The 2017 Disney Pixar musical-fantasy
Coco revolves around 12-year-old Miguel, an aspiring musician who is forced to contend with family secrets, betrayal, and a curse in pursuit of a life with music. Music plays an important role not only in the film's plot but in the telling of the story, with an official soundtrack that includes over 70 minutes of original music. Included are songs by
Germaine Franco and
Adrian Molina, an original score by
Michael Giacchino (
Up,
Ratatouille,
The Incredibles), and song centerpiece "Remember Me," written by
Kristen Anderson-Lopez and
Robert Lopez. Among the several singers featured on the recording are lead voice-actors
Gael Garcia Bernal,
Benjamin Bratt, and
Anthony Gonzalez as Miguel. "Remember Me" undergoes a handful of transformations on the soundtrack, including its introduction by
Bratt as fictional Mexican singing star Ernesto de la Cruz, and a version by real-world pop stars
Miguel and
Natalia Lafourcade. Later in the track list,
Giacchino's orchestral/folk score is steeped in Latin tradition, from mariachi to flamenco guitar and bolero. ~ Marcy Donelson