The Alebrijes are characters featured in the 2017 Disney/Pixar animated feature film, Coco.
Background[]
The alebrijes, as their names imply, are sentient creatures that inhabit the Land of the Dead where they serve as spirit guides based on their real-world sculpture counterparts. They can take the appearance of various creatures with mixes of different colors - usually with characteristics of different creatures and can either have vertebrate or invertebrate traits. In addition to these, certain alebrijes with owners serve as their spirit guide for their owner and their family (example: Pepita is Imelda's alberije in the Land of the Dead who serves as her spirit guide, as well as being affiliated with the late members of the Rivera family as their guide-protector).
Origins[]
The alebrijes featured in Coco are based on the custom Mexican folk art sculptures of creatures of the same name which originated from the late Pedro Linares who became very creative of various alebrije sculptures. Like typical alebrijes in real life, the sentient alebrijes seen in Coco can consist of various creatures and can either have vertebrate or invertebrate traits.
Development[]
Although not traditionally tied tied to the Dia de Los Muertos culture, the alebrijes seen in Coco are based on the film production team's trip to Mexico where they visited several alebrije workshops where alebrije makers would ask people who visit alebrije workshops about their spirit animals, in which the visit to alebrije workshops was used as an inspiration for the alebrijes seen as sentient animals in the Land of the Dead as said in an interview with writer Adrian Molia in the audio commentary. Lee Unkrich, the director of Coco, commented that the production crew's idea to make alebrijes spiritual guides makes it perfect to also fit Miguel's dog Dante which Miguel doesn't understand about Dante being a spirit guide while being told that Dante is a spirit guide, which makes sense to know why Dante is following Miguel.[2]
The deleted scene, "Alebrije Attack", which was included on the Blu-ray/Digital format releases of Coco was going to feature a sequence of Miguel and Héctor pursued by the jaguar alebrije Pepita on their way to the Plaza de la Cruz via tram where the jaguar alebrije Pepita pursues the two throughout the tram chase to which Pepita corners them while on the tram only for Dante (as a normal dog instead of an alebrije) to protect the two from Pepita to which the two were able to escape from the alebrije. This scene was cut from the final version of the film, because it was taking too long for Pepita to be physically introduced, which resulted in the scene being cut, and Pepita was instead introduced earlier in the final version of the film.[3]
Appearances[]
Coco[]
At the beginning of the film when Miguel is strolling across the plaza of Santa Cecilia, he passes by an alebrije stall where various alebrijes consisting of different animals are displayed on an alebrije stall just as Miguel drums on the small sculptures and finds the xoloitzcuintle dog Dante. Later when Miguel walks on a bridge made of marigold petals and encounters his past relatives, he sees a snake alebrije with dragon-like wings soaring above him to which the alebrije lands on an Aztec pyramid-like platform ledge where various alebrijes comprised of different species are encountered to which as Miguel observes them, Tío Óscar tells Miguel that they are real alebrijes while Tía Rosita explains to Miguel that alebrijes guide souls on their journey to which the two approach an entry gate just as a purple alebrije appears in front of the Rivera family. More alebrijes can be seen in the background when Miguel and his family pass by the Grand Central Station as well as the Department of Family Reunions and later while discussing with a clerk, he mistakes Dante for an alebrije while other alebrijes can be seen roaming outside the Department just before Imelda grabs a cempasúchil to bring Miguel back to the living world only for Miguel to return back again.
Later when Miguel tries to escape from his family after Imelda tries to give Miguel her blessing but Miguel refuses to accept the petal, Imelda calls in Pepita, a jaguar alebrije, to look for Miguel and bring him back to the family to which as Pepita approaches Papá Julio who is holding a marigold petal, Pepita suddenly sniffs the tracks to know where Miguel is at just as Héctor gives Miguel a skeleton makeup to avoid being recognized as a living boy in the Land of the Dead. Later, two alebrijes fly past Miguel and Héctor while walking across a street where Héctor, Miguel, and Dante enter a warehouse area where the two encounter a monkey alebrije. As Miguel chases the alebrije tackling on the xoloitzcuintle, it arrives on a skeleton woman who is none other than Frida Kahlo. Talking to Frida who is observing Dante, she explains to Miguel that the alebrijes in this world can take many unique forms only in the spiritual world just before Héctor brings Miguel out of the warehouse while trying to find Ernesto de la Cruz whom Miguel believes he is his great-great-grandfather while Pepita meanwhile continues looking for Miguel at the Land of the Dead to help the Riveras look for Miguel.
