Variety: Of all the places that Pixar’s computer-animated features have taken audiences, few can rival the dazzling Land of the Dead in “Coco.” It’s a huge place, crammed with buildings that reach the sky, and bursting with crowds of lavishly costumed skeletons. The Land of the Dead an identifiable place, but it also depicts an idea deeply ingrained in Mexican culture: It’s the place where the living can visit their departed ancestors to celebrate their lives.
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It great that the animators for the Land of the Dead want to be true to the culture, although I think it should be an expectation.That being said, this article leads me to wonder about the diversity of the creative team. Though that article does not specifically mention it, I hope that there would be Mexican people working as members on the animation team. In addition to diversity being the correct thing, this would ensure to make sure that their culture is represented in a way that they feel is appropriate. That being said, the level of detail that this article describes is wonderful to read about. Creating a world with mostly skeletons forced them to think about how this world exists. Coming up with the ideas that skeletons are not concerned about their physical safety because they are already dead makes so much sense. After reading this article Coco, I’m excited to see the detail that they put into building this world and what movie Pixar decides to animate next.
I recently watched a TED talk about lighting in animation, given by one of the heads of the lighting department at Pixar. The example she gave was the jellyfish scene from Finding Nemo, a scene she had lit while she was still a lighting artist in the department. Lighting in animation, understandably similar to lighting in film and theatre, can change the feel of a scene entirely. She talked about the layers of color filtering the team used to indicate underwater scenes, and the lighting algorithms they used to show the light refraction of waves breaking on the surface. I had never really thought of lighting in animation in the way that a traditional lighting designer would before. In Coco, the lighting of each shot, especially the afterlife greatly changes the feel of each shot. I saw one composite image (the first shot over the magnolia petal bridge, looking at the afterworld) broken down into its layers, and the detail that has gone into creating each individual building and person in the scene is mind boggling to think about and is only enhanced by the lighting an atmospheric effects put in by the lighting department. I can hardly imagine how much time Coco took to render.
I saw this movie with my family over winter break and it made my heart so happy. The movie theatre I went too also showed a clip before the movie started of the director and the two lead production people talking about the importance and cultural significance this movie holds and dove a little bit into the animation process. I cannot believe how intricate and detailed the scenery in this movie is. I do not remember the exact numbers from that pre-film clip, but each frame of scenery has hundreds of layers to it to give it the lighting that Sydney talks about that appears in the animation. Gustafson is correct: the tiny details that are apparent throughout the entire movie really do give "richness to the place". I also did not know that so many of the characters, even the "extras", were unique! Having over one thousand costumes combinations for animated characters sort of adds a layer of realism to movie – each extra in a live action film would be unique, so why not an animated film as well. It is easy to see how this production would have been a challenge and a reward to create. It is absolutely spectacular and paid off.
I have always thought it was weird when people refer to animated movie sequences as sets. To me, a set is a very physical and tangible thing. However, after seeing Coco and all of Pixar's other movies, I have changed my mind of this issue. A set is a world created to immerse the characters into the story. There was not a single moment during Coco where I felt like the characters did not belong in their environment. I was utterly captivated by the detail within the Land of the Dead and applaud the animators for creating a world that was so hard to part with. As someone who understands how fictional worlds are created, I have found that I am hyper aware and hyper critical of "the magic." Because of this, I am always in awe when a movie or show is able to be so extensive that I don't even have the capacity to criticize it. I love seeing things that are detailed and well thought out to the point where the artist is almost acting as a god to a different world.
I feel like each time a new Pixar movie comes out, there are articles like this talking about it. “Better” animation, “better” special effects, bigger this, bigger that. It is all true, of course, but at this point I am never surprised by a Disney/Pixar movie. They have a formula. They know what they can do, they do it, they do it well, and then they rake in the cash. They up their level when it comes to technology which is obviously impressive, but they do that only because they have the means to do so and the money to hire the people who can. Their storylines are reflections of what the public wants. Yeah, Moana was good and featured a brave female lead who was independent, strong, determined, not white, and all that good stuff, but only because that is what people are going to pay for right now. I stand by that. They will not pull any surprising stunts because they know what will safely make them money.
I am so happy to see this article in the news comments this week! After seeing Coco with my family over the Thanksgiving break, I left the theatre feeling so rejuvenated and happy. The way that Pixar managed to really send audience members into the joyful, colorful world of Mexico on the Day of the Dead celebration was amazing. And the animation was not the only thing that did this! The music very much added to the overall feeling that viewers got, along with the material of a holiday that is so focused on celebrating something that is often seen as sad and tragic here in the United States. I do agree with Truly that whenever we see stories about the "better" and "newer" ways that Pixar is doing animation, it does not really come as a surprise, however I really did love this movie and everything that it gave its audiences!
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