Pixar’s critically acclaimed “Coco” is a powerful exploration of the Day of the Dead holiday and the importance of remembering loved ones who have died.
It’s a message the film’s co-director Lee Unkrich alluded to when he announced his father’s death via Twitter on Sunday night.
“My father, Bob Unkrich, died tonight at 93,” the director tweeted. “He was an artist and a World War II Army hero. He stormed the beach at Normandy. I’m so thankful I was able to spend time with him last week and show him ‘Coco.’ He loved it.”
“He’ll be on our ofrenda next year. I’ll always remember him,” he added, referencing the traditional ofrendas, or altars, that people build in honor of their deceased loved ones during Day of the Dead.
Attached to the moving message was a photo of Unkrich’s father watching “Coco” from his home. The director first tweeted the picture in late November, saying that he had visited his father to show him the film because he was “too frail” to see it in theaters.
“Coco” was nominated for two Golden Globes on Monday: the movie was nominated in the Best Motion Picture, Animated category, and the song “Remember Me” was nominated in the Best Original Song, Motion Picture category.
“I think the film has been very meaningful to many, many people, and we’re so happy for that because the entire time we were making it, we were trying to make a film that was respectful and culturally authentic, but that would also be universally appealing and relatable to people all over the world,” Unkrich told HuffPost on Monday.