Lee Unkrich & Darla Anderson On The Music Of Pixar
Soundtracking with Edith Bowman
Edith Bowman
4.6 • 786 Ratings
🗓️ 2 February 2018
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
We have more exponents of world-class animation in our latest episode of Soundtracking in partnership with the EE BAFTAs, this time from Disney Pixar.
Having just spoken to Nick Park, we're delighted to be joined by two key figures from the studios - writer / director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla Anderson.
Having previously joined forces for Toy Story 3, Lee and Darla's latest project is the wonderful Coco.
Coco follows 12-year old Mexican, Miguel, a would-be musician who is accidentally transported to the land of the dead, where he seeks the help of his great-great grandfather to return to his family in the land of the living.
Like so many of Pixar's previous offerings, it has gone down a storm with both critics and audiences - with a 97 per cent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and gross worldwide takings of $700 million to date.
Music is central to the narrative. As well as original compositions performed by the characters, there's a rich score from Pixar stalwart Michael Giacchino. You'll hear plenty of Michael's work throughout the conversation, not to mention pieces by Thomas Newman, Randy Newman and more.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You wait 70 odd episodes to hear from world-class exponents of animation and then three come along at once. |
| 0:15.0 | After we spoke to Nick Park in our last episode, we're now joined by two key figures from Pixar, writer, director, Lee Unkwich |
| 0:23.1 | and producer Darla Anderson. I'm Edith Bowman and you're listening to Soundtracking, the film |
| 0:28.2 | music podcast brought to you in partnership with the EE BAFTAs. Up for one of those at this year's |
| 0:33.6 | ceremony is Lee and Darla's latest project, The Wonderful Coco. |
| 0:39.5 | The story follows 12-year-old Miguel, a would-be musician who is accidentally transported to the |
| 0:46.0 | land of the dead, where he seeks the help of his great-great-grandfather to return to his family |
| 0:51.3 | in the land of the living. Like so many of Pixar's previous offerings, it has gone down a storm with both critics |
| 1:00.0 | and audiences, with a 97% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes and gross worldwide takings of |
| 1:08.0 | $700 million to date. Music is central to the narrative. |
| 1:14.6 | As well as original compositions performed by the characters, |
| 1:17.6 | there is a rich score from Pixar stalwart Michael Giacchino. |
| 1:22.6 | And it's with that we begin, as Lee explains why he wanted to make a movie about the day of the world. |
| 1:30.3 | Lee, welcome to soundtracking. Congratulations on Coco. |
| 1:41.3 | Thank you. |
| 1:42.3 | Thank you. |
| 1:43.3 | But this was something particularly for you that |
| 1:45.6 | you wanted to tell a story about this culture and about these people. Where did Coco start for you? |
| 1:51.2 | It really honestly started from kind of a surface place, which is that I had long been fascinated by |
| 1:57.2 | the Day of the Dead, by Diodomweros, mostly related to all the beautiful folk art and the iconography around the holiday. |
| 2:04.5 | And that's the same way that I think a lot of people have gotten introduced to the celebration, but they don't really understand the depths of it and what the meanings behind it really are. |
| 2:13.2 | And I didn't myself. |
... |
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