Coco duo find inner mariachis
Coco across all of those qualities – while also doing the singing – with only his voice.
‘‘I think the well-guarded secret about animated performances is that they happen in a vacuum and they are quite difficult to render because you are never on a soundstage with other performers. It’s just you and the director,’’ Bratt says. ‘‘This is a very meticulous process where you can do the same line 40 or 50 ways.
‘‘It’s exacting work especially because you don’t have the use of your face or your body. You are trying to pull a full-blooded performance out of the air.’’
At least Bratt had worked on the animated projects Despicable Me 2 and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs before Coco.
For Bernal, Coco has been his introduction into this unique way of acting. His credits are of the live-action variety, including the feature film The Motorcycle Diaries and the TV series Mozart in the Jungle.
He knew doing the voice work would be a challenge, but Bernal sees every acting job as testing his abilities. Once he walked into the recording studio, Bernal found the process to be exciting and a way to satisfying his curiosity about the animation process.
‘‘There is a way of rigor, a specific way to work, with animation,’’ Bernal says. ‘‘Each film has its own particular necessities. Each character has its own particular necessities. When I was invited to do it, they were very good in incorporating me into the way they do things and how they wanted to do this.
‘‘It was all a thorough process. It wasn’t a scary process. I was just excited.’’
Just like Bratt, Bernal’s role as Hector required him to show off his singing abilities. And, just like Bratt, Bernal has never had any formal musical training. The Guadalajara native started acting when he was 11 on the TV series Teresa and has been working steadily since then.
Instead of worrying about the musical aspects, Bernal focused on the work he would have to do bringing the complicated character to life. Hector starts out looking like a small-time hustler, but as the film goes on, there is a very sensitive side revealed. And, all of this is mixed with a comical element.
‘‘It’s a privilege to play a complex character like this,’’ Bernal says. ‘‘I liked everything that goes on with the character and everything that is not being said. That’s just like music. Sometimes the silences between notes are something that is part of the music.
‘‘It is a very full character. It has transcended all my expectations. It’s impressive.’’
And in the process of making the film, both Bratt and Bernal got to face and conquer new challenges. - TNS
‘ It’s exacting work especially because you don’t have the use of your face or your body. ’ BENJAMIN BRATT
● Coco (PG) opens in New Zealand cinemas nationwide on Boxing Day.