Mirabel Madrigal

**Mirabel Madrigal** is a fictional character who appears in Walt Disney Animated 2021 film Encanto. Mirabel is depicted as an imperfect and quirky but emotional and empathetic 15-year-old girl who is the only member of the Madrigal family to not receive a magical gift. When their "miracle" begins to fade, she takes it upon herself to save the magic, learning of her familial troubles along the way.

From the beginning of development, Mirabel was conceived as the only member of her family without a gift. Although the plot initially depicted her desperately searching for a gift, her motivation was adjusted to a desire to be noticed, which was deemed more relatable towards the audience. Based on the appearance of tourist guide Alejandra Espinosa Uribe, Mirabel's design began with her skirt, which features much embroidery that represents her personality. American actress Stephanie Beatriz provides her voice; after first auditioning for the role of Luisa, Beatriz was deemed perfect for Mirabel.

Critics praised the character, as well as Beatriz's performance; Mirabel has also been discussed among therapists and has received multiple awards.

## Background

Mirabel is the youngest daughter of her father, one of the 15 year olds in the family, and, being the only child not blessed with a gift, she is constantly being made to feel left out of her family. Despite this, she genuinely loves her family. When the magic is in danger of disappearing, Mirabel may be the last hope for the Madrigal family to restore the magic. She is later blamed for being the reason the miracle is fading because of a vision by her uncle Bruno that had her in it.

### Personality

Mirabel often shows a free-spirited and optimistic demeanor; despite being the only Madrigal grandchild without a gift and is outcast by her family and peers, she is still very much sociable and friendly to those around her. Lacking a gift of her own, she admires her relatives and hold them in high regard. She described Isabela as graceful and perfect, and Luisa as strong and the brawn of the family. Her lack of gift also does not hinder her from getting along with most of her relatives: her parents Julieta and Agustin, her cousin Antonio, her uncle Bruno and her elder sister Luisa. She also is humble and honest, admitting easily that she and her father are both accident-prone. On top of this, Mirabel appears confident as she claims that she does not need a gift to make herself happy and that she is just as special as everyone else in her family.

Despite seemingly living life happily without any power of her own, Mirabel is very much insecure by the fact that she cannot contribute to her family the same way her relatives do. The worst part of not having a gift is being looked down by her Abuela (and Isabela) and viewed as nobody in her own family. As she cannot relate with her gifted relatives, she is lonely and feels disconnected from them. Ultimately, her greatest wish is nothing more than to be fully included in the family Madrigal as the only one without a gift.

During the course of the movie, in her pursuit to find answers behind the magic’s weakening, she is shown to be very persistent as she continually followed Luisa who was running her errands and pestered her until her sister confesses her problems. She also insisted that her Tío Bruno conjure another vision of the future, despite him being uncomfortable with the idea of it. Later on, Mirabel persisted on reconciling with Isabela (albeit begrudgingly, doing so only because it’s in Bruno’s vision), and while Isabela is singing about her self-expression and freedom, Mirabel attempts to rush the reconciliation process.

While searching for answers on why the magic is dying, Mirabel discovers how much stress each of her family members are in as a result of the expectations set upon their gifts and themselves, which they hide behind peaceful façades. She is able to sympathize with her uncle Bruno’s loneliness, understanding his feelings of being an outsider, and resolves to help him be welcomed back into their family after seeing that he is a good man who just had troubles with his gift. In addition, Mirabel helps to give voice to her family’s problems through her compassion and helps them understand that they are valuable as they are, not because of their gifts. This allows Mirabel to relate to her family members in ways she could not previously do, thus allowing her to form stronger bonds with them.

