Latest news with #Coco2
Toronto Sun
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Toronto Sun
Canadian Oscar-winning filmmaker draws from childhood for Elio, a tale about lonely boy's search for life in the universe
A scene from the film Elio. Courtesy, Pixar. Photo by Pixar / PIXAR Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. Domee Shi may have signed on to co-direct the new Pixar Animation Studios movie, Elio, about halfway through its lengthy production schedule, but it didn't take her long to identify with the film's protagonist. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account Shi, who currently lives in California but spent most of her life in Toronto, co-directed the animated film with Madeline Sharafian after original director Adrian Molina amicably left the production to work on Pixar's Coco 2. (Shi, Sharafian and Molina are all credited as co-directors.) As both a creative vice-president for Pixar and a fan of Molina's work, Shi had been following the production ever since it was first pitched in 2020. But it was well underway and the concept well-established by the time Shi officially signed on. Still, she felt a real kinship with the film's titular character, a young boy whose dream of being whisked away to another planet comes true, and he is introduced to the Communiverse, a benevolent interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'With every project I'm on, I try to connect with and identify with the main character in some way,' says Shi in a Zoom interview with Postmedia. 'I have to find my way into the main character. For Elio, it definitely was that loneliness and desperation to belong that I drew from my own childhood and teenhood, just feeling like the only kid in school who liked anime and people not understanding why I liked these Japanese cartoons with big eyes and wacky expressions. I was like, 'No, it's not just that! It's because they are very deep characters with rich stories and arcs.' 'Being obsessed with going to animation school, being obsessed with being accepted there, I think that obsession and need to find my people is what I infused into the character of Elio. When he gets abducted and witnesses the Communiverse for the first time, that was definitely my feeling when I first stepped foot into Sheridan College. I finally got into the animation program there and got to meet fellow nerds like myself. That was such an amazing feeling.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Filmmaker Domee Shi, co-director of Pixar's Elio. Courtesy, Pixar. Like all of Pixar's creations, Elio presents a wondrous, imaginative world full of offbeat characters and warm humour. But there is also a sadness underlying the film and its main character. Elio, voiced by 14-year-old actor Yonas Kibrea, is a lonely 11-year-old whose desperation to be abducted by aliens seems to be driven by a need to know he isn't alone in the universe. After his parents die, he is taken in by his Aunt Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldana), who becomes his loving but occasionally overwhelmed caregiver. A respected Air Force officer, Olga has to deal with her troubled nephew and his single-minded obsession with contacting aliens while reining in her career ambitions. Elio doesn't feel like he belongs in her world, and also has nagging guilt over the possibility that his unexpected arrival in her life has disrupted Olga's life plans. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Elio's interest in contacting life in outer space begins after he learns about the real-life Voyager satellite, which was launched in 1977, containing a 'Golden Record' from the children of Earth inviting aliens to come visit. The invitation works, and aliens contact Earth, which is intercepted and answered by Elio at his aunt's Air Force base. He is taken to the Communiverse after its colourful ambassadors mistake him for Earth's ruler. Elio doesn't correct the mistake, which eventually leads to him taking on a dangerous mission to negotiate peace with the hostile Lord Grigon (voiced by Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett), who wants to wage war on the Commuiverse after being rejected as a member. Along the way, Elio learns a lot of family-friendly lessons about friendship, belonging, the importance of family and home, and not to judge a book by its cover. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It's not like we start our movies wanting to have a message,' Shi says. 'I think we start our movies with a really fun and unique what-if concept, and we start with the character. With the main character, how does he start in the movie, and how does he change? Where does he end up in the movie? What is driving him, and what is making the audience care about him and want to go on a journey with him? Then it's interesting, as you're working on a story or a movie, the theme starts to emerge slowly and naturally as you are working with the material. For us, yeah, the theme of loneliness and seeking connection just organically started to bubble up as we were talking in the room. We love this quirky kid who wants to be abducted by aliens, but we just kept asking ourselves, 'Why does he want to be abducted by aliens?' What is driving that need to go off the planet?' