Lee Unkrich (Coco): “Yes, I see some similarities between Coco and Là-Haut”
Meeting with the co-director of the moving Pixar film, and its producer Darla K. Anderson.
Coco will return this evening on M6. When it was released in cinemas at the end of November 2017, the editorial team was able to meet Lee Unkrichthe co-director of the animated film with Adrian Molinaas well as the historic producer of Pixar, Darla K.Anderson. The opportunity to discuss the similarities between this project and some other studio classics, such as Up there, Vice Versa And The world of Nemo.
Pixar from worst to best
“Often, Pixar stories are born from what their creators really experienced, from our experiences, from what marks us as we age”begins the director, who also directed Toy Story 3the firm’s biggest success ($1 billion in revenue in 2010). Over time, the themes have become more mature, because we live our lives in parallel, we collect joys and sorrows, we start a family, we have children, those of my generation begin to lose their parents… This has obviously had an impact on our desire to tell the story of Coco. (…)
For me, the best Pixars are the ones that make the audience feel all kinds of emotions. They are funny, exciting, very intense, sometimes a little scary, and in the end they are filled with emotion, they make the spectators feel something strong. I find that these days, it’s getting lost. You can be entertained by a movie, have a lot of fun, but you don’t really think about it again when you go out. We want to make films that leave a mark, that stay with you, that offer you a mirror and make you think about your own life, your relationship with family.”
Coco, a very moving Pixar best-of
In details, Lee Unkrich recognizes that the treatment of old age in his film is quite close to the vision of Pete Docter on Up thereanother big hit from the studio dating back to 2009.
“Up there was born from the love that Pete Docter had for elderly people who had been important in his life. Pete loved the idea of showing idols from another era, he had spent a lot of time with people older than him and this was his love letter to them.”
“Besides, Pete has a sensitivity ‘old’it was important for him to honor the elderly”adds Darla.
“So yes, I see some similarities between Coco And Up there, continues the director. There is this child who seeks to know more about the generations that preceded him, people from the past. The idea that we learn from their wisdom, because the ancients may have experienced more than us. Yes, it’s linked, even if it wasn’t necessarily conscious.”
After Up therewe discussed Vice versa, and in particular the poignant scene with Bing Bong, the heroine’s imaginary friend, whom she forgets as she grows up. For now, thinking about memory is much more important in Cocoexplains the director.
“I don’t know if Vice Versa is that much about forgetting people, but that’s the main theme of CocoYes, he replies. The importance of remembering the people we loved and the danger of forgetting them. Coco, it’s more about false memories, about the stories that we’ve been told, but which don’t really stick to reality. We explore the veracity of memories: should we believe all the stories we are told?
Finally, another striking common point is in the title: as in Finding Nemo, Coco refers to a character who we rarely see on screen, even though he is crucial to the plot. Without specifying who it is, Lee Unkrich explains that he loves this idea: “I found it interesting to name Coco after a character that doesn’t seem important at first. In The world of Nemo, the film only talks about him, there is an emergency, we have to find him. Here, we meet Coco at the beginning of the film and she doesn’t look like much. I liked the idea of the audience wondering at that moment why the film was named after it. Then he discovers how crucial she is to the story.”
Yes, Coco is good for children
