170 Fun Facts About Coco

How old is Miguel, the hero of Coco?

He teaches himself guitar from VHS tapes of his idol despite the family ban on music.

Coco was written by Matthew Aldrich and which co-director, who also wrote the lyrics to 'Un Poco Loco'?

Lee Unkrich directed, having made his solo debut with Toy Story 3.

What is the name of the Mexican town where the Rivera family lives?

Saint Cecilia is the patron saint of musicians, a quiet joke in a town whose family bans music.

What trade does Mamá Imelda take up after banning music from the family?

Generations later the Riveras are still shoemakers.

How does Miguel teach himself to play guitar despite the family ban?

Benjamin Bratt described that idol, Ernesto de la Cruz, as 'the Mexican Frank Sinatra'.

What happens to Miguel the moment he strums the stolen guitar?

He can, however, see and touch his dead relatives who are visiting for the holiday.

Why can Mamá Imelda not cross over to visit the living on the Day of the Dead?

He had broken the frame and taken the picture out.

By when must Miguel receive a family blessing to return to the living world?

Otherwise he stays in the Land of the Dead forever; Imelda's blessing comes with a no-music condition he refuses.

What does Héctor ask of Miguel in exchange for taking him to Ernesto?

He is fading, and will vanish entirely once his daughter forgets him.

How did Ernesto de la Cruz really get his partner's songs?

Héctor had grown homesick and tried to go home; the truth comes out during their argument in the mansion.

Where does Ernesto have Miguel and Héctor thrown after seizing Héctor's photo?

It is there that Héctor reveals his daughter is named Coco.

How is Ernesto de la Cruz finally undone at his concert in the Land of the Dead?

It mirrors how he died in life; the audience turns on him after his crimes are exposed.

What had Mamá Coco kept all those years that finally proves the truth?

His letters, with the lyrics, expose Ernesto's theft.

Which song does Miguel play to Mamá Coco to bring back her memories?

It was Héctor's lullaby for her, later stolen by Ernesto as a bombastic showstopper.

Coco's Oscar-winning song was written by which husband-and-wife team, also behind 'Let It Go'?

Miguel and Natalia Lafourcade sing a pop version over the credits.

Which two Academy Awards did Coco win?

It also won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe and eleven Annies.

Who composed Coco's score?

He had already scored The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up and Inside Out for Pixar.

Miguel's dog Dante is what breed?

Pixar borrowed a tentacle from Finding Dory's Hank to animate his tongue.

The spirit-guide creatures Dante and Pepita become in the Land of the Dead are based on which folk art?

Pepita's form mixes a jaguar, a ram, an eagle and an iguana.

Which papier-mâché artist first made the fantastical creatures that inspired Dante and Pepita, in 1930s Mexico City?

Oaxacan artisans later took up the form, carving them from copal wood.

Who voices Miguel?

He first auditioned at nine; the original choice was replaced when his voice broke.

Why was the boy first cast as Miguel, Emilio Fuentes, replaced during production?

Anthony Gonzalez, who had auditioned at nine, took over.

Which Mexican actor voices Héctor?

Animators studied his movements and expressions while he recorded.

Benjamin Bratt prepared for Ernesto de la Cruz by watching which Mexican golden-age stars?

He also saw his own father's swagger in the character and played it as a tribute.

Which Mexican artist makes a cameo in the Land of the Dead, voiced by Natalia Cordova-Buckley?

She is staging a surreal show at Ernesto's big concert.

How large is John Ratzenberger's role in Coco, keeping his streak of appearing in every Pixar film alive?

Unkrich did not want to break the tradition but struggled to find a role for the non-Latino actor.

Coco was the first film with a nine-figure budget to feature what?

The budget was around $175 to 225 million.

Coco premiered in October 2017 at a film festival in which Mexican city?

It opened in Mexico the following week, before its US release on 22 November.

Roughly how much did Coco gross worldwide?

That made it the 15th highest-grossing animated film at the time.

In Mexico, Coco became the second-highest-grossing film ever, behind which movie?

It took MX$792 million there.

Coco surprised analysts by becoming the highest-grossing Pixar film ever in which country?

It nearly doubled Finding Dory's take and finished second only to Zootopia among animated films there.

