Pixar's 'Coco' celebrates Latin culture, music

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Pixar's newest animated movie "Coco" is filled with Mexican culture, music and folklore.

It's centered on a young boy named Miguel, who loves music but has to hide his artistic ambitions from his disapproving family.

Family is one of the major themes of the film; those who are still with us along with our long-lost loved ones.

To that end, Miguel finds himself mysteriously meeting those ancestors on Dia de los Muertos, the Day of the Dead.

Gael Garcia Bernal voices Hector, one person Miguel meets in the afterlife.

"This opens much more broader and wider discussion on what the family is," said Bernal. "And what memory is and how we can keep alive the people that have left us."

Bernal says seeing the finished product of "Coco" was beyond anything he could have imagined.

"It is very really full of life, full of color, full of detail," said Bernal. "And it just takes it into another level."

Benjamin Bratt lends his voice to the role of Mexican singer and movie star Ernesto de la Cruz. And in this film, Bratt actually got to do something he's never done before: sing.

"I'm nothing if not up for a challenge, especially at this point in my career and life so I jumped at the chance," said Bratt. "They put their magic sauce on it to make it palatable, or passable. It's a chance I would not have passed up."

Bratt appreciates that "Coco" highlights the uniqueness and beauty of the Latin culture.

"Which is very much a part of LA and California history, of American history. I have long said the presence of Latinos in this country is as American as apple pie, as American as chips and salsa," said Bratt. "But we haven't really seen that rendered in popular culture, the way it deserves to be, on equal footing. So to be given an opportunity on a stage this grand, it's a cause for celebration."

"Coco" is rated PG and is in theaters now.