[BANGING ON DOOR]
(MUFFLED) Miguel!
Miguel!
Mamá Coco?
Can you hear me?
It's Miguel.
I saw your papá.
Remember?
Papá?
Please!
If you forget him, he'll be gone--
forever.
Hi, my name is Anthony Gonzalez
and I did the voice of Miguel in Disney Pixar's "Coco,"
and this is "Pixar Scenes Explained."
[GUITAR MUSIC]
So the first time I auditioned for "Coco" was when
I was nine years old, and I actually auditioned
for something called scratch voice,
which is like a temporary voice for the character.
Music is like the only thing worth living for!
Or being dead for, in your case.
Finally, when I was 11 years old, at the end of the session,
Lee, the director, said that they
had a Christmas present for me.
And they brought it in -- it was a beautiful present that
was wrapped -- and I opened it and it
was this wonderful piece of artwork that said,
"You got the part."
It was probably the best moment of my life.
My mom was there with me as well, bawling
her eyes out, just crying.
It was such a happy moment for all of us.
Then I exited the studio, and then the whole Pixar team that
was working on "Coco"-- so many people
standing outside the studio just clapping and-- such
an unforgettable experience.
I just felt so happy and honored to be
part of such an amazing team.
(WHISPERS) Go.
I promise!
I-- I won't let Coco forget you!
No!
In this scene, Miguel has just come back
from the land of the dead, and in order for him
to save Hector from being forgotten,
he needs Mamá Coco to remember him.
[GUITAR MUSIC]
Whenever there was a scene where Miguel was jumping
or running, when-- when he was breathing heavily a lot,
uh, before that scene, I would just start running in place.
[SNORES]
Ah-- oh.
There he is!
Miguel!
Stop!
(MUFFLED) Miguel!
[POUNDING ON DOOR]
Miguel?
This scene, specifically, was probably one of the most
emotional scenes I had to do.
But thankfully, I had Lee there and he was just so great
at describing what was going on in the scene
and how Miguel was feeling, and I just
had to take some time to put myself in his shoes
and find out, what are his emotions.
I wasn't able to, like, see the animation
while I was recording.
After I had finished, we watched it all in drawings
for the first time.
And it was so amazing, we even cried to that!
Mamá Coco, your papá--
he wanted you to have this.
[STRUMS GUITAR]
[GASPS]
Mamá-- wait.
(SINGING) Remember me, though I have to say goodbye.
When Miguel is singing "Remember me" to Mamá Coco,
I could relate so much with the song
because it brought back so many of my childhood memories
with my grandfather, who passed away when I was young.
(SINGING) --for even if I'm far away, I hold you--
Some of my favorite lines are "for even if I'm far away,
I hold you in my heart."
Even though I'm in a faraway place from my grandfather,
I still hold them very deeply in my heart
and that was the same for Miguel.
I knew that this-- this scene was going
to be very difficult for me.
The first time in my life where--
[LAUGHS] I was singing and crying
at the same time in the studio.
It was just so hard for me to contain my emotions.
Not-- not only was I crying but my mom was crying,
there was other people in the studio crying.
It was such a beautiful experience.
Family is really important for me.
And I wouldn't be where I am without them.
And for Miguel as well, family is very important for him.
This is probably the first time where his family doesn't get
upset or mad at him for being a musician,
and this is where they finally begin to accept him,
who he is, when he can finally begin
to share his passion for music with the world
and not hide it anymore.
Elena?
What's wrong, mija?
[SNIFFS] Nothing, mamá.
Nothing at all.
I just felt so attached to the character, especially
because, you know, I went through this journey with him
just to get to this point.
I couldn't help but feel all the emotions that he was feeling.
I couldn't have asked for a better character to voice.
Thanks for watching "Pixar Scenes Explained."
"Coco" is now streaming on Disney+.
Hey, and make sure to remember me!