In 2013 Disney withdrew an application to trademark which phrase after a public outcry?

Cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz drew 'Muerto Mouse' in protest, and Pixar later hired him as a consultant.

What was Miguel's name in early versions of the script?

One draft had him physically running back across the marigold bridge to escape.

Coco was released in US cinemas alongside a 21-minute featurette starring which Disney character?

Olaf's Frozen Adventure made Coco the first Pixar film since Toy Story not to be paired with a Pixar short.

The Rivera family was based on real families the Pixar team stayed with in which two Mexican states?

The trips ran from 2011 to 2013.

Mamá Coco was reportedly modelled on María de la Salud Ramírez Caballero, a potter from which Purépecha village?

Disney has never formally acknowledged her.

Lee Unkrich first pitched the idea for Coco in which year, when Toy Story 3 came out?

He admitted the first version 'reflected the fact that none of us at the time were from Mexico'.

The Day of the Dead, on which Coco is set, is traditionally celebrated on which dates?

UNESCO added the tradition to its Intangible Cultural Heritage list in 2008.

The bridge between the living world and the Land of the Dead in Coco is made of what?

The cempasúchil marigold is the traditional Day of the Dead flower.

What was the title of the two-minute online film introducing Miguel's dog in March 2017?

Unkrich's team made it early to get a feel for the character.

Who announced in March 2025 that Coco 2 was in development?

Unkrich, who had retired from Pixar in 2019, returned to direct it.

Coco was Lee Unkrich's second solo feature; what had he directed first?

He had co-directed Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo before that.

Who voices Mamá Imelda?

She based the voice on her aunt Flora; Renée Victor plays Abuelita Elena.

The National Board of Review named Coco what for 2017?

Metacritic scores it 81, 'universal acclaim'.

What trade does Imelda take up after banning music from the family?

Her husband had left to pursue a music career and never returned.

Miguel is Imelda's great-great-grandson; what relation is Coco to Imelda?

Imelda's husband abandoned her and their daughter Coco.

What does Miguel discover hidden in the ofrenda photograph he breaks?

The man's head has been torn from the photo.

Which relative destroys Miguel's guitar after he announces his musical dreams?

It causes Miguel to shun his family and run off.

From where does Miguel take Ernesto's guitar?

He wants to use it in a local talent competition.

What act brought the curse down on Miguel?

He must get a family blessing before sunrise or stay there forever.

What condition does Imelda attach to her first offer of a blessing?

Miguel refuses and seeks Ernesto's blessing instead.

Why does Héctor need his photo placed on an ofrenda so urgently?

His daughter is the last living person who remembers him.

Why did Héctor try to leave the musical act he had with Ernesto?

Ernesto, unable to write songs, poisoned him and stole his guitar and songs.

What revelation does Héctor make in the cenote pit?

That makes him Miguel's real great-great-grandfather.

Ernesto being crushed by a falling bell at the concert mirrors what?

Héctor's photograph is lost in the chaos.

How do Imelda and Héctor finally bless Miguel as the sun rises?

He returns to the living world and plays for Mamá Coco.

At the film's end, one year later, whom does Miguel show the family ofrenda?

The ofrenda now displays photos of Héctor and a recently deceased Coco.

Pepita's alebrije form has the head of a jaguar and the horns of which animal?

She also has eagle wings and hindlegs and an iguana's tail.

What does Dante's alebrije form add to the dog?

He is a Xoloitzcuintle in life.

Coco's very first concept centred on what kind of child?

He was to be dealing with his mother's death; the team decided that was the wrong approach.

Besides Miyazaki films, which action movie was cited as an inspiration for Coco?

Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle were the anime influences.

What was cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz's protest poster against Disney's 2013 trademark bid called?

It showed a skeletal Godzilla-sized Mickey 'coming to trademark your cultura'.

How many people signed the Change.org petition against Disney's 'Día de los Muertos' trademark?

Disney withdrew the filing a week later.

Whom did Pixar hire in 2015 as cultural consultants alongside Lalo Alcaraz?

Solis is a playwright; Aviles led the Mexican Heritage Corp.

In one abandoned draft, how was the Rivera family cursed?

It was a way to get music into a story where music is banned.