While Mirabel greatly respects Abuela as both the founder of the magic and the matriarch of the Madrigal family, she is unhappy with the fact that Abuela mistreats her for not being blessed with a gift and for frequently disallowing her from participating in familial activities. After learning the source of the miracle dying and trying to tell Abuela how to fix it, Abuela was quick to lash out at Mirabel for "hurting the family" and causing misery within the household because she didn't get a gift, which greatly hurt Mirabel. Finally fed up with this treatment, Mirabel pointed out how Abuela always saw her as beneath the family and burdened the family with expectations by only seeing them as the gifts they possess, not who they are, and how she always saw the worst in Bruno (and to an extent, Mirabel). She even pinned Abuela as the reason the magic was dying.

After the destruction of Casita, Mirabel and Abuela have a heart-to-heart conversation away from the family, and Mirabel understood why Abuela became the way she did, though Abuela also admitted that she lost sight of what is truly important in life: her family, and not the gifts they possess. Mirabel saw how broken her grandmother was, and forgave Abuela while lifting her spirits by reminding her how she was strong in leading their community and raising her children despite the tragedy she endured. The two then reconciled and mended their relationship. Now, Mirabel is not excluded from the family and is seen as an equal with everyone else in her family and community.

### Physical appearance

Mirabel is a 15-year-old Colombian girl of a 5'2" height, curly chin-length black hair, thick eyebrows, hazel eyes, and visibly dark shade of freckles on her nose and cheeks. Of her sisters, Mirabel is the one who most resembles her mother, Julieta. She wears lime green round-framed glasses and blue pom-pom earrings, and carries around a mochila bag when going out.

Her attire is a white blouse that has colorful butterfly stitching, with frills of black trimming at the neck and sleeves. She wears a long teal skirt with colorful butterfly embroidery and her name stitched on the waistband, with an indigo petticoat and white bloomers, and sandals with pink linking and black ribbons around her ankles. Mirabel's skirt has many embroidered patterns, like butterflies, flowers, a little version of herself and even some motifs representing her relatives, like a candle (for Abuela), a basket of buñuelos (for Julieta), a chameleon (for Camilo), musical notes (for Dolores), and others. At night, she wears a white ankle-length nightgown with a green ribbon at the neckline.

### Powers and abilities

Mirabel is not bestowed a magical gift like the rest of her family. However, she does have a stronger affinity with the Casa Madrigal than most of her family; she communicates with the house (or *Casita*) like it is a real person, and *Casita* responds to her prompts and helps with her daily routine. Mirabel is skilled in sewing, having embroidered her own clothes and made a stuffed jaguar for her cousin, Antonio. She is also nimble and quick on her feet, displaying skills similar to parkour to navigate through difficult areas like the roof and walls behind the house. She is proficient in singing, dancing, and plays the accordion well.

## Appearances

### *Encanto*

Main article: Encanto (film)

At age five, Mirabel is denied a gift from her family's miracle. From this point onwards, everyone's expectations of her change and everyone, including Mirabel herself, sees her differently. Ten years later, she is accidentally left out of a family picture and feels she is not truly a part of the Madrigal family. As she wishes to have a gift, Mirabel notices Casita cracking and the candle flickering, which Alma, her abuela, says would never happen. Mirabel warns everyone, but the cracks disappear and no one believes her. As she hears Alma questioning whether the miracle is dying, she takes it upon herself to save it.

Luisa, her older sister, suggests Mirabel search her missing uncle Bruno's room for a clue, as it is rumored he had a vision about the magic. Mirabel finds the vision and sees herself surrounded by a cracked Casita, implying she might be the cause of the miracle dying; Dolores later reveals the secret to everyone. Meanwhile, Mirabel finds Bruno hiding inside the house's walls. She questions him about his vision, but he says he only knows that the fate of the Madrigal family will come down to her. When he makes another vision, Mirabel sees a butterfly and herself hugging someone, who she and Bruno identify as Isabela, her eldest sister. Annoyed due to Isabela's entitled personality, Mirabel insincerely asks her for a hug, which she refuses. Isabela inadvertently reveals she struggles with the constant pressure to be perfect. Mirabel convinces Isabela to become more imperfect and true to herself, and they reconcile, partially healing the cracks near the candle. Alma sees them and accuses Mirabel of trying to hurt the family out of spite for not having a gift. Realizing her constant pressure on the Madrigals to be perfect is causing the family to fall apart, Mirabel finally snaps at Alma and says that the miracle is dying because of her. The house breaks and collapses as a result of their argument, and despite Mirabel's attempt to save the candle, it extinguishes in her hands. Distraught, Mirabel runs away.

