Encanto

***Encanto*** is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures set in a fantasy version of Colombia. The 60th film produced by the studio, it is directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, co-directed by Charise Castro Smith and written by Bush and Castro Smith with songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. *Encanto* premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 3, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 24, 2021 in 2D, 3D, RealD 3D, and Dolby Cinema formats.

## Plot

The Madrigals are an extraordinary family who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia in a charmed place called the Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift -- every child except Mirabel. However, she soon may be the Madrigals last hope when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is now in danger.

## Why It's Fantastical and Magical

1. The premise of every child but one in their magical house having been granted a unique ability such as strength or healing powers is unique and creative.
2. Proper representation of Colombian culture and ethnicities.
3. Amazing voice acting in this movie. Stephanie Beatriz, in particular, did a excellent job voicing Mirabel.
4. The animation is a big step up from other Disney animated films, as its glamorous and gorgeous to watch, especially for the end of 2021, with eye-catching visuals, original character designs and since much of its color palette is fantastic and appealing (almost very similar to *Coco*, another great Disney movie), it makes the movie seem like a beautiful sight to look at.
5. The Madrigal's family are very likable and fun to the point where every major character has become a fan-favorite.
	* Mirabel Madrigal is the protagonist, who, unlike her family, does not have a special gift and is described as "imperfect, weird, and quirky, but also deeply emotional and incredibly empathetic". It's also worth noting that unlike many other stories that have the "outcast protagonist" trope, the film doesn't solely focus on Mirabel's struggles of not having a gift (even though it *is* a major plot point and story beat in the film), but also showcases the struggles that the rest of the family deal with as a result of their own gifts.
	* Bruno Madrigal is Mirabel's excluded uncle who has the ability to see the future. He originally left the family due to the fact that he saw a vision that incorrectly implied that Mirabel would eventually be responsible for the destruction of the house and family, which he knew would cause her to become even more ostracized from the family than she already was.
	* Abuela Alma Madrigal is Mirabel's grandmother, the Madrigal matriarch who experienced the loss of her husband Pedro who sacrificed his life for her and their triplet infants by buying them time to continue fleeing the armed violence that took place at their former village. She has an amazing character arc where she starts off as aiming to have her family use their gifts to help the community at every single opportunity possible as a result of her need to reassure herself that she and her family truly deserved the miracle they got and mainly seeing her family for their gifts rather than who they were (resulting in her behavior towards the giftless Mirabel to be, condescending at best, and downright heartless and borderline to the point where she doesn't even consider her to be a true member of the family at worst), but after Mirabel calls her out for being the one behind all of the family's struggles due to the immense amount of pressure she puts on them for their gifts (i.e, Luisa constantly having to work relentlessly due to her strength, Isabela having to maintain a perfect image 24/7 and rarely, if ever, being able to make the choices she wishes to in life, Bruno leaving the family as a result of having foresaw what implied that Mirabel would be the one to destroy Casita in the future which would cause her to become even more ostracized from the rest of the family than she already was, as well as Alma only seeing the worst in him) when Alma herself tries to blame Mirabel for the family's problems herself, she later takes full responsibility for her actions that have hurt the family after finding Mirabel in the forest after hours of searching for her when the house collapses. And what's truly compelling is that it wasn't Mirabel who instigated Alma's redemption, but rather *Alma herself* who realizes and admitted her mistakes and incorrect actions, without ever for one second even trying to shift the blame on anything or anyone else (not even her tragic backstory of having to flee her home shortly after having children and lost her husband). She later takes full responsibility for her actions by helping the family rebuild Casita and welcoming Bruno back to the family with open arms after he returns, which helped earn her Mirabel and the rest of the family's forgiveness and rebuild her relationship with them.
