Benjamin Bratt lauds 'Coco' for showing 'subtleties and beauty that exist within the Latino culture'

— -- You won’t actually see Benjamin Bratt in his newest film role, but he’s proud of the outcome.

Bratt is starring in the new Disney/Pixar animated feature “Coco” as the voice of the great Ernesto de la Cruz. He talked about the film in a recent appearance on “Popcorn With Peter Travers.”

“It’s going to be funny. And it will likely move you,” Bratt said. “The difference in this case is that, at long last, they’re setting against the backdrop of Latino culture, specifically Mexican culture, around the celebration of the Day of the Dead, which is a beautiful recognition of those who have come before us.

“It’s a time of year around Halloween time where people put up altars, remembrances of the people who have passed on. So that’s the context in which the story unfolds.”

Bratt plays a beloved performer who unknowingly inspires a young boy, only to find out they have a surprising connection.

“Miguel, who’s the 12-year-old lead of the story, has a passion to be a talented musician very much like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz, which is the person I play,” Bratt, 53, told Peter Travers. “This guy, he’s the Mexican Frank Sinatra. This is a guy who is as famous for his singing as he is for as his star turns in Mexican cinema. The problem is he’s dead.”

Bratt, whose mother immigrated to the United States from Peru, said the film hits home for him because he can personally relate to some aspects of the story.

“Miguel, through some set of mysterious circumstances, ends up in the Land of the Dead and comes face to face with his personal hero,” Bratt said. “That sets them off on a journey where the boy discovers things about himself and where he’s from.

“It’s a beautiful, beautiful story and actually one that I’m really proud of, because of what I think is a truly authentic depiction of a lot of the subtleties and beauty that exist within the Latino culture.”

“Coco” is in theaters everywhere.

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