Bennett chats with Lee Unkrich, Film Director, Editor, Writer, Director of Disney • PIXAR’s Coco
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00:00You never know who you're going to bump into here on the Disney Treasure.
00:03Lee Unkrich, the director of some of my favorite Disney Pixar films, including Coco,
00:07which obviously there's the immersive Coco experience here on board.
00:10Yes.
00:11Toy Story 3, like, my favorite all-time movies.
00:13It's an honor to meet you and talk to you.
00:15It's great to meet you, too.
00:17Absolutely.
00:18So talk to me about, first of all, the Disney Treasure,
00:20and seeing some of your creations come to life here on board.
00:23Yeah.
00:24The ship is beautiful.
00:25It's fun being on a brand new ship.
00:27Yeah.
00:28And it's fun seeing our characters, when I say our characters,
00:31our characters from Pixar mixed with Disney's here kind of all over the ship.
00:35Yeah.
00:36There's great pre-production artwork from all of our films all over the ship,
00:39all kinds of great stuff.
00:41There's a lot of great Toy Story stuff out in the pool area.
00:44Yes, my daughter loves that area.
00:45Yeah, it's really cool.
00:46And then, of course, the crown jewel for me is the Plaza de Coco,
00:50which is a huge restaurant and show themed based on the movie Coco here on board.
00:56And the details, like the ofrenda and the performances, obviously,
00:59it's a very interactive dinner experience.
01:03Does that pass the test for you?
01:05This was your baby, right?
01:07Yeah, it totally does, especially when you walk into the space,
01:10you walk down this enormous long hallway to get to the restaurant.
01:12Right.
01:13And right away it's kind of setting the mood.
01:15You feel like you're almost entering into the movie Coco.
01:17There's all kinds of great tidbits and artwork from the movie lining the walls.
01:21Yeah.
01:22And then you get into the restaurant
01:23and it just feels like you're in a family plaza.
01:26Right.
01:27And I see so many details there that I know I witnessed firsthand
01:31when I was on research trips to Mexico,
01:33you know, stuff that we just kind of soaked in.
01:35Sure.
01:36And it permeates the movie Coco.
01:38It's really cool to see a lot of that same stuff now kind of permeating.
01:41Isn't that so fun?
01:42Like, you really feel like you are on set of the movie.
01:44Like, it's wild.
01:45And now we're, like, what, seven years removed from the film, right?
01:49The anniversary just passed.
01:50It's hard to believe.
01:51Yeah.
01:52But how does it mean to you that, obviously, Coco means so much to everyone?
01:55We're talking about it and it just, you had me sounding like a baby in that movie.
02:00Oh, my God.
02:01Coco got me in my feels because it's just a special movie
02:03about just, obviously, family and life in general.
02:07Right.
02:08And, you know, it's interesting.
02:09When we were making it, I felt very passionate
02:11that we were telling a story that was going to be universal
02:13that you never know because it's so specific.
02:15It's about a very specific culture.
02:17Right.
02:18But it did end up resonating with a lot of people.
02:20Yeah.
02:21And in different cultures all over the world, surprisingly.
02:23The movie was very, very big in China, which is something we didn't expect at all.
02:27But, yeah, it's just, I'm glad that it keeps on living
02:31and glad that it resonates for future generations.
02:34A big important part of why I wanted to make the film
02:37is that there weren't a lot of films for Mexican kids,
02:40Mexican-American kids to be able to look up at the screen
02:43and see a family that looked like theirs or a kid who looked like them.
02:47Right.
02:48So on that level, I'm really happy that it's in the world now
02:51and that it resonates with so many of those families.
02:55Yeah.
02:56And that was so beautifully done between Mexican culture
02:58but also just embedding life and death.
03:00It's such a gentle, really nice way that you can show your 4-year-old daughter,
03:04like in my case.
03:05You know what I mean?
03:06Right.
03:07And I also love that you don't have to be Mexican to celebrate Dia de los Muertos.
03:11Right.
03:12Or at least the idea of it.
03:13The idea that every year you could take a moment
03:16and remember people that were important in your life.
03:18Absolutely.
03:19That's beautiful.
03:20Mentors to you or beloved family members.
03:22And remember them.
03:23Remember them joyful.
03:24Think about the things that they liked in life.
03:26Yeah.
03:27And even think that maybe they're coming and visiting.
03:29Yeah.
03:30No, I completely agree.
03:31And to see it come to life here on the Disney Treasure is something special.
03:34And I appreciate the time this morning.
03:35I could talk to you all day about the Disney Pixar family.
03:37You kidding me?
03:38Toy Story 3, my favorite Toy Story film in the franchise.
03:41Oh, thank you.
03:42Oh, my gosh.
03:43Absolutely.
03:44The ending of that movie.
03:45I think about it way too often.
03:46Lee, thank you so much for your time.
03:48I appreciate it.
03:49The brilliant mind behind some of your favorite movies of all time.
03:51Yes.
03:52Good to see you on board here at the Disney Treasure.