What did Lee Unkrich call 'the toughest nut to crack' on Coco?

Early versions even had Miguel physically running back across the bridge.

What was Coco's production cost?

It was the first nine-figure film with an all-Latino cast.

How old was Anthony Gonzalez when he first auditioned for Miguel?

He was finalised in the role two years later.

The boy first cast as Miguel, Emilio Fuentes, ended up voicing what small part?

He was replaced when his voice deepened.

Benjamin Bratt described Ernesto de la Cruz as 'the Mexican' who?

He also saw the character as a tribute to his own father's swagger.

Alanna Ubach modelled Mamá Imelda's voice on which relative?

She called her aunt the family's matriarch and dedicated the film to her.

Disney closely monitored the recording-booth movements of which voice actor to animate his skeleton?

His expressions informed the skeleton's animation.

Which Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actress cameoed as Frida Kahlo?

She played Yo-Yo Rodriguez on the Marvel series.

On what date did Unkrich announce that animation on Coco had begun?

Adrian Molina was promoted to co-director the same year.

Why was Santa Cecilia deliberately designed with muted colours?

Set supervisor Chris Bernardi also kept the town small so Miguel felt confined.

How did Pixar make Miguel's guitar playing authentic?

They videotaped musicians playing each song or melody.

A tentacle from which character in the 2016 Pixar sequel was reused for Dante's tongue?

Real Xolo dogs were also used as reference.

Who was Coco's production designer?

He called the marigold bridge 'elegant and magical'.

How did Pixar illuminate the outdoor Land of the Dead scenes, per supervising TD David Ryu?

The renderer sees one light but viewers see a million.

What did Coco's animators lack when trying to give the skeletons personality?

They sculpted and studied skulls from every angle.

Coco's first teaser was released on which date?

It highlighted the film's focus on music.

What was Coco's originally scheduled US release date before it was pushed to November 2017?

It ended up opening on November 22, 2017 in 3D.

Which Mexican cinema chain ran a contest to dub a character in Coco?

The film was even advertised with traditional wall paintings.

Coco was the first Pixar film without a Pixar short attached since which film?

Olaf's Frozen Adventure ran with it instead until December 7, 2017.

Coco was Pixar's first development in what medium?

The film got its own VR game.

How many home video units did Coco sell, making it 2018's fourth best-selling title?

Home video revenue was $72.8 million.

A sing-along version of Coco arrived on Disney+ in which year?

It has onscreen lyrics.

For Disney's 100th anniversary in 2023, Coco was re-released alongside which film?

It ran September 15-28 in the US.

How much did Coco gross in the United States and Canada?

Worldwide it took $823.3 million.

Coco was released in Mexico how long before the United States?

It opened there on October 27, 2017.

Coco's US opening weekend of $50.8 million was the fourth-biggest Thanksgiving debut behind which three films?

All three are also animated.

How many consecutive weekends did Coco top the US box office?

Star Wars: The Last Jedi and Ferdinand overtook it in week four.

Which film held China's record for a Disney/Pixar animated opening ahead of Coco's $18.2 million?

Coco's total there reached about $189 million.

Coco nearly doubled which Pixar film's China record to become the studio's top grosser there?

Analysts had projected only $30-40 million.

Which was Coco's final market when it opened on March 16, 2018?

Japan became its third-largest market at $41.4 million.

What approval rating did Coco hold on Rotten Tomatoes as of 2025?

Its Metacritic score is 81, 'universal acclaim'.

Coco was the sixth Pixar film to earn an A+ CinemaScore; which was the previous one?

Fewer than 90 films have ever received the grade.

Which critic wrote for RogerEbert.com that Coco has 'a touch of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki'?

He gave it four out of four and called it 'a classic'.

The Washington Post ranked Coco where on its 2025 list of the century's best movie musicals?

Naveen Kumar praised its 'sophisticated and surprising storytelling'.

How many Annie Awards did Coco win from thirteen nominations?

It also won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe.

The 90th Academy Awards, where Coco won twice, were held on March 4, 2018 to avoid clashing with what?

Jimmy Kimmel hosted for the second year running.

Coco, 2017's 11th-highest grosser, ranked where among animated films as of 2025?

The franchise page tracks the ranking.