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. On top of that, Elio is essentially a sci-fi movie, a genre Shi has always wanted to explore. 'I was really excited to jump into this new sandbox that I've never been able to play in,' she says. 'I've never done sci-fi before, but I love sci-fi movies. I grew up watching E.T. I love Gravity. I love Alien. I love the use of space and aliens as metaphors and allegories of things the protagonist is going through internally.' A scene from the film Elio. Courtesy, Pixar. Photo by Pixar / PIXAR After graduating from Sheridan College, Shi was hired as a story intern at Pixar and quickly graduated to story artist, working on the Oscar-winning feature, 2015's Inside Out. She worked on The Good Dinosaur, Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4. Initially, she was happy being a story artist and had no real ambitions to direct films for the company. But she did begin developing her own project, a short film called Bao. It told the story of a lonely Chinese-Canadian woman whose steamed bun comes to life. She initially intended to make it as a side project and had no intention of pitching it to Pixar. But she did show it to Pete Docter, a veteran director of the company's films and Pixar's current chief creative officer. He encouraged her to pitch it to Pixar. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'It was way more quote, unquote adult,' she says of the original concept. 'It wasn't G-rated. There is a PG-13 version of Bao somewhere on my computer that I probably won't ever show anybody.' It was the first Pixar film to be directed by a female and ended up winning her an Oscar in 2018 for best animated short. Since then, Shi made her feature directorial debut with 2022's Turning Red, which was also nominated for an Academy Award. For those who watch the end credits of Elio, or any Pixar film for that matter, it's clear that it takes a sprawling team of animators and other craftspeople to create a movie. 'It takes a village,' Shi says. 'It's incredibly inspiring and also daunting to lead these projects because there are so many people involved. They kind of come on at different parts of production, so it's not like everyone comes on all at once, and you are suddenly this captain of this 2,000-person army. Because our movies take four or five years to make, people come on steadily and then they wrap and different people come on and they wrap. So not too bad, but then if you zoom out and look at the credits, it's like, 'Oh my God, that's a lot of people.' But that's what it takes to make animation. People don't understand that animation is blood, sweat and tears. Everything you see on screen takes a person, an artisan, to bring to life.' Elio opens June 20. Columnists Columnists Toronto & GTA Toronto & GTA World
Calgary Herald
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Canadian Oscar-winning filmmaker draws from childhood for Elio, a tale about lonely boy's search for life in the universe
Domee Shi may have signed on to co-direct the new Pixar Animation Studios movie, Elio, about halfway through its lengthy production schedule, but it didn't take her long to identify with the film's protagonist. Article content Shi, who currently lives in California but spent most of her life in Toronto, co-directed the animated film with Madeline Sharafian after original director Adrian Molina amicably left the production to work on Pixar's Coco 2. (Shi, Sharafian and Molina are all credited as co-directors.) Article content Article content As both a creative vice-president for Pixar and a fan of Molina's work, Shi had been following the production ever since it was first pitched in 2020. Article content Article content But it was well underway and the concept well-established by the time Shi officially signed on. Still, she felt a real kinship with the film's titular character, a young boy whose dream of being whisked away to another planet comes true, and he is introduced to the Communiverse, a benevolent interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Article content 'With every project I'm on, I try to connect with and identify with the main character in some way,' says Shi in a Zoom interview with Postmedia. 