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Y’all, “Encanto” is so damn adorable.
I can’t take it! 🥰 🥰
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The story is just gorgeous and leaks with vibrancy.
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There were so many positives:
Mirabel was everything. She’s the role model Disney needed right now. I don’t know why, but she’s just silly and serious and wanting to be helpful and…just an octopus of positive characteristics. What she lacked in a familial Gift she made up for in every other way.
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I could not identify a clear villain. Using Abuela’s expectations for perfectionism as the meter for her love and acceptance was…specific, antagonizing and something that permeates familial screenplays across the African diaspora, including in the country of this film’s setting, Colombia. 🇨🇴 🇨🇴
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It is difficult to choose a favorite family member! I loved that we saw so many dynamics within “the Amazing Madrigal” family structure! The underlying theme of the family’s cohesiveness was the insane amount of pressure each of them was under to appease the matriarch, Abuela Alma.
I enjoyed seeing how Luisa, one of Mirabel’s older sisters, cracked under the pressure. They all use their Gifts to give back to their community, but she specifically uses her brawn to assist everyone. During her song, I whimpered a bit because her perfectionism about her physical abilities weighed on her mental strength. She thought that because she had not performed to her utmost standards that she would let everyone around her down. The Pressure. (…me as I look away from the mirror.)
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Likewise with Maribel’s other sister, Isabela—the glamorous beauty who was set to marry someone she did not want to. Another one who was afraid to ruffle her grandmother’s feathers and decided that her family’s status was greater than her happiness. That was until she realized that she could create something different, and even more beautiful, with her magical Gift. She can choose her own strength, her own happiness. I loved that for her. SHE EXPLORES THE DEPTHS OF HER GIFT WITH HER SISTER BY HER SIDE, AND IT WAS SO SWEET!!
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There was no cuter introduction to a character in all of Disney film history than Antonio’s. My heart melted as soon as his curly ‘fro appeared under Maribel’s bed while he was hiding from his family. 🥺🥺
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This should go without saying but I will because I’m noticing a sea change in how media depicts multiracial families, especially ones with roots in the Caribbean, and in Central and South America. I appreciate, more than I can explain, the careful and specific browns of the characters, not just in the main cast, but in the background too.
For the first time since “The Princess and the Frog” (2009), I saw multiple dimensions of my being reflected in a highly visible “Disney” animated product. (“Soul” is a Pixar film, and “Encanto” is a Disney animated property like “Frozen” and “Tangled.”) I am thankful that the animators and creators highlighted textures, colors, patterns, and other beautifully enriching aesthetics to bring this vibrant screenplay to life. It was magical.
Even down to the freckles!
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Say what you will about Lin-Manuel Miranda, but that man is a talented fucker, bruh. I’d bet money on his abilities to produce an earworm over most folk at this point. The soundtrack for this film is incredible, and I am not in the least bit surprised. That shit SLAPS. 👋🏾👋🏾👋🏾
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I’ve been singing “We Don’t Talk About Bruno-no-no…” for weeks. It’s insane. So, so, good’t. 🤌🏾🤌🏾
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The ensemble voice cast get’s an A+. Stephanie Beatriz as “Maribel” was brilliant! She’s such a talented actress that I was not surprised that she flowed into this role. It does really get me, though, that the voice and cadence she used for her “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” character “Rosa Diaz” was not her natural speaking tone. 😆 John Leguizamo‘s infectious energy was inviting as the voice of “Uncle Bruno.” I loved that we got “Orange is the New Black” alum and Ms. “Keeps a Bag Coming In” Diane Guerrero as the voice of Isabella, Maribel’s angio-🌸🌺🌷 and 🌲🌴🌳gymnosperm-producing hermana. Wilmer Valderrama as Maribel’s accident-prone padre was so sweet!
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Yo, they even included mammals specific to Colombia. That toucan that lands on Antonio’s hand after he gets his Gift 🥺🥺and all the animals joining along at his door! The nonchalant capybara—my favorite non-speaking character! The coatis! The jaguar! 🥰 🥰 🥰
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Maribel finding a sense of community with her uncle Bruno as the family outcast was another endearing moment. It was refreshing to see the depths by which this screenplay explored the relationships Maribel has with her family members.
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My only negative critique is that all Disney animated features seem to follow a similar narrative structure, and it’s becoming archaic and boring. Disney loves a happy or positively satisfying ending, it’s their gold standard for storytelling, but I think there’s a way to reach a goal without the film’s structures being carbon copies of each other. “Up,” released in 2009, might be the only Disney or Pixar three-dimensional animated property that tackled tough emotional content early during the film’s runtime, which heightened the conclusion emotional lingering.
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This is probably one of my faves of Disney in a while. It’s so vibrant. I loved the characters. The direction, especially during the dinner table scene, was great situational comedy. I loved the characters’ profiles. I loved the little kids in the beginning hanging on to everything Maribel did—they reminded me of the roles the kids in 1959’s “Orfeo Negro” played throughout that iconic work. (And if that was intentional, a beautiful ode to a masterful work.)
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And now I want to watch it en Español to see if some context was lost in translation.
Abuela was trying to survive. She was mourning the loss of her husband. She had triplets to support. She was given a beautiful gift, and she wanted to make sure it lasted and that others in her community benefited.
🐛…🦋