Translation Strategies of Cultural References in an Animated Film

Abstract

This research focuses on the analysis of the translation strategies employed in the Spanish version of the screenplay of the film Coco (Disney-Pixar, 2017), based on its original English text. The aim of this study is to analyze the translation strategies used in the adaptation of Coco’s screenplay from English into Spanish, in order to identify, classify, and evaluate the cultural references according to Newmark’s typology, and to determine how these translational decisions preserve, adapt, or transform the representation of Mexican culture in the target version. In other words, it examines how cultural references related to Mexican traditions—such as the Day of the Dead, music, offerings, and religious symbols—are transferred to the Spanish-speaking audience. This study seeks to provide a critical perspective on translation decisions that favor the preservation of cultural identity versus those that opt for adaptation, thus contributing to the field of audiovisual and cultural translation. The research follows a qualitative, descriptive, and analytical approach, and its corpus consists of selected fragments from the original English screenplay of Coco and their equivalents in the Spanish translation, containing relevant cultural references. The findings aim to contribute to the field of translation studies and intercultural research by offering a critical analysis of how Mexican cultural values are represented and conveyed in a globally distributed film.