Pixar’s Coco called ‘rip-off’ by angry fans of similar Day of the Dead film

Coco is Pixar’s latest film, and its first teaser shows a lot to be excited for. The Day of the Dead-based musical features the studio’s first person-of-color lead, a gorgeous art style and the promise of some solid music. Yet those very features have tons of viewers up in arms, citing them as way too similar to another film that was released several years back by a Pixar competitor.

In 2014, 20th Century Fox released The Book of Life, a computer-animated musical set during the Day of the Dead, with moderate success. Directed by Mexican animator Jorge R. Gutierrez, the film was celebrated as an authentic love letter to one of Mexico’s most iconic celebrations, while at the same time mashing it up with American music for an interesting mix between the two.

Reel FX Creative Studios/20th Century Fox

The Book of Life’s sensitive portrayal of a culture often commercialized by Mexico’s northern neighbors won acclaim from critics and viewers, particularly those who stay on top of animation news. Just a year earlier, in 2013, the Walt Disney Company — by far the biggest name in the business — Disney eventually backed down.

But the film remained in production, and it’s now nearing release. Coco opens in November, and it shares a lot in common with the similarly themed film that beat it to theaters by three years. That doesn’t sit well with animation fans who know its history — as the retitled project that got Disney branded by some as culturally insensitive.

When first details about Coco came out at Disney’s D23 event in 2015, Gutierrez expressed support for his friends and industry colleagues at Pixar.

“Seriously, I have lots of friends working on Coco and I wish them all success,” he said on Twitter.

The Book of Life director’s outspoken support stood in stark contrast to described Coco as a “unique idea” about love and loss, done up in the colorful style of Mexican folk art — all of which describes The Book of Life, too. Both movies are about living characters venturing into the Land of the Dead, with music playing a huge part in their journeys.

Further to The Book of Life’s credit, it had several Mexican producers and animators onboard; when the much bigger budgeted Coco was revealed in 2015, all known figures attached were white. Pixar has since done its due diligence on that end, with award-winning actor Gael Garcia Bernal (Mozart in the Jungle) heading up a cast of all Latinos. The studio also formed a coalition of cultural consultants, made up of Mexican creatives who had lambasted the project back in 2013.

Now, in March 2017, there are still viewers who say that isn’t enough. The ghost of The Book of Life lingers, as does Disney’s ill-fated “Dia de los Muertos” trademark attempt; it also doesn’t help that The Book of Life was dumped by Pixar’s biggest competitor, DreamWorks, in the years before its eventual release. (Some incorrectly believe that it was Disney who rejected Gutierrez’s pitch.)

Conversations about later in 2012.

There are also plenty of folks who are just happy to have more films about non-American culture hitting theaters:

But the commonalities the two movies share — family-friendly storylines, an emphasis on music, undeniably Mexican-inspired art design — will likely continue to inspire criticism from animation fans who see Disney and Pixar as stomping all over the little guy.