María de la Salud Ramírez Caballero, the reported model for Mamá Coco, died in 2022 at what age?

Disney and Pixar never acknowledged her contribution.

Santa Fe de la Laguna, home of the reported Mamá Coco model, is a town of what artisans?

Locals say tourism has increased thanks to her fame.

Between which years did the Pixar team embed with families in two Mexican states for research?

The Rivera family is a multigenerational matriarchy.

What is 'Remember Me' called in Spanish?

Carlos Rivera covered it for the Spanish soundtrack.

Which two artists perform the pop version of 'Remember Me' over the end credits?

Miguel is the American R&B singer, not the film's hero.

Who accompanied Héctor's voice actor on guitar for 'Remember Me' at the Oscars?

The song won Best Original Song that night.

Which singer performed 'Remember Me' on ABC's 2020 Disney Family Singalong: Volume II?

She sang with Miguel and Mariachi Divas de Cindy Shea.

In the film, Ernesto's version of 'Remember Me' is first heard in what style?

It is a plea to his fans to keep him in mind while he tours.

How many original songs feature on the Coco soundtrack album?

It also has 26 score pieces by Michael Giacchino.

The Coco score was released in how many languages?

They included Kazakh, Flemish and Mandarin Chinese.

Which Mexican singer covered 'Remember Me' for the Spanish-language soundtrack?

Japan got a ska remix by the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra.

Where did Michael Giacchino confirm in July 2017 that he would score Coco?

Score recording began that August.

Germaine Franco was the first Latina to win which Annie Award, for Coco?

She later won a Grammy for Encanto's score.

Robert Lopez, co-writer of 'Remember Me', is famous for co-creating which two Broadway musicals?

He is the only person to win every EGOT award more than once.

Before Toy Story 3, Lee Unkrich co-directed which two Pixar films?

He joined Pixar in 1994 as an editor and co-directed Toy Story 2.

In what year did Lee Unkrich retire from Pixar after 25 years?

Both his solo features won two Oscars each.

Adrian Molina co-directed which 2025 Pixar film after Coco?

He was born in Yuba City, California to a Mexican family.

Where did Adrian Molina graduate in 2007?

He was raised in Grass Valley.

Coco producer Darla K. Anderson also produced which Pixar film nominated for Best Picture?

She sits on the Producers Guild's national board.

Anthony Gonzalez later did motion capture and voice for Diego Castillo in which video game?

He was born September 23, 2004.

Which Coco star played conductor Rodrigo De Souza in Mozart in the Jungle?

He won a Golden Globe for the role.

Benjamin Bratt earned an Emmy nomination playing Detective Rey Curtis on which series?

He starred from 1995 to 1999.

Alanna Ubach, voice of Mamá Imelda, appeared in which 2001 film with Reese Witherspoon?

She was born in Downey, California.

Renée Victor, voice of Abuelita, was best known for playing Lupita on which series?

She also voiced female Argonians in Skyrim.

Ana Ofelia Murguía, the voice of Mamá Coco, holds what Ariel Award record?

She was nominated five times.

Edward James Olmos, who voices Chicharrón, played which teacher in Stand and Deliver?

He also played Adama in Battlestar Galactica.

Jaime Camil, who voices Papá, played Rogelio de la Vega in which US series?

His father was an Egyptian businessman and his mother a Brazilian singer.

Alfonso Arau, voice of Papá Julio, directed which 1992 film based on his wife's novel?

Laura Esquivel wrote the novel.

Richard Marin, who voices a Land of the Dead corrections officer, was one half of which comedy duo?

He also voiced characters in The Lion King and Cars.

John Ratzenberger, in every Pixar film, is famous as Cliff Clavin on which sitcom?

His one-word Coco role kept the streak alive.

Pedro Infante, an inspiration for Ernesto, died in 1957 in what way?

He was en route to Mexico City from Mérida.

Jorge Negrete, another Ernesto model, was born in which Mexican city?

He specialised in ranchera music.

Frida Kahlo, who cameos in Coco, belonged to which post-revolutionary movement seeking a Mexican identity?

She is known for her many self-portraits.

The Day of the Dead was inscribed on UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list in which year?

It falls within the Christian period of Allhallowtide.