	* Isabela Madrigal is Mirabel's oldest sister who is considered "perfect" and "a success". She can make flowers bloom everywhere. However, she actually struggles from immense pressure due to her having to live up to the "perfect" image of her that everyone else sees of her, which leads her into having to do things such as marry a man she doesn't even love. Though she can be bit mean spirited at times, she does learn to redeem herself in the third act.
	* Luisa Madrigal is Mirabel's second oldest sister who has the "biggest biceps in Disney history" and "[carries] all the burdens and never [complains]". She has superhuman strength. But, like Isabela, she lives up to enormous amounts of pressure every day as she feels worthless if she can't help anyone else with her immense strength as shown in her song "Surface Pressure". However, she's still overwhelmed with how much work she must complete using said strength but does it anyway because it's the only way she believes she can be some service to others (at least until the end, where she, as well as the rest of the family, shed Alma's lifestyle for the family which involves them using their gifts to help others 24/7 without ever taking a single second off and living under immense pressure to impress their grandmother, which is discarded by Alma herself).
	* Julieta Madrigal is Mirabel's mother and Agustín's wife who can heal others with her cooking.
	* Agustín Madrigal is Mirabel's father and Julieta's husband.
	* Pepa Madrigal is Mirabel's aunt and Félix's wife who is "overly emotional". She can control the weather.
	* Félix Madrigal is Mirabel's uncle and Pepa's husband who balances her out and is "there to have a good time".
	* Dolores Madrigal is Pepa and Félix's oldest daughter, Camilo and Antonio's sister, and Mirabel's cousin. She "knows everyone's dirt" via enhanced hearing.
	* Camilo Madrigal, Pepa and Félix's son, Dolores and Antonio's brother, and Mirabel's cousin who "doesn't quite know who he is yet" and has the ability to shape-shift.
	* Antonio Madrigal is Pepa and Félix's youngest son, Dolores and Camilo's brother, and Mirabel's cousin who looks up to her and considers her a big sister. He can speak to animals.
6. Well done and amazingly catchy musical numbers, especially "*Surface Pressure*" and "*What Else Can I Do?*", which tie into both Luisa and Isabela having too much pressure being put onto them as a result of their gifts, "*We Don't Talk About Bruno*", a fun tango-themed ensemble piece that adds onto the mystery of Bruno, and "*Dos Oruguitas*", a heartbreaking delve into Alma's backstory.
7. There's a lot of subtle details hidden throughout the film; per instance, in the "*We don't talk about Bruno*" number Dolores is the only one who refers to him in the present tense, hinting that Bruno is still loitering inside the house, and in the end of the song the entire family exclaims "He's here!", which is subtle foreshadowing that Bruno was actually lurking within the walls of Casita all that time unbeknownst to the rest of the family (even though in said situation they were actually referring to Isabela's fiancé Mariano, but the symbolism was still there and clever).
8. Certain cast members such as María Cecilia Botero (Alma), John Leguizamo (Bruno), Mauro Castillo (Félix), Angie Cepeda (Julieta), Carolina Gaitán (Pepa), and Maluma (Mariano) are Colombian while Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel), Diane Guerrero (Isabela), Wilmer Valderrama (Agustín), and Adassa (Dolores) are of Colombian descent.
9. The film has a strong message about generational trauma, present in how Abuela Alma subtly pressures the family into being perfect, such as a scene where Isabela grows a white flower among purple ones and she picks it off. This is especially present with how she neglects or even emotionally abuses Mirabel for not having a power, making the scene where she stands up to Alma all the more satisfying.
10. Despite the climax being somewhat predictable, Mirabel did not receive powers like her family as expected once she placed the doorknob to the main entrance of the house that allowed it to be revived via the return of the magic. One should speculate that Mirabel would earn some kind of a reward (e.g. being given a unique power like each and every member of her family) following her good deeds of reuniting the family and rebuilding the house, but she didn't, as her only two rewards for her good deeds and personality are the full attention and acceptance of her family. Which helps push the message that even if you can't get the opportunities that other people may receive, you can still make the best out of what you do have.
11. There is tons of great comedy. There are also many memorable lines, especially from characters such as Bruno.
12. ***This*** is how you write a strong yet vulnerable woman (who happens to be of a foreign culture) without pandering to the masses or preaching.
13. It steps away from the infamous "twist villain" cliche prominent in Disney movies of late. In fact, it actually reverses that complex by having an apparent evil person that turns out to be good; in here, the Madrigal family introduces Bruno as this malevolent and antagonistic man only for him to turn out to be very likable, shy, and someone who still loves and cares about his family despite being vilified by them over the years.