As Miguel and Héctor arrive at a shanty town to meet Chicharrón in his bungalow, Dante encounters a rabbit alebrije with frog characteristics leaping past him just as the alebrije leaps into water just before Héctor encounters Chicharrón at his bungalow. Soon as Hector and Miguel arrive at the Plaza de la Cruz, a skeleton boy riding on a lizard alebrije can be seen from a distance and later during the talent show auditions sequence, the same skeleton boy uses his lizard alebrije's scales as a xylophone just before Miguel and Héctor perform the musical number "Un Poco Loco" while Pepita is guiding Imelda and the other Rivera family members to look for Miguel.
As Miguel tries to escape from his family who is trying to get him back and Héctor, Pepita and Imelda halt Miguel and Dante who are trying to escape as Imelda attempts to give Miguel her family blessing just as Miguel attempts to escape from her only to hear Imelda singing "La Llorona". As Miguel arrives at Ernesto's mansion to meet Ernesto de la Cruz, he passes by a couple picking up taquitos from a porcupine alebrije's quills to which as Miguel encounters Ernesto in his mansion, a bird alebrije can be seen in the background on a skeleton woman's piano where Ernesto and various other celebrities sing "Remember Me" together. Later, chihuahua alebrijes are seen when Ernesto introduces Miguel to his legacy inside his mansion while Ernesto holds up one chihuahua alebrije just Miguel engages in a conversation with Ernesto about each others' dreams of being great musicians. After seeing the fireworks outside, a few alebrije chihuahuas stroll past by Ernesto who is talking to Miguel about being in the Sunrise Spectacular event just before Ernesto tries to give Ernesto a marigold petal to bring him home only to be confronted by Héctor who realizes that the songs Ernesto was singing actually belong to Héctor himself as it is revealed the Ernesto was the one who stole his songs to make him famous.
Later, Dante, Pepita, and Imelda later rescue Miguel and Héctor (whom the latter is revealed to be Miguels's great-great grandfather the whole time) at a cenote to which as Miguel praises Dante for being a good spirit guide, Miguel's pet dog suddenly turns into a colorful xoloitzcuintle alebrije with wings and as Dante falls off, he suddenly flies happily with wings as he follows alongside Pepita to meet up with Miguel's relatives just as Miguel reunites with Imelda while planning to get a photo for Héctor on his family's ofrenda, not Ernesto de la Cruz as Miguel finds the whole truth behind Ernesto to which Imelda refuses at first; Imelda then forgives Héctor for abandoning his family after empathetically reconciling with him about his daughter Coco. Dante, as an alebrije, later follows alongside Miguel and the rest of the Rivera family inside the Sunrise Spectacular area while a monkey alebrije's head constantly appears on the big screen while Frida Kahlo and her monkey alebrije watch Miguel, his family members, and Dante (as an alebrije) pass by. Later as Miguel and his family find Ernesto inside the backstage area, the Rivera family members face off various security guards while trying to retrieve Héctor while alebrije-turned Dante charges into a guard trying to kick Miguel out of the Sunrise Spectacular to which Miguel and the rest of his family members suddenly arrive on stage. Dante then watches Miguel trying to accept Imelda's blessing to never forget of how much his family loves him but Ernesto prevents Miguel from leaving just as Dante tries to rescue Miguel to which the Rivera family members suddenly confront him.
Later when Miguel reveals of Ernesto's crimes of what he did to Héctor and stole his songs to make him a famous musician in front of the audience who later find out of Ernesto being a fraud, Ernesto suddenly ejects Miguel out of the stage only to be grabbed by Dante just as the xoloitzcuintle alebrije attempts to rescue Miguel from falling only to be saved by Pepita while the photo of his great-great-grandfather Héctor is dropped into water. Later when Ernesto is shamed by an angry audience after his crimes are revealed, Pepita later corners Ernesto whose true actions are revealed just as she tosses Ernesto onto a bell which suddenly falls on him to reflect the moment he had on his last performance singing "Remember Me" prior to his death. Dante, as an alebrije, emotionally watches Miguel return to Santa Cecilia to reunite with his family and find out who Coco's father really was so his picture can be placed on the ofrenda.
