Coco (franchise)

Coco
Created byLee Unkrich
Jason Katz
Matthew Aldrich
Adrian Molina
Developed by
  • Adrian Molina
    Matthew Aldrich
Original workCoco (2017)
OwnerPixar (The Walt Disney Company)
Years2017–present
Films and television
Films
Short films
  • Dante's Lunch (2017)
  • A Day in the Life of the Dead (2021)
  • Family Bands Together (2024)
Games
Video games
Audio
Soundtrack
  • * Work where this franchise's characters or settings appeared as part of a crossover.

Coco is an American media franchise created by Lee Unkrich, Jason Katz, Matthew Aldrich and Adrian Molina, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by its parent company Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The series takes place in Mexico around the holiday Dia de Muertos and follows Miguel Rivera and his family, the former of whom discovers a link between the living and the dead. It began with the 2017 film of the same name, and will be followed by Coco 2 (2029). The franchise also includes three short films, several video games, and a future theme park ride.

Films

Film U.S. release date Directed by Screenplay by Story by Produced by
Coco November 22, 2017 Lee Unkrich Adrian Molina & Matthew Aldrich Lee Unkrich & Jason Katz & Matthew Aldrich & Adrian Molina Darla K. Anderson
Coco 2 November 21, 2029 TBA Mark Nielsen

Coco (2017)

The story follows a 12-year-old boy in Mexico named Miguel (Gonzalez) who is accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead, where he seeks the help of his deceased musician great-great-grandfather to return him to his family and reverse their ban on music.

Coco 2 (2029)

In March 2025, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced that a sequel, titled Coco 2 is in development. Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina will return as director and co-director, respectively, while Mark Nielsen will serve as producer. The announcement gave a release window of 2029, which was subsequently removed. Pixar's chief creative officer Pete Docter revealed that Incredibles 3 and Coco 2 were set to be released in "2028 and beyond". On August 14, 2026, it was announced during the D23 Fan Event that the film would be released on November 21, 2029, and that Benjamin Bratt would reprise his role as Ernesto de la Cruz.

Short films

Dante's Lunch (2017)

A two-minute short film, titled Dante's Lunch – A Short Tail, was released online on March 29, 2017. It introduces the film's supporting character, a Xoloitzcuintle named Dante. The short was created early in the animation process by Unkrich and his team to have a better sense of the character.

The short follows Dante trying to catch a mysterious moving bone.

A Day in the Life of the Dead (2021)

This short is from the Pixar Popcorn series; it is about an average day in the afterlife.

Family Bands Together (2024)

Included as the fifth and final episode of Lego: Pixar Bricktoons, the short follows Miguel returning to the Land of the Dead, and trying to sing a winning song in a Battle of the Bands contest with the help of his family.

Video games

Miguel, Dante, and Héctor appear as playable characters in the fighting game Disney Heroes: Battle Mode.

In 2019, the video game Disney Magic Kingdoms included a limited-time event based on Coco, with a storyline that takes place after the events of the film, including Miguel Rivera, Héctor Rivera, Dante, Abuelita, Mamá Coco, Ernesto de la Cruz and Mamá Imelda, as playable characters, as well as attractions based on locations of the film, including Land of the Dead, Musical Celebration, Rivera Familia Home, and Santa Cecilia Market Shop. After the event, the content of the film returned in limited-time promotions.

A world based on Coco and its characters will be included in the video game Kingdom Hearts IV.

Cast and characters

List indicator

This section includes characters who have appeared in the franchise.