'I have to find my way into the main character. For Elio, it definitely was that loneliness and desperation to belong that I drew from my own childhood and teenhood, just feeling like the only kid in school who liked anime and people not understanding why I liked these Japanese cartoons with big eyes and wacky expressions. I was like, 'No, it's not just that! It's because they are very deep characters with rich stories and arcs.' Article content Article content 'Being obsessed with going to animation school, being obsessed with being accepted there, I think that obsession and need to find my people is what I infused into the character of Elio. When he gets abducted and witnesses the Communiverse for the first time, that was definitely my feeling when I first stepped foot into Sheridan College. I finally got into the animation program there and got to meet fellow nerds like myself. That was such an amazing feeling.' Article content Article content Like all of Pixar's creations, Elio presents a wondrous, imaginative world full of offbeat characters and warm humour. But there is also a sadness underlying the film and its main character. Elio, voiced by 14-year-old actor Yonas Kibrea, is a lonely 11-year-old whose desperation to be abducted by aliens seems to be driven by a need to know he isn't alone in the universe. After his parents die, he is taken in by his Aunt Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldana), who becomes his loving but occasionally overwhelmed caregiver. A respected Air Force officer, Olga has to deal with her troubled nephew and his single-minded obsession with contacting aliens while reining in her career ambitions. Elio doesn't feel like he belongs in her world, and also has nagging guilt over the possibility that his unexpected arrival in her life has disrupted Olga's life plans.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Renée Victor, Voice of Abuelita in ‘Coco,' Dies at 86
Renée Victor, the actress known for voicing Abuelita in Disney and Pixar's Coco and starring as Lupita in Showtime's Weeds, has died. She was 86. Victor died at her home in Sherman Oaks on Friday night surrounded by her family after a battle with lymphoma, her representative told The Hollywood Reporter. More from The Hollywood Reporter Devin Harjes, 'Boardwalk Empire,' 'Daredevil' and 'Gotham' Actor, Dies at 41 Alan Alda, Mike Farrell Among Those Paying Tribute to Loretta Swit: "A Supremely Talented Actor" Sherry Robb, Literary Agent, Talent Manager and Producer, Dies at 81 After being born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1938, she moved to Los Angeles in the 1960s where she grew her career as a musician. Victor worked alongside the likes of Xavier Cugat and Perez Prado, who helped popularize Latin music in the States before she and her husband began performing as the duo named 'Ray & Renée' from 1963 to 1973. She began her pivot into television in the 1970s when she hosted Pacesetters, a KTLA program that spotlighted the Chicano movement. Victor went on to be featured in an episode of Masquerade in 1984, Scarecrow and Mrs. King in 1985 and Matlock in 1987. She ventured into voice acting in 1992 with the animated The Addams Family series, with her additional credits including The Doctor, Confessions of a Shopaholic, A Night in Old Mexico and Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, among others. In 2005, she joined the cast of Weeds, where she starred as Lupita, the housekeeper to Mary-Louise Parker's character. Victor starred in Coco as the protective Aubelita, and the film went on to garner two Academy Awards for best animated feature and best original song, 'Remember Me,' written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez. Notably, Coco featured an all-Latin cast. After Disney announced Coco 2 was in development at Disney's Annual Shareholder Meeting earlier this year, Victor showed her excitement for the project on Instagram. 'It was my great pleasure and experience working with the incredibly talented Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina! We get to do it again,' she wrote, though the official cast for Coco 2 has not yet been confirm. 'This is what we've all been waiting for! I'm so excited! Coco shared a Mexican tradition that is now celebrated around the world in unity. An amazing amount of work and talent goes into the creation of this unique film.' Following the news of her death, Pixar shared a statement in honor of Victor on Instagram. 'We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Renée Victor, the voice Abuelita in Coco and an incredible part of the Pixar family. We will always remember you,' they wrote Saturday. Gloria Calderón Kellett, whom Victor starred alongside in Prime Video's With Love, shared a heartfelt Instagram post Saturday, recalling when they first crossed paths on the set of The Ortegas and 'she radiated talent, humor and grace.' 'It's hard to say goodbye to the incomparable Renee Victor,' she wrote. 'Years later, she would become my TV mom, Marta, on With Love — a role named after my paternal grandmother. It felt like destiny. She brought that character to life with such warmth, sharp wit, and elegance. And let's be honest — she had the best legs in the biz!' 'Renee was a true pro. A scene-stealer. A joy. A blessing. Her artistry made everything better, and her presence made every set brighter,' she wrote in the conclusion of the post. Survivor include her two daughters, Raquel and Margo. Best of The Hollywood Reporter 13 of Tom Cruise's Most Jaw-Dropping Stunts Hollywood Stars Who Are One Award Away From an EGOT 'The Goonies' Cast, Then and Now