One year later after it is found out that Héctor actually wrote "Remember Me" and Ernesto has been a fraud the whole time which tarnishes his legacy and during the musical number, "Proud Corazón", alebrijes Dante and Pepita happily fly past Héctor and Imelda who happily fly above Héctor, Imelda, and their daughter Mamá Coco who is now in the Land of the Dead where the xoloitzcuintle and jaguar alebrijes fly happily together in rejoice just before the scene loops into the real world of Miguel happily singing with his family with music brought back to the Rivera family to mark the end of the film. Alebrijes later appear on decorative papeles picados during the credits.
Pixar Popcorn[]
In the episode "A Day in the Life of the Dead", a rabbit alebrije first appears where a skeleton citizen observes it and the alebrije asks him to fetch a bone for him while several alebrijes of different species surround him before the scene loops to Tíos Óscar and Felipe riding a bike down a steep hill. Later, a bird alebrije was later collected alongside the Emcee, and a skeleton passenger as the bike speeds uncontrollably just before passing through Héctor and Imelda dancing just before the bike crashes into a cart of cempasúchil marigolds, just as the twins' heads find themselves lying on the ground.
Printed material[]
Miguel and the Amazing Alebrijes[]
Alebrijes also became the main subject of the Coco-inspired book. In this book, Miguel attends school for a very special class from his teacher Sra. Sena, who is teaching the class that they will be making alebrijes. Miguel's teacher explains to the students that alebrijes came out many years ago being a combination of ancient and modern Mexican art forms. Miguel curiously asks his teacher, "How did they get that name?", to which Sra. Sena discusses that the name "alebrije" originates from an artist in a dream (referring to Pedro Linares who created the alebrijes). She then explains to Miguel that to make an alebrije, he must be inspired by looking at the pictures of the animals that live in Santa Cecilia (consisting of pictures of a butterfly, a caracara, a lizard, a chicken, and a snake) telling Miguel to make a list of eight of his favorite animals. Miguel then overhears what his teacher said, confused with her saying that he needs to make eight alebrijes to which she explains to him that he doesn't have to make eight individual alebrijes, telling him that he can make at least a few or even one. She even discusses that alebrijes can be of a particular animal or a combination, telling Miguel to be creative of using his imagination of making his own alebrijes. After Miguel understood his teacher's lesson, he writes a list of animals he wants to make his own alebrije around Santa Cecilia: pigeon, lizard, and armadillo for his list. Miguel continued searching around Santa Cecilia, but could not find any more animals to inspire him to make his own alebrijes just as Miguel decides to ask Abuelita for help.
When Miguel approaches Abuelita, he explains to her about the project he and his class are doing at school, asking her to find five more animals to inspire him to which Abuelita agrees, helping Miguel look at a picture of Imelda and her cat Pepita, just as Miguel adds the cat to his list. Miguel then asks Abuelita to know if she has a favorite animal, to which she explains to him that she once owned a pet goat named Diego, just as Miguel adds the goat to his list. Miguel then asks Mamá Coco to know if she has a favorite animal to which she points to a hawk (specifically a red-tailed hawk) flying past Santa Cecilia just as Miguel adds the hawk to his list. Suddenly, Miguel and Abuelita observe a butterfly landing on the windowsill just as Abuelita tells Miguel that butterflies serve as spiritual animal guides and she explains to Miguel that during butterfly migrations to Mexico every year, they bring lost spirits home for the Day of the Dead, just as Miguel adds the butterfly to his list of animals to make alebrijes.