Characters Theatrical films Short films
Coco Dante's Lunch Family Bands Together
Miguel Anthony Gonzalez Ryan Lopez
Anthony GonzalezAS
Héctor Gael García Bernal Gael Garcia Bernal
Mamá Imelda Alanna Ubach Alanna Ubach
Ernesto de la Cruz Benjamin Bratt Silent cameo
Abuelita Elena Renée Victor
Mamá Coco Ana Ofelia Murguía Character is mute
Tía Rosita Selene Luna
Tía Victoria Dyana Ortellí
Tíos Oscar and Felipe Herbert Sigüenza
Papá Julio Alfonso Arau
Papá Enrique Jaime Camil Character is mute
Mamá Luisa Sofía Espinosa
Tío Berto Luis Valdez
Tía Gloria Carla Medina
Abel Polo Rojas
Rosa Montse Hernandez
Chicharrón Edward James Olmos
Plaza Mariachi Lombardo Boyar
Arrival Agent Octavio Solis
Clerk Gabriel Iglesias
Corrections Officer Cheech Marin
Emcee Blanca Araceli Blanca Araceli
Security Guard Salvador Reyes
Juan Ortodoncia John Ratzenberger

Crew

Film Release date(s) Director(s) Writers Producer(s) Executive Producer(s) Composer Editor(s) Runtimes
Coco November 22, 2017 Lee Unkrich
co-directed by:
Adrian Molina		 Original Story by:
Lee Unkrich
Jason Katz
Matthew Aldrich
Adrian Molina
Screenplay by:
Adrian Molina
Matthew Aldrich		 Darla K. Anderson John Lasseter Michael Giacchino Steve Bloom 105 Minutes
Coco 2 November 21, 2029 Lee Unkrich
co-directed by:
Adrian Molina		 TBA Mark Nielsen TBA TBA TBA TBA

Reception

Box office performance

The first film was the eleventh highest-grossing film of 2017, and is the 24th highest grossing animated film of all time.

Film U.S. release date Box office gross Budget Ref.
U.S. and Canada Other territories Worldwide
Coco November 22, 2017 $210,460,015 $604,181,157 $814,641,172 $175 million
Total $210,460,015 $604,181,157 $814,641,172 $175 million

Critical and public response

Film Critical Public
Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore PostTrak
Coco 97% (357 reviews) 81 (48 reviews) A+ N/a

Accolades

Coco received awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song, the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Animated Feature, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film.

Other media

Other animated media

In The Simpsons short Plusaversary (2021), Miguel appears as one of the attendees at the party in Moe's Tavern.

Broadway adaptation

On January 24, 2023, during Epcot's annual Disney on Broadway concert, The Lion King actor Steven Taylor announced that a live stage show adaptation of the film is currently in development at Disney Theatrical Productions.

Theme parks

Miguel appears in Frontierland at Disneyland as a meet and greet character. The 3D show Mickey's PhilharMagic contains a scene featuring Miguel and Héctor singing "Un Poco Loco".[citation needed] In May 2025, figures of Miguel and Dante were added in the It's a Small World attraction at Disneyland in the section portraying Mexico.

Unnamed Coco attraction

In August 2024, it was announced that a ride themed to the film is in development for Disney California Adventure. Construction began in 2026.

