Pixar is famous for its in-depth research to create immersive worlds and develop original stories that resonate deeply with audiences. Before Pixar writes a single page of a screenplay, the creative team for a project travels the world to discover the culture and environment where that story will take place.

For the feature film Coco, Pixar's creative team traveled all over Mexico, learning about the culture, the music, the food, and the customs that would be integral to telling this story. With Day of the Dead just behind us, check out the video below and join Pixar on its research trips to Mexico to bring Coco to life.

Music plays a big part in Coco, and the Pixar team worked with several musicians in Mexico to capture a wide variety of musical styles for the film. To add realism to the animation of characters performing music in the film, director Lee Unkrich noted, "We shot a lot of reference footage so the animators can make every chord and every little subtle bit of playing accurate."

Family is the other key component of Coco, and this film is particularly personal for co-director Adrian Molina. "It's a dream come true to put my own family's experiences into a film that's as special as Coco," said Molina. Even with all of the extensive Pixar research, Molina's comment points to the need to make a story personal so that it can become universal.

To learn more about Pixar's research process, check out our previous post on how Pixar's research and development teams bring stories to life. Coco is in U.S. theaters now.

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