Just as Miguel continues looking for animals for his list to make his own alebrije, he suddenly finds his dog Dante, adding the dog to his animal list, completing his list of eight animals for him to make his own alebrije. The next day, Miguel worked very hard on the alebrije project just as Miguel's teacher, Sra. Sena, happily observes Miguel being very creative on his alebrije and upon making his custom alebrije and later shows it to Mamá Coco, followed by another one reminding of Abuelita's goat Diego to which Abuelita felt overjoyed of the goat alebrije and later cat and dog alebrijes of Pepita and Dante next to the ofrenda of Imelda, just as Miguel feels proud of his own alebrijes he created.
Disney Parks[]
Magic Happens[]
Alebrijes were also included in the Coco unit at the parade at Disneyland Park. One scene features a scene of two Dante puppets on the bridge of cempasúchil petals, where the first Dante puppet which is his standard form appears, followed by the other one which is his alebrije form. Also on the same parade float consists of various alebrije figures seen on the back of the parade float where they are displayed on the back part featuring various singing skeletal dogs from the talent show sequence. Dancers representing alebrijes also follow alongside the float, alongside a puppet of Pepita being controlled by puppeteers.
Mickey's PhilharMagic[]
In the post-2021 update of the attraction, alebrijes Dante and Pepita were featured in the "Un Poco Loco" sequence, making it the first time that Mickey's PhilharMagic features elements from a Pixar production (not counting the poster of Wheezy seen in the queue of the attraction). The alebrije counterpart of Dante flies past a tram where the Sorcerer Hat appears on Dante followed by Donald Duck appearing on Pepita just as he rides her to go after Dante and retrieve the hat. Donald soon runs across town to retrieve the hat where he chases after Dante who has the hat just before a skeleton magician pops in front of the screen blowing on a blue fire (triggering the air effects). Throughout the chase, Donald has no luck capturing the hat which Dante has, to which he suddenly falls off of the xoloitzunitle alebrije just as Dante still has the hat while skeleton musicians in blue and yellow mariachi outfits appear and blow their trumpets, continuing the song.
Later during the scene which loops into the talent show area, Dante flies and delivers the Sorcerer Hat to Donald and thanks Dante for giving him the hat while Donald dances with Miguel and Héctor on stage. Later, Pepita soars past Donald who tosses the Sorcerer Hat and grabs it just as Donald suddenly hangs on to the alebrije's tail. The scene in the updated version of the attraction then loops into the "You Can Fly" sequence.
Disney Harmony in Color! Parade[]
Alebrijes were also included in the Coco unit at the parade at Tokyo Disneyland. Various performers representing alebrijes appear throughout the unit, followed by a Pepita figure on a life-sized Héctor's guitar and later a carousel depicting Dante's alebrije form standing on top of it as well as the past Rivera family members riding on alebrije figures on the carousel, followed by dancers representing ballet folklroico skeletons passing through.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- At the beginning of the film, Miguel passes by a table of alebrije figures. Next to the table is a trash can of which Dante pops out, foreshadowing that Dante is a spirit guide. Additionally, before Pepita was introduced, a stall selling alebrije sculptures in Santa Cecilia featured a lookalike sculpture of her.
- In that same scene, Destiny from the 2016 Pixar film, Finding Dory makes a cameo as one of the alebrijes placed there. Interestingly, whale sharks can also be found in Mexico in real life, to which the film Coco curiously takes place in Mexico. Additionally, alebrije figurines of a clownfish and a blue tang resembling Nemo and Dory from the Finding Nemo franchise appear on that same table.
- Alebrijes were not traditionally tied to Dia de Los Muertos; however, the filmmakers felt the folk art would be well-represented in the film and were excited to see these figurines come to life. In addition, Pedro Linares, the creator of alebrijes, dreamed of these creatures when he was sick and near-death, leading to him creating the art. The Coco team saw the connection between the alebrije and death to incorporate them into the Land of the Dead, as guides in the spiritual world.[1][4]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "How a Mexican Folk Artist's Fever Dream Inspired a Character in Pixar's Coco". Remezcla (August 26, 2017).
- ↑ Coco Audio Commentary (Coco Blu-ray / Digital releases, 2018)
- ↑ Deleted scene "Alebrije Attack" (Coco Blu-ray / Digital releases, 2018)
- ↑ Unkrich, Lee (December 4, 2017). "Anyone who needs one gets one." (Tweet). Twitter.
External links[]