## Bad Qualities

1. The ending of the film, despite being emotional, can be predictable and cliché to some, even viewers who were unfamiliar to the story.
2. The plot contained a couple of overused clichés, even though they were executed well:
	* Abuela Alma Madrigal has the "strict matriarch who overlooks the family" cliché, which comes to mind in characters like Endeavor from *My Hero Academia*. Also, despite her earlier tragic and traumatic experiences, she could be unlikable sometimes, as she neglected Mirabel for not possessing powers like the rest of her family while blamed and even excluded Bruno for their troubles; not to mention that she lied to the people of Columbia to **keep up her family's image (with the saying "We are strong")**.
	* Mirabel has the "main character is different than everyone else" cliché, despite being admired by the community.
	* Bruno has the "person everybody hates" cliché.
3. **False advertising**:
	* In most trailers, Mirabel was shown to go on a adventure with a toucan as a partner to a place that can provide clues to save the house and its magic, but in the film she only went deeper by herself into unknown parts of the house which contain several paths that include clues to find Bruno who was missing.
	* In some posters, Mirabel and her family (even each of them have their own individual posters) are seen as main characters, but despite being heavily advertised, Mirabel, Bruno, and Abuela Madrigal had much more screen time than the rest of the characters.
4. The Indonesian dub version of this movie suffers from extremely bland dialogue as around 95% of the movie was mostly a direct translation from the original English, with the songs stripped of their core in favor of a much more direct translation of the lyrics from English rather than adapting to the rhyme and structure of the song unlike the other dub versions like the Malay, Japanese or even Latin American Spanish version, with "We don't talk about Bruno, no-no-no" being interpreted as "Jangan bicara tentang Si Bruno" without the "no-no-no", even though that there are a few exceptions such as Surface Pressure (unless you count the repetition of "drip", "tip", "grip" and "tick" in the chorus being written over).

## Reception

*Encanto* received critical acclaim for its emotion, music, animation, characterization, and cultural fidelity. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 90% of 183 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.50/10. The website's critics' consensus reads, "*Encanto*'s setting and cultural perspective are new for Disney, but the end result is the same -- enchanting, beautifully animated fun for the whole family.", while the audience consensus reads, "Whether you're looking for gorgeous animation, catchy songs, a heartwarming message, or all of the above, *Encanto* delivers.". Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100 based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those at PostTrak gave it an 88% positive score, with 70% saying they would definitely recommend it.

### Box office

Through *Encanto* underperformed at the box office (similar to *Ron's Gone Wrong* which over performed), grossing over $234 million worldwide against its $120–150 million budget, the film went viral over the 2021 holiday season and achieved wider commercial success after its digital release to Disney+ on December 24, 2021.

## Trivia

* The film's soundtrack became a viral phenomeon, and enjoyed widespread popularity on the internet. In fact, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" surpassed "Let it Go" as the highest-charting song from a Disney animated feature film in 26 years.
* In February 2022, following the film's success and popularity, the CEO of Disney confirmed that Encanto will expand into an entire franchise.

## Awards

At the 94th Academy Awards, *Encanto* won for Best Animated Feature, while its score and track "Dos Oruguitas" has been nominated for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, respectively. Fellow animated feature *Luca' (which was just as great) was nominated and lost. It also won the Kids Choice Award for Favorite Animated Movie.*