥攇azing toward a makeshift interview set.
With a camera set up in the back of Disneyland Resort鈥檚 World of Disney store, a light stand illuminates a merchandise display made up primarily of plush alebrijes a la Disney/Pixar鈥檚, 鈥淐oco.鈥� 黑料吃瓜 alumnus Lalo Alcaraz (鈥�87) takes a seat.
鈥淚t鈥檚 surreal to be in the belly of the beast鈥擠owntown Disney,鈥� he said, joking, as he eased into a chair.
Alcaraz is one of two Aztecs behind the blockbuster film 鈥淐oco,鈥� along with Pixar producer prodigious Darla K. Anderson ('82). Billed as one of three cultural consultants for 鈥淐oco,鈥� Alcaraz is also the creator of the popular .
鈥淐oco鈥� opened to rave reviews in November 2017 and snatched an Academy Award nomination for Animated Feature. The film unfolds during the sacred Mexican holiday, Dia de los Muertos, following 12-year-old Miguel as he pursues his dream of becoming a musician and comes to realize the importance of family.
The film鈥檚 creators鈥攃hief among them Anderson鈥攈ave called 鈥淐oco鈥� a love letter to Mexico.
If it is a love letter, Mexico wrote back adoringly.
To date, 鈥淐oco鈥� is the top-grossing movie of all-time in Mexico. Critics say its success is due, in part, to Disney/Pixar鈥檚 dedication to 鈥済et it right鈥� when it came to the dozens of cultural details celebrated in the movie.
Cue Alcaraz
It was in their initial meeting that Alcaraz and Anderson realized the Aztec connection. What鈥檚 more, the two quickly learned they followed nearly the same academic path.Though they missed each other by a few months (Anderson graduated the same year Alcaraz enrolled at the university), both majored in environmental design in the School of Art and Design and studied under , whose non-linear, forward-thinking approach to teaching inspired their respective career paths.
鈥淚 think the thread between us three鈥擠arla, Gene and myself鈥攊s allowing yourself to be a free thinker occasionally. Gene taught us to do your thing, break the rules and make your own thing,鈥� said Alcaraz.
Anderson concurred. 鈥淚 was working at a Mexican restaurant and they asked me to paint a mural on the wall. So, I came to Gene and [asked] if I documented and wrote about my experience and did research, could I get any college credit for it. He said sure.鈥�
After graduation, Anderson created commercials before landing at Pixar, while Alcaraz studied architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, before returning to art.
The Making of Coco
Anderson, who minored in Spanish at 黑料吃瓜, frequently went camping in Guadalajara, Mexico, and volunteered at orphanages in Baja California, recalled the moment 鈥淐oco鈥� director Lee Unkrich first approached her about the concept of the film. She jumped at the chance to be involved.鈥淚 loved being in Mexico, traveling to Mexico and felt very connected to it,鈥� Anderson said in a phone interview from Pixar鈥檚 Bay Area studios. 鈥淲hen Lee brought up this idea set in Mexico on Dia de los Muertos, I felt excited to get to do something that was an extension of who I already was. It definitely helped my relationship with [Lalo] that I spent so much time in Mexico and 黑料吃瓜鈥攁ll of that. I could speak to all of my experiences.鈥�
Four years into the six-year production of 鈥淐oco,鈥� Alcaraz was brought on as a cultural consultant. He recounts traveling to Pixar Studios and watching animatic versions of the movie鈥攁 series of storyboards and audio. He would routinely give feedback on characters, dialogue, pronunciations鈥攅verything down to the story itself.
鈥淚t鈥檚 funny when you hear the director talk about our involvement in [鈥淐oco鈥漖 because you hear him say, 鈥榃ell, they weren鈥檛 afraid to give big notes.鈥� You don鈥檛 really give a big note to a director. He knows what he鈥檚 doing. But they didn鈥檛 bring us there just to rubber-stamp stuff,鈥� said Alcaraz.
Later, Disney hired Alcaraz as a consultant for movie merchandise. He concentrated on the toys鈥攖hose plush alebrijes that line the shelves at Disney Downtown.
Art can change the world
Similar academic backgrounds aside, Alcaraz and Anderson also share a similar belief. Simply put, they believe art can change the world.鈥淚 believe that we reflect society in our films, and if we can shift perception, create empathy and tell stories that have emotional connectivity, we can change the world. That鈥檚 my mission and my task,鈥� said Anderson.
She refers back to 2001鈥檚 鈥淢onsters, Inc.,鈥� which she also produced. It was the first major film to come out after 9/11. Pixar had begun production years prior and now it was ready for release, a movie about monsters with the message that laughter is more important than fear.
The timing of 鈥淐oco鈥� also seems providential.
鈥淲ith 鈥楥oco,鈥� having it so embraced by the Hispanic and Latino communities and beyond is overwhelming,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e just so happy and grateful that it鈥檚 reached so many people and that this extremely specific love letter to Mexico had universal appeal.鈥�
Alcaraz said that same sentiment is what brought him back to art after studying architecture in graduate school.
鈥淭he main reason for me to work on this project was to have something that my kids would be proud to watch. I know their kids are going to watch this thing,鈥� said Alcaraz. 鈥淭hese big mainstream Hollywood movies are like public works. They鈥檙e going to be used for years and years.鈥�
