Día de los Muertos: How Pixar’s ‘Coco’ Revived ‘Day of the Dead’ Even 7 Years Later: ‘Remember Me’

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — “Recuerdam.” If images of Dia de los Muertos come to mind, then you were probably one of the millions captivated by Pixar’s Oscar-winning film Coco. It’s been seven years since the premiere of the film, based on the Mexican tradition of remembering departed family members.

One Pixar man believes the film resonated with him because the story came from home.

“The opportunity to take something so special and so personal and see the world accept and understand it? There’s no better feeling.” We spoke with Adrian Molina, the film’s co-director, at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California.

“My mother grew up in Mexico and my grandparents lived in Mexico, so we would go visit them in the summer,” Molina said. “We went to Mexico to research the film and all these memories were brought up, all these good feelings were brought up, and that became the inspiration for how we want this house to feel. How we want this family to feel.”

Molina began work on the film as a storyteller. His personal interest led to many other contributions, including writing lyrics for some of the film’s songs. He eventually received the title of co-director and gave an acceptance speech on stage at the Oscars when the film won the award for Best Animated Feature.

“I think the most important thing about watching people’s reactions to this movie is the feeling that when you remember the people who came before you, they are always there,” Molina said. “That connection is never broken as long as you hold on to that memory.”

Disney is the parent company of Pixar and this station.