“Coco” received the Best Animated Feature award at the 2018 National Board of Review Gala on Tuesday at Cipriani 42nd Street. Director Lee Unkrich and Producer Darla K. Anderson were in attendance. Check out what they had to say on the red carpet:
You said that you aren’t making “Kids movies,” you make movies for everyone. Speak about that.
Lee Unkrich: We do. That’s what we’ve always done since the first Toy Story. I wouldn’t even know how to make a kids film. People always think that’s weird when I say that, but I really don’t. When I watch a lot of entertainment that really is targeted to just children, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. We’ve always just told stories that are stories that we’d like to see and make the kind of movies we like and we just make sure that they’re appropriate for kids because we know they’re going to be part of the audience.
And you hope it resonates with everyone.
Lee Unkrich: That’s always the hope! On Toy Story 3 and with Coco, I think in both cases we’ve made films that resonate with you differently depending on where you are in life. Whether you’re looking forward as a kid or whether you’re looking backwards as a grandparent or somewhere in the middle.
Coco celebrates latin culture. How special is it that latin communities all over the world get to see themselves represented on the big screen.
Lee Unkrich: I think it’s nice and it sends a message that you can make mass entertainment, as we do, that is culturally specific, that does celebrate a specific culture, and it can be successful, it can make money, and it can speak to people all over the planet, as Coco has. It’s doing huge business in China, of all places. I think I read that it has made more money than all of the other Pixar movies combined in China. What does that say, because it’s a film very specifically about Mexico and Mexican culture but … When you tell a story that makes an audience empathize with the characters, regardless of whether they’re from the same background or not, I think that’s the first step in storytelling towards kind of breaking down barriers between different communities.
Darla K. Anderson, It’s wonderful to be here tonight, to have a film that so many people have seen and that it’s our intention to beautifully represent Mexico and this cultural celebration, and that, in this crowd, we’re honored alongside all these other films. It’s a big, huge honor for us.
Coco is now playing!