The Aztecs devoted how many twenty-day months of their ritual calendar to the dead?

The ninth was for children and the tenth for adults.

Mexican newspapers publish satirical poems about public figures for the holiday, known as what?

Schoolchildren are often required to write them in language class.

Alebrijes originated in the 1930s where?

Oaxacan artisans later carved them from copal wood.

Oaxacan artisans carve alebrijes from which local softwood?

The wood is said to be 'made from united magic'.

Pedro Linares created the first alebrijes in 1936 after a fever caused by what illness?

He had made figurines for Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo.

The Xoloitzcuintle's name honours which Aztec god of fire and lightning?

The hairless variant is the perro pelón mexicano.

Sugar calaveras made for the Day of the Dead are known by what Spanish name?

They may also be made from clay.

La Calavera Catrina began as a zinc etching whose first certain publication was in which year?

Posada's print satirised upper-class women; Diego Rivera later put her in a mural.

Which muralist elaborated Posada's Catrina into a full figure in 'A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon in the Alameda Park'?

The 1946-47 fresco is now in the Museo Mural Diego Rivera.

Where was José Guadalupe Posada born in 1852?

He was one of eight children.

The marigold used on ofrendas, Tagetes erecta, is known by what Nahuatl-derived name?

Despite being American, it is often called the African marigold.

Pan de muerto is a type of what?

Its bone-shaped pieces represent the deceased.

Papel picado is traditionally cut from stacks of how many sheets of tissue paper?

Artisans use a mallet and chisels over a template.

A typical Mexican regional music group of this genre can include as many as eight violins and how many trumpets?

It also has up to eight violins, a vihuela and a guitarrón.

Santa Cecilia, the name of Miguel's town, is the patron saint of what?

Her feast day on 22 November is marked with concerts.

A cenote, like the pit Miguel is thrown into, is a sinkhole formed by the collapse of what rock?

The Yucatán has an estimated 10,000 of them.

Mictlan, the Aztec underworld, consists of how many levels?

The journey takes four years, aided by the psychopomp Xolotl.

Ranchera music takes its name from what?

Its themes are love, heartbreak, patriotism and nature.

The Morelia International Film Festival, where Coco premiered, was founded in which year?

It takes place in the second week of October in Michoacán.

Who directed The Book of Life, the 2014 Day of the Dead film often compared with Coco?

It was his feature directorial debut, produced by del Toro.

Who voiced Manolo, the bullfighter-musician hero of The Book of Life?

Zoe Saldaña and Channing Tatum co-starred.

What does the 2017 short Dante's Lunch follow Dante trying to catch?

It was made early in production to get a feel for the character.

A Day in the Life of the Dead (2021) is a Coco short from which Disney+ series?

It shows an average day in the afterlife.

In the 2024 Lego short, Miguel returns to the Land of the Dead to compete in what?

It closes the Lego: Pixar Bricktoons series.

Miguel, Dante and Héctor are playable in which mobile fighting game?

A Coco world is also planned for Kingdom Hearts IV.

As of 2025, a world based on Coco was planned for which then-unreleased video game?

Disney Magic Kingdoms ran a Coco event in 2019.

Miguel cameos at a party in Moe's Tavern in which 2021 Simpsons short?

It celebrated Disney+'s anniversary.

Miguel and Héctor sing 'Un Poco Loco' in which Disney park 3D show?

Miguel also meets guests in Frontierland at Disneyland.

In May 2025, figures of Miguel and Dante were added to which Disneyland attraction?

They appear in the section portraying Mexico.

In August 2024, a Coco-themed ride was announced for which Disney park?

It was announced in August 2024 and construction began in 2026.

When Coco 2 was confirmed in 2025, who was named as its producer?

Unkrich and Molina return as director and co-director.

A live stage adaptation of Coco was announced in January 2023 during which event?

Lion King actor L. Steven Taylor made the announcement.

From how many Critics' Choice Movie Award nominations did Coco win, taking every one?

It also won a BAFTA, one of two Golden Globe nominations, and eleven of thirteen Annie Awards.

According to the art director, what did animators sculpt and study from every angle to give the skeletons personality?

Daniel Arriaga's team had to convey character 'without skin, muscles, noses or even lips', experimenting with shapes and paintings.