At the river where her husband, Pedro, died, Alma finds Mirabel and apologizes for her accusation and expecting too much from their family. Mirabel and Alma reconcile. They return to a broken Casita; Mirabel encourages her family they are more than their gift, while Alma apologizes for recognizing her family's powers as the miracle, instead of their existence. They, with the townspeople, rebuild the Casita. The Madrigals make a doorknob with an "M" on it for Mirabel to place into the front door, causing Casita to be restored again, and the family regains their powers. Later, they take a group photo together, this time with Mirabel at the center of her family.

### Merchandise

By December 2021, Disney released the Mirabel Singing Doll on shopDisney. The doll sings "The Family Madrigal" from the film. The Mirabel Singing Large Doll, by Jakks Pacific, says more than 15 phrases inspired by *Encanto*. Funko Pop released a set of 4-inch, vinyl figurines of members of the Madrigal family, including Mirabel, in January 2022.

### Disney Parks

From November 2021 Mirabel started making appearances in the Disney Parks for meet and greets in the Adventureland area of the parks.

## Reception

Mirabel has been praised by film critics. *San Francisco Chronicle*'s G. Allen Johnson argued, "Perhaps Mirabel, one of Disney's most engaging creations, has the greatest superpower of them all." *Screen Daily* expressed "Mirabel exudes a warm energy, looking after her younger cousins and serving as the emotional glue for her family. But there's also a little insecurity in there as well, as the filmmakers illustrate that Mirabel is compensating for her lack of powers – she's so helpful and friendly". Critics have found Beatriz magnificent, terrific, perfectly cast, spectacular, excellent, spirited, and exceptional. *IGN* asserted Beatriz "brings just the right amount of charm and sincerity to the non-magical teenager".

Since its release, *Encanto* has been discussed among therapists. In particular, Mirabel has been interpreted as the "[t]he healer trying to keep her family whole". *Psychology Today* stated that despite attempting to use "positive self-talk" at the start of the film, Mirabel's sense of self-worth and belonging is harmed by her lack of powers. The website interpreted how Alma later understood that Mirabel's existence is a gift as a message of self-appreciation. According to *USA Today*, Mirabel does what many Latino millennials seeking to end generational trauma want to do: confront the source of the problem, to the person(s) who is/are causing the pain.

### Accolades

Mirabel won Best Animated Female at the 2022 Alliance of Women Film Journalists Awards and 2021 Women Film Critics Circle Awards, in addition to the Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Animated Character in an Animated Feature. Beatriz has also received various nominations for her voice performance, including the Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in a Feature Production.

## Notes

1. The candle is from Alma and Pedro's wedding. When they are forced by an armed conflict to flee their village in Colombia, Pedro takes the candle but dies. By a miracle the candle attains magical qualities, including being able to never go out, blasts away the pursuers, and creates a sentient house, the Casita, for them to live in, along with a magical realm bordered by tall surrounding mountains—an *encanto*. Fifty years later, the candle continues to burn and a town thrives under its protection.

* Gifted to the Madrigal family after Pedro Madrigal sacrificed himself to save his wife and children. At age five, Madrigal descendants are gifted with a magical power that they use to serve their village.

## Songs

* Waiting on a miracle
* We don't talk about Bruno (ft. Dolores, Pepa, Felix, Isabella, Camilo, citizens)
* What else can I do? (ft. Isabella Madrigal)
* All of you (ft. Madrigal family & village)