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Just a few weeks ago, I was in Los Angeles for the #PixarCocoEvent and had the exclusive opportunity to interview some amazing talent from the film. I’ve already shared a few opportunities and experiences from this amazing trip like an interview with Benjamin Bratt (voice of “Ernesto de la Cruz”), Coco Premiere Experience and a spoiler free movie review. More amazing experiences will be shared shortly so follow along. Don’t forget to go see Pixar’s Coco when it hits theaters on November 22nd.

I am super excited to share the interview with Gael Garcia Bernal that I was able to participate in for this amazing event. The line up for interviews was amazing but I think that I was looking forward to this interview the most. Check it out.

Exclusive Interview with Gael Garcia Bernal

Voice of “Hector” in Pixar’s Coco

We had all just attended the premiere at the El Capitan the night before and it was Gael’s first time seeing this amazing film with an audience in the States.

Q: Was the reaction different here than in Mexico?

It was in English.  So, it was passionate and the applause at the end was fantastic! In Mexico, it was just the same and there are some differences between the Mexico and States viewing but a film is a film. When its good, it transcends anything. People reacted really strongly so I am really happy about that.

Q: What made you want to be a part of this film?

From the beginning when I received an email that said something like ‘Pixar wants you in a movie about day of the dead.’  Like, ‘of course.’  I mean, of course I want to be, not like of course they want me, but like ‘of course I want to be in it.’ I went into a meeting with Lee and Adrian and Darla and they told me what the movie was gonna be about and a really wonderful meeting. I was there with my daughter as well and they were very kind because they brought my daughter some Finding Dory merchandise. It wasn’t really a pitch as one normally is because they just told me what the movie was about because there was no script at that point, still.  Then they showed me some little images of who the character was gonna be, how he was gonna look, who was gonna be Miguel, you know, like who the actors that were involved a little bit.  They also showed me a little clip where they animate certain interviews or shows or films you’ve done and they put like those dialogues into Hector, you know,  and so there’s, this was this interview I did with I think it was with Chelsea Handler. They put it as if Hector was going into the show of Chelsea, you know?  So, they showed you that and I mean it was really funny.

Q: Was it an easy decision for you to be a part of this film?

It was so easy, I mean it was daunting the fact that I had to sing but I like the challenge of it.  But that was the one that I was a little like, ‘oh, okay.  Let’s see what it is but I mean I was counting on my postal code you know, coming from Guadalajara you know,  I think that’s why we are able to do those shouts, you know, those mariachi gritos because they, if you’re not from there it’s very difficult to do it.

Q: Mexico is very culturally rich. With this movie, is there a take away other than learning about the day of the dead that you would hope people will take away.

If you weren’t familiar with the Day of the Dead celebrations, then you saw the day of the dead celebration or tradition is a very open and very generous! As a little skull with your name on it, you put yourself on the same level and stuff to reflect on death and life and a very kind of you know, just really like an open question.  I mean it is something that I feel so lucky to have been born with and with a family and the school I went to. We always put them out, so the memory, the stories, the storytelling, the tradition behind it are there! The reflections on life and death, it is a great way to find a personal question and a personal answer to that.  , I mean ultimately not most spiritual guidance’s will be but that’s the best thing you can do. So, it is a very generous and open day. In the movie, they grabbed little aspects from each region in Mexico, but having a very personal also point of view around it.  Anything flows, so it just shows the complexity of a tradition that is incredibly deep and incredibly profound and necessary.  Because ultimately this reflection leads you to be a better human being, and leads you to be a better person, to build a better society, build a better future as well to live life in a much more essential way.  That’s what I think this film shows about Mexico. This film also gives us a sense of trust, we have to trust that complexity and that you have to invite the world in this reflection, as well.  Because it is an important one, I think to wonder what happens, you know, and how do we keep the memory alive, how do we keep people alive with their memories? With their stories. It’s also a very important moment to show.

Q: How does your family celebrate Day of the Dead?

