Following Disney Animation Studios’ announcements at the D23 convention in Anaheim on Friday, it was Pixar’s turn to take the stage. The beloved animation studio is working on several sequels but did announce one new project - the long-awaited movie about Mexico’s Dia de los Muertos.
The Day of the Dead film has been in the works since at least 2012, when Pixar announced it at that year’s CinemaCon. There was even a bit of controversy in May 2013 when Disney tried to copyright “Dia de los Muertos.”
But Pixar was finally ready to give more information on it, three years after announcing it. The film will be titled Coco and is still being directed by Toy Story 3’s Lee Unkrich. The main character is Miguel, a 12-year-old boy who visits the world of the dead.
“I’d seen it portrayed in folk art. It was something about the juxtaposition of skeletons with bright, festive colors that captured my imagination,” Unkrich said of the film. “It has led me down a winding path of discovery. And the more I learn about Dia De Los Muertos, the more it affects me deeply.”
Prior to the presentation, posters for Incredibles 2 and Cars 3 confirmed that they are in the works, but there was no further information on either of those. However, we did hear more about Finding Dory, which hits theaters in June 2016.
In Finding Dory, Ellen DeGeneres’ beloved fish from Finding Nemo goes on a journey herself. She will meet Hank, an octopus voiced by Ed O’Neill. Another Modern Family star will be taking part in the film, since Ty Burrell has a role, as does It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s Kaitlin Olson.
John Lasseter only said that Toy Story 4 will be a love story between Woody and Bo Peep (which we heard about earlier on Friday). Randy Newman also took the stage to sing “You’ve Got A Friend In Me” at the very end of the presentation.
The Good Dinosaur is Pixar’s next film and hits theaters on Nov. 25. That film wasn’t ignored, with members of the cast and director Peter Sohn there.
Lastly, the new Inside Out short film, Riley’s First Date, was screened. The film will be included on the Inside Out Blu-ray in November.