Encanto (movie)

Encanto is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy movie produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was made by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, co-directed by writer Charise Castro Smith who co-wrote the screenplay with Bush, and produced by Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer. The original songs were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

It is Disney's sixtieth animated movie. It was released through Disney+ on December 24, 2022 to strong positive reviews. It won a Golden Globe Award for best animated movie.

Plot 
Forced by colonisers to flee her village in Colombia, a young Alma Madrigal loses her husband Pedro but saves her triplets: Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno. By a miracle, her candle attains magic, blasts away their pursuers, and creates a living house, the Casita, for them to live in, along with a magical realm bordered by tall surrounding mountains— "an encanto."  The candle's magic grants "Gifts" to each Madrigal descendant, which they are to use to serve the villagers. However, Bruno, portrayed as a villain for his gift of telling the future, disappeared ten years earlier while Mirabel, Julieta's youngest daughter, did not receive a gift, and feels left out of the family for it ("The Family Madrigal").

On his fifth birthday, Pepa's youngest son, Antonio, is gifted with the ability to talk with animals, and the family poses for a picture but leaves out Mirabel ("Waiting on a Miracle"). Mirabel suddenly sees the Casita cracking and the candle's flame flickering, but is ignored when the Casita appears undamaged to the others. After overhearing Alma praying, Mirabel resolves to save the miracle's magic. The next day, she talks to her super-strong older sister, Luisa, who confesses that she feels overwhelmed by work she must do ("Surface Pressure") then suggests that Bruno's room, may hold clues to the mystery. There, Mirabel finds a cave and recovers pieces of a slab of emerald . After Mirabel gets out Luisa discovers that her gift is weakening. After her family reminds her of the reasons that Bruno is not to be discussed ("We Don't Talk About Bruno"), Mirabel reconstructs the slab and discovers it forms an image of herself standing in front of a broken Casita. Mirabel takes this to mean that she will destroy the family.

Later that evening, Mirabel's oldest sister Isabela, who can make plants and flowers grow at will, is scheduled to become engaged to neighbor Mariano Guzmán. After a tense dinner, Mirabel's oldest cousin Dolores, who possesses superhuman hearing, blurts out that she overheard Mirabel talking with her father about Bruno's vision. The Casita begins to crack again, causing everyone's powers to go haywire, ruining the night and Mariano's proposal when Pepa inadvertently conjures a downpour. As everyone flees the chaos, Mirabel follows a group of rats and discovers a secret passage behind a portrait. There she encounters Bruno, who reveals that his vision of Mirabel would have put her at odds with the family (and potentially the townsfolk who relied on the magic for their everyday lives), so he broke the vision and went into hiding to protect her, concealing himself within the house's walls so he could still be near them. Bruno reveals that the vision could change, meaning that Mirabel would either destroy the Madrigal family or heal its rifts. At Mirabel's urging, he reluctantly conjures another vision. At first, it goes the same way as the previous one, with Mirabel still standing in front of a broken Casita. However a golden butterfly appears, and the vision changes into an image of Mirabel embracing a young woman, whom they identify as Isabela.

Mirabel apologizes to Isabela but accidentally provokes a cathartic confession: Isabela does not want to marry Mariano and is burdened by her image of perfection ("What Else Can I Do?"). Mirabel helps Isabela blossom into her true, imperfect self and they embrace, strengthening the candle and healing the cracks. However, Alma sees the two of them, with Isabela growing whatever she wants, and accuses Mirabel of causing the family's misfortunes out of spite for not having a Gift. Mirabel blames Alma for the immense pressure she imposes on the family. Their rising argument weakens the candle again and creates a fissure that splits a nearby mountain and demolishes the Casita. Despite Mirabel's efforts to save it, the candle dies in her hands, leaving all the Madrigals powerless. While the family and several locals assess the damage, a guilt-ridden Mirabel leaves the town.

After a few hours of fruitless search, Alma finds a tearful Mirabel back at the river where Pedro died. She explains how, in her determination to preserve the magic, she ignored the toll it took on her family and finally takes responsibility for what happened ("Dos Oruguitas"). After hearing Alma's tragic backstory, Mirabel tells her that despite her flaws, she is the one who brought and protected the family together all these years. After a golden butterfly appears, they reconcile, and Bruno appears and confronts Alma to defend Mirabel, unexpectedly cheering her up with his return. They reunite with the Madrigals, and the townspeople arrive to help them rebuild the Casita ("All of You"). When the house is rebuilt, the Madrigals give Mirabel a gleaming doorknob with an M on it. When she places it in the front door, the magic springs back to life, restoring the Casita and all the family's Gifts and spreading through the village. The Madrigals pose for another family picture, this time with Mirabel and Bruno included.

References

American musical comedy movies
Disney animated movies
American fantasy-comedy movies
English-language movies
Spanish-language movies
Golden Globe Award winning movies