Well, I think and we were discussing it with a lot of friends and family in Mexico like we’ve never seen the day of the dead so celebrated in Mexico.  Like really, there was not a sense of Halloween at all this year, like you couldn’t see it, like it was all the day of the dead. It was great to go walking around the streets and seeing people in costumes that also it is not, it is not the most you know, it is not the materialistic aspect of Halloween. It is a very deep kind of engaging, engagement of a celebration, you know.  I think it’s gonna be very different, it’s gonna change a lot I mean this has many other cultural activities are changing the way that we’re engaging with it and we’re valuing it even more.  I think more and more people are doing it but what’s interesting is that in Mexico like when you go to school, in school is where you learn about the day of the dead. You know, it’s not necessarily I mean the family’s that do it but it’s at school that you start to build the alter no, you know, it’s, that’s the way I got into the day of the dead, as well.

Q: How are you teaching your daughter about the Day of the Dead?

Well that’s the thing because it is a very open ceremony. You start building the alter for example, and you put the dead people there. We put like some books that we like, we put some toys, we put up some yeah a lot of food we put up. A lot of little pieces that we found, Lego pieces, etc. and they start to reflect on them when they invite their friends to see the alter and stuff and they start to explain it to them.  It is really interesting what they tell them about what goes on.  I mean and also the, that knowledge, that security that there is no concrete answer on what happens when we die, you know.  So it is a really, it is a great way to engage into that conversation with kids, as well. We were all kids and I mean when we’re that age we start to wonder what the hell going on and it is not easy to talk about it.  Yet it happens and it’s something that is a great way to open up the discussion and to let the kids have their own answer around it.

Q: Did you see any of your own characteristics, mannerisms when you saw the animated Hector?

They have a camera when you’re recording and sometimes they use certain things that you do and certain ways that you do it and stuff, so yes. Yes, yes, yes.  There were certain things that my own or maybe the character that I was you know, doing because at the time Lee asked us to be very expressive about it because everything that we do helps you know, when constructing the character for them.

Q: What is the biggest seize your moment episode in your life until now?

Well, this is a very personal opinion about seizing the moment kind of.  I think that what’s nice about the movie is that it shows De La Cruz carrying the flag of seizing your moment and I think it has been one of the most damaging aspects of western society, the notion of seizing the moment.  Because, it has made us burn the forests that we have in front of us, it has made us live the now as if there was no tomorrow.  As if we’re not engaging with a responsibility that freedom gives us to know that there’s a tomorrow and there’s people that will come after.  And it is not a rush, life is more, it’s more a craft. It’s built little by little and seizing the moment sometimes makes you fall into trap that it is now or never, you know.  There are moments that it is now or never but you know when that is, you know, it’s not that there’s a rule that you have to follow that path.  I think it has very been the really very damaging that notion. It’s the guy that sees the moment that kind of corrupted good will, because it can happen like that.

What a great interview, Gael is a great person to chat to and a great fit as the voice of “Hector”. Be sure you go see this movie on 11/22!!

ABOUT PIXAR’S COCO

Despite his family’s baffling generations-old ban on music, Miguel (voice of Anthony Gonzalez) dreams of becoming an accomplished musician like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (voice of Benjamin Bratt). Desperate to prove his talent, Miguel finds himself in the stunning and colorful Land of the Dead following a mysterious chain of events. Along the way, he meets charming trickster Héctor (voice of Gael García Bernal), and together, they set off on an extraordinary journey to unlock the real story behind Miguel’s family history.

TRAILER

CHECK OUT MY SPOILER-FREE MOVIE REVIEW HERE.

MORE PIXAR COCO:

NEW Pixar Coco Trailer + Pan de Muerto & Hot Chocolate Recipes 

Disney•Pixar COCO Activity Sheets + Coloring Pages! 

NEW Trailer + Poster for Disney • Pixar’s Coco

Pixar Coco Premiere Marigold Carpet Experience!

Exclusive Interview with Benjamin Bratt (Voice of “Ernesto de la Cruz”) in Pixar’s Coco

COCO ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Like COCO on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PixarCoco

Follow COCO on Twitter: https://twitter.com/pixarcoco

Follow COCO on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pixarcoco/

Visit the official COCO website here: http://movies.disney.com/coco

COCO OPENS IN THEATRES EVERYWHERE ON NOVEMBER 22ND!

 

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