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Renée Victor, 'Coco' and 'Weeds' star, dies at 86
Renee Victor, an actress known for her roles on the Showtime series "Weeds" and in the Pixar animated film "Coco," has died. She was 86. A representative for Victor confirmed the actress' death to USA TODAY on June 1. She had been battling lymphoma, a type of cancer, according to Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter. Victor provided the voice of Abuelita in the acclaimed 2017 animated movie "Coco." The Pixar film, which grossed more than $800 million worldwide, won two Oscars, for best animated film and best original song for "Remember Me." A sequel to "Coco" was announced in March, and Victor had indicated she planned to reprise her role. "It was my great pleasure and experience working with the incredibly talented (directors) Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina!" she wrote on Instagram in March. "We get to do it again! This is what we've all been waiting for! I'm so excited!" 'Coco 2' is in the works at Pixar: What we know She added, "Coco shared a Mexican tradition that is now celebrated around the world in unity. An amazing amount of work and talent goes into the creation of this unique film." Watch the opening number of 'Coco' you didn't see Victor, who was born and raised in San Antonio, played the role of Charlie Clark's beloved "Nana" in the Texas car dealer's 2021 superhero movie "Green Ghost and the Masters of the Stone," which had a premiere in El Paso. Victor also played housekeeper Lupita on Showtime's "Weeds," which ran from 2005 to 2012. According to IMDb, she appeared in 22 episodes across the show's eight seasons. Her other television work included appearances on "Dead to Me," "Snowpiercer," "Vida" and "ER," and on the film side, she also starred in "Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones" and "Confessions of a Shopaholic." Outside of acting, Victor was a singer and performed with her husband as the duo Ray and Renee. In a statement shared on Instagram, Pixar paid tribute to Victor with a reference to "Remember Me," the Oscar-winning song from "Coco." "We are heartbroken to hear of the passing of Renée Victor, the voice Abuelita in 'Coco' and an incredible part of the Pixar family," the company said. "We will always remember you." El Paso Times reporter Daniel Borunda contribute to this report. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Renée Victor dies: 'Coco,' 'Weeds' star was 86
Perth Now
28-05-2025
- Health
- Perth Now
Baby formula recalled over feeding guide errors
Coco2's baby formula company has recalled its product over feeding guide errors that were first uncovered in a 7NEWS exclusive investigation. The error relates to incorrect labelling of scoop sizes of the product, which is a world-first baby formula developed in Australia from coconut milk. 7NEWS revealed a number of parents had informed their babies were losing weight and getting sick. The father of a four-month-old baby who wanted to remain anonymous said his son ended up in hospital with severe malnutrition. An official report from doctors at The Royal Children's Hospital, which 7NEWS has obtained, suggests the baby's illness was likely caused by the Coco2 Baby Formula. 'The Coco formula they were previously consuming had made an error in their scoop size and was not delivering adequate nutrition per feed — this is the likely cause for their significant weight loss and malnutrition,' according to the report. Coco2 has admitted there was an error in its scoop size. Credit: 7NEWS The company had admitted it had made a mistake with their scoop size meaning more powder was needed to get the nutritional value. They apologised for the error and put a sticker over the old tins with a new feeding guide, advising customers to add extra scoops, but assured that the product was still safe. They told 7NEWS in a statement that a recall was not needed as: 'Most of the products are sold online, with small group of retail stores selling Coco2. All customers were contacted by email, as our formula itself has not changed and remains nutritionally safe and compliant, and the issue has been addressed through corrected labelling, a recall was not necessary under regulatory or food safety guidelines.' But in a major backflip, the company has issued a voluntary recall of the product, to rectify the incorrect scoop sizes. Parents say their little boy became sick after using a formula made by Coco2 Australia. Credit: 7NEWS They were available at Go-Vita and Priority Health stores in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia as well as at Priceline in Queensland and Priceline and online nationally. 'Discontinue use immediately and dispose of the product safely,' a statement urges customers. 'Consumers should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund. 'Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice.' Coco2 has been contacted for comment. Parents have told 7NEWS it's a good first step but they're saddened it's take so long to get to this point. You can read the original story here.
