Can we talk about the lighting and color choices for Senior de la Cruz? Okay thanks.
The first time we see de la Cruz, he’s wearing a bold blue suit and his skin has a very peachy orange tone to it—similar to a lot of the cempasúchil (marigolds) and candle-lit imagery early on in the movie.
And his blue suit blends in with the background, emphasizing his face. Disney plays no games. Ernesto is the center of attention for Miguel and also the audience, as expected from a famous Mexican icon.
Then we see him in a sort of blue-purple hue through Miguel’s television. Yes, the fact that it’s coming from a tv influences the color but I think it does much more.
Instead of seeing Ernesto’s extravaganza we see a sentimental, heartfelt, passionate side to him. At this point in the movie, Miguel holds his passion quietly to himself, perhaps feeling a bit blue that music—something so integral to him—was forbidden.
This shift in color shows that. As we see de la Cruz’ shift from a loud performance to soft moment of muse, so do the colors.
Music is all of Ernesto’s being. In the tv he’s all one color. Such a nice parallel.
Then Ernesto meets his “great great grandson” Miguel. This scene is filled with pinks and purples and feels heartwarming, mystical, and even surreal.
No doubt, this leads us directly to a train of Miguel’s emotion. He not only met one-on-one with his idol, but now Ernesto knows of his existence! And to top it all off, Santa Cecilia’s little musician Miguel is related to the best singer of Mexican history, and even welcomed by him. Very surreal indeed.
Then the color switches back to peachy, yellow-oranges. This is very similar to the first colors we saw Ernesto estrenar (show(?)) in his performance of “Remember Me.” (This ⇩)
Interesting that this color choice looks like flesh, given that he is a skeleton. Though deceased, de la Cruz is alive in Miguel’s memories and experiences.
At this point he’s still a friendly great great grandma, giving Miguel sound advice and inspiration.
Remember the pinks and purples from their first encounter?
Well now they’re back, but juxtaposed with greens and teals—something on the opposite side of the color wheel, more or less.
It’s almost as if Ernesto’s kindness is about to be side-to-side with an opposing plot scene.
We spoke to soon. The pink warmth that Ernesto first gave off is mostly gone now.
It is replaced almost entirely with saturated greens and purples. The intense color choice reminds me of something magical and evil… kind of like the Princess and the Frog.
And as the movie ends, Ernesto is in blue lighting, sort of like the television.
Ernesto’s character pulled a 180° and so did the colors and lighting. I thought we should take a moment to appreciate this beautiful imagery. ♡
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