Coco

EXT. MARIGOLD PATH - DUSK

A path of marigold petals leads up to an altar lovingly

arranged in a humble cemetery. An old woman lights a candle

as the smoke of burning copal wood dances lyrically upward...

CARD:
DISNEY PRESENTS

CARD:
A PIXAR ANIMATION STUDIOS FILM

The smoke lifts up toward lines of papel picado ­- cut paper

banners -- that sway gently in the breeze.

PAPEL PICADO CARD: "COCO"

MIGUEL (V.O.)

Sometimes I think I'm cursed...

'cause of something that happened

before I was even born.

A story begins to play out on the papel picado.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

See, a long time ago there was this

family.

The images on the papel picado come to life to illustrate a

father, a mother, and a little girl. The family is happy.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

The papá, he was a musician.

The papá plays guitar while the mother dances with her

daughter.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

He and his family would sing, and

dance, and count their blessings...

(beat)

But he also had a dream... to play

for the world.

(beat)

And one day he left with his

guitar... and never returned.

The man walks down a road, guitar slung on his back. In

another vignette his daughter stands in the doorway, watching

her papá leave. Two feet step up next to her. It is her

mamá, hardened.

She shuts the door.

2.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

And the mamá...? She didn't have

time to cry over that walkaway

musician!

(beat)

After banishing all music from her

life...

The woman gets rid of all of her husband's instruments and

records.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

She found a way to provide for her

daughter...

(beat)

She rolled up her sleeves and she

learned to make shoes.

(beat)

She could have made candy!

Amongst the papel picado, a stick swings at a strung up

piñata which bursts with candy...

MIGUEL (V.O.)

Or fireworks!

Fireworks go off in the background...

MIGUEL (V.O.)

Or sparkly underwear for wrestlers!

Sparkly underwear and a luchador mask hang on a line amongst

other linens...

MIGUEL (V.O.)

But no... she chose shoes...

On the papel picado, the little girl becomes a young woman.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

Then she taught her daughter to

make shoes. And later, she taught

her son-in-law.

She introduces a suitor to the family business.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

Then her grandkids got roped in.

As her family grew, so did the

business.

In the next vignette, a bunch of goofy grandchildren join in

the shoemaking. The shoe shop is full of family!

3.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

Music had torn her family apart,

but shoes held them all together.

(beat)

You see, that woman was my great-

great grandmother, Mamá Imelda.

TILT DOWN from the papel picado to the

OFRENDA ROOM - DAY

where a photo sits at the top of a beautiful altar. The

photo features MAMÁ IMELDA -- serious, formidable. She holds

a baby on her lap. Her husband stands beside her, but his

face has been torn away.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

She died WAY before I was born.

But my family still tells her story

every year on Día de los Muertos --

the Day of the Dead...

(beat)

And her little girl?

Fade from the face of the little girl to present day MAMÁ

COCO (97), a living raisin, convalescing in a wicker

wheelchair.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

She's my great grandmother, Mamá

Coco.

A boy (12) walks into frame and kisses her on the cheek.

This is our narrator, MIGUEL.

MIGUEL:

Holá, Mamá Coco.

MAMÁ COCO

How are you, Julio?

MIGUEL (V.O.)

Actually, my name is Miguel. Mamá

Coco has trouble remembering

things... But it's good to talk to

her anyway. So I tell her pretty

much everything.

QUICK CUTS of Miguel with Mamá Coco:

4.

EXT. COURTYARD

MIGUEL:

I used to run like this...

Miguel pumps his arms with his hands in fists. Then he

switches to flat palms.

MIGUEL:

But now I run like this which is

way faster!

CUT TO:

INT. MAMÁ COCO'S ROOM

Miguel, in a luchador mask, climbs onto the bed, arms raised.

MIGUEL:

And the winner is... Luchadora

Coco!

Miguel leaps off the bed onto a pile of pillows that bursts,

sending feathers onto Mamá Coco who wears a mask of her own.

CUT TO:

EXT. DINING AREA

Miguel leans toward Mamá Coco at the dinner table.

MIGUEL:

I have a dimple on this side, but

not on this side. Dimple. No

dimple. Dimple. No dimple--

ABUELITA:

Miguel! Eat your food.

Miguel's ABUELITA (70s) runs the table like a ship captain.

She gives Mamá Coco a kiss on the head.

MIGUEL (V.O.)

My Abuelita? She's Mamá Coco's

daughter.

Abuelita piles extra tamales on Miguel's plate.

ABUELITA:

Aw, you're a twig, mijo. Have some

more.

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