Last week, I had a once-in-a-lifetime experience: I walked the red {well, marigold!} carpet for the new Disney Pixar movie, Coco! The evening started out by getting all glammed up in my hotel room. As someone whose style is more leggings and oversized t-shirts than dresses and heels, it was a lot of fun getting all made up and ready to go.
The premiere was absolutely stunning! Every single detail was thought of, from the Papel Picado banners hanging overhead to the marigold petals covering the carpet to the sculptures made of marigolds to the cut-outs of Miguel and Dante!
There was live entertainment, including a Mariachi band, traditional Mexican folk dancers, and even jugglers on stilts.
The food there was so good- they had delicious buffets decorated with beautiful ofrendas where they served tacos, churros, and Mexican street corn.
I got an airbrush tattoo of Dante, made a fun GIF playing guitar, and even spotted some celebrities.
It was an amazing night and such a great way to celebrate a beautiful movie! When the premiere was over, we headed over to the El Capitan Theatre for the premiere of Coco!
Coco Film Review
Coco is a movie about Miguel, a young boy who just wants to play music- even though his family has banned it for generations. He doesn’t understand why he can’t do the thing he loves most and he gets into a big fight with his family because he wants to follow his dream.
When the opportunity to “Seize his Moment”, the motto of his all-time hero Ernesto de la Cruz, presents itself, he can’t help but take the risk. In doing so, he finds himself in the Land of the Dead, though still very much alive, and surrounded by the dead. He learns that he must get his family’s blessing before sunrise or he will remain cursed- but it’s not as easy as it sounds!
When I first heard that Pixar was making a movie about the Day of the Dead, I wasn’t sure if we’d be able to see it at the theater. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to bring my three year old to a movie that is mostly about skeletons because I thought it might be too scary for him and I wasn’t sure if he could handle it. After seeing this movie, I am 100% confident in taking him to see it and I honestly don’t expect him to be scared of the skeletons once. Yes, they’re dead, and yes, skeletons are usually used for Halloween, but these characters are not the skeletons that pop out of the closet yelling “Boo!”, these are people with stories and families and dreams- they just happen to be dead.
The entire band of characters in the movie is fun to watch- from the hilarious Hector {Gael Garcia Bernal} to the cranky old Chicharron {Edward James Olmos}. I of course am a sucker for a good animal sidekick and this movie has two of them {sort of}- Dante, the Xolo dog from Miguel’s hometown that follows him into the Land of the Dead and Pepita, Mama Imelda’s Alebrije, or in the context of the movie, her spirit animal. Pepita isn’t exactly a sidekick in the traditional sense, but I still loved watching her and all of the Alebrijes were just beautiful!
As for the storyline, all I can say is that it’ll have you in tears. It’s a Pixar movie, so that should probably be expected at this point, but I really mean it with this one- if you don’t bring tissues, you’ll regret it. It’s a beautiful and touching story that reiterates the importance of family, our timeless bond, and the love we have for one another. It’s really hard to say much about the plot without spoilers, but that’s because it’s not something you’d expect- in a very good way. There are so many lessons to be learned in this film, like not judging a book by it’s cover, putting other’s needs before your own, and remembering what matters in life {and death}.
I walked away from this movie so inspired and moved. I am literally counting down the days until I can take my family to see it as well.
Luckily it’s not too much longer- Coco hits theaters on November 22nd, just in time for Thanksgiving weekend! While you wait, you can follow Disney Pixar’s Coco on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and the hashtag #PixarCoco! Be sure to check out the hashtag #PixarCocoEvent on my Twitter + Instagram accounts to see even more about my experience and keep an eye out for the next few weeks as I share exclusive interviews with the cast and filmmakers and more!
[…] the red carpet premiere of Disney Pixar’s newest film, Coco. {See more of that experience here!} I watched the movie, {and cried a lot} and then the next day I had the opportunity to interview […]