References

  1. ↑ "'Coco 2' in Development at Pixar". TheWaltDisneyCompany.com. March 20, 2025. Archived from the original on June 21, 2025. Retrieved June 21, 2025.
  2. ↑ @Pixar (March 20, 2025). "Disney and Pixar's Coco 2 is officially in the works!" (Tweet). Retrieved June 21, 2025 – via X (formerly Twitter).
  3. ↑ Dalton, Norman (March 22, 2025). "Coco 2: Confirmation & Everything We Know". Screen Rant. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Remember Me? Miguel is coming back for a second Coco movie". BBC. March 24, 2025. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  5. ↑ McDonough, Annie (April 4, 2025). "Disney Takes Action Following Coco 2 Announcement Mistake". The Direct. Retrieved August 22, 2025.
  6. ↑ Dalton, Ben (June 13, 2025). "Pixar announces feature film 'Gatto' about a cat in Venice, teases 'Toy Story 5'". ScreenDaily. Retrieved December 25, 2025. In showing the Pixar release schedule at the end of the presentation, Docter also confirmed that The Incredibles 3 and Coco 2 are set for release in "2028 and beyond".
  7. ↑ Kristen Chuba (August 14, 2026). "Disney Sets November 2029 Release For 'Coco 2,' Sequel Centered on a Teenage Miguel". The Hollywood Reporter.
  8. ↑ Watkins, Gwynne (March 29, 2017). "New Pixar Short 'Dante's Lunch' Introduces 'Coco' Dog, Plus Director Lee Unkrich on Whether 'Coco' Will Make You Cry (Exclusive)". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on April 1, 2017. Retrieved April 1, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Watch Pixar Popcorn | Full episodes | Disney+". www.disneyplus.com. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  10. ↑ "'Coco' is Getting the LEGO Treatment in New Series". August 23, 2024.
  11. ↑ Disney Magic Kingdoms (Gameloft) (October 11, 2019). "Update 34: Coco | Livestream". YouTube.
  12. ↑ Kingdom Hearts 4 - Official Coco Showcase Trailer | D23 2026 - IGN. August 15, 2026. Retrieved August 15, 2026 – via www.ign.com.
  13. ↑ "2017 Worldwide Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 24, 2025. Retrieved September 6, 2025.
  14. ↑ "Coco (2017)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on August 7, 2018. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  15. ↑ FilmL.A. (August 8, 2018). "2017 Feature Film Study" (PDF). p. 23. Retrieved March 19, 2019.[dead link]
  16. ↑ "Coco". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved March 4, 2026. Edit this at Wikidata
  17. ↑ "Coco". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved June 14, 2022.
  18. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (November 26, 2017). "Thanksgiving B.O. At $268M, +3% Over 2016 Spurred By 'Coco' & Holdovers – Sunday Update". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved November 26, 2017.
  19. ↑ "Oscars: The Complete Winners List". The Hollywood Reporter. March 4, 2018. Archived from the original on March 5, 2018. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
  20. ↑ Gettell, Oliver (February 18, 2018). "Three Billboards triumphs at BAFTA Awards: See the full winners list". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2023.
  21. ↑ "Critics' Choice Awards: The Shape of Water, Big Little Lies Top Winners". The Hollywood Reporter. January 11, 2018. Archived from the original on January 12, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  22. ↑ Berg, Madeline (January 7, 2018). "Golden Globes 2018: The Full List Of Winners". Forbes. Retrieved August 26, 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  23. ↑ Celestino, Mike (November 12, 2021). "TV Review: "The Simpsons in Plusaversary" Pays Irreverent Homage to the House of Mouse On Disney+ Day". LaughingPlace.com. Retrieved June 2, 2022.
  24. ↑ Newsdesk, Laughing Place Disney (January 25, 2023). "Disney on Broadway Developing Stage Adaptation of "Coco"". LaughingPlace.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2023. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  25. ↑ Abell, Bailee (September 8, 2021). "Miguel Has Two DIFFERENT Appearances in the Disney Parks!". Inside the Magic. Archived from the original on October 5, 2023. Retrieved September 18, 2023.
  26. ↑ Tuttle, Brit (March 6, 2025). "Disneyland Adding 'Coco' to "it's a small world" and 70th Anniversary Decor to Toy Story Mania". WDW News Today. Retrieved March 8, 2025.
  27. ↑ Tuttle, Brit (May 13, 2025). "PHOTOS, VIDEO: "it's a small world" Debuts New 'Coco' Figures, New Verse for Disneyland 70th". WDW News Today. Retrieved May 13, 2025.
  28. ↑ Schlepp, Travis (August 12, 2024). "Disney announces 'Coco' ride' other major expansion plans for Disneyland Resort". ktla.com. Archived from the original on August 18, 2024. Retrieved August 17, 2024.
  29. ↑ Finn, Amanda (January 1, 2026). "'Coco' Attraction Construction Begins at Disney California Adventure". wdwnt. Retrieved January 5, 2026.