By Kaylyn Amigon
The movie “Encanto” tells the story of a magical Colombian family living in a magical home dubbed “casita,” who live in a small town hidden in the mountains. The word “Encanto” can be translated to many words but is most often used to describe something enchanting, charming or something that you deeply enjoy and at times is used by the family to describe the entire valley where they live, including Casita and the town, as a place of wonder, or an “encanto.”
The movie follows the life of a girl named Mirabel (protagonist) who belongs to a family called the Madrigals, as she battles with her self-worth and the need to prove herself. The family is unique to the others who live in their small town, because when anyone in the family comes of age on their fifth birthday, they are bestowed with a magical gift from a magical candle dubbed the “encanto” that appeared after a family sacrifice and saved her life.
Mirabel however was the only Madrigal who did not receive a gift when she reached the age when it would be bestowed upon her (as seen in the trailer and said within the first 10 minutes of the movie in the form of a song). Her grandmother is one of the other madrigals with no gift since she was the person who found/received the candle in the first place and is considered the matriarch of the family, and also started the town in the first place. Those that marry into the family, like Maribel’s father and uncle, also do not receive a gift.
This movie fits in the genre of a coming-of-age story because it focuses on the protagonist’s growth from her childhood to adulthood and how it affects the decisions she makes when she finds out that the “encanto” is in danger and what she learns about herself along the way and teaches others. Since this is a film by Disney it includes many lessons that can be learned by children, one of which would be that no family is perfect, but they can always rely on their family as a strong foundation in times of crises.
A reason to see it or show it to your kids would be because of its diverse cast and characters of color. It can help children see themselves as more represented, as seen with one of the characters named Isabella who has a much darker beautiful skin tone than the rest of her family, who is regarded as the perfect and beautiful “flower” of the town who is adored by everyone, which in this case can help girls with similar skin tones feel beautiful and represented.
Another reason to enjoy the movie is its very catchy music that serves as a way to move the plot along in a fun way that keeps the audience entertained. With songs such as “The Family Madrigal” which introduces us to the family and how it started including what kind of gift each family member was gifted; “Waiting On A Miracle” which reveals to us how Mirabel really feels about not receiving a gift like the rest of her family and her insecurities; and the most popular song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” which is where the family tells Mirabel about her uncle Bruno who had the gift of being able to tell the future and how one day he left the family. This was the No.1 song in the U.S for the first three consecutive weeks of January in the Billboard Hot 100 records, surpassing songs that were in the charts at the time by popular artists such as Dua Lipa, Adele, and Ed Sheeran.
The voice actors in “Encanto” are also popular actors or singers themselves. Singer Stephanie Beatriz who voices the main character Mirabel Madrigal was in another popular and successful movie that is also inclusive and has great music called “In the Heights” as a character called “Carla.”
Coincidentally some songs in “Encanto” and “In The Heights” were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda who is an award winning composer and is responsible for movies/musicals such as “Hamilton” and “Tick Tick Boom” which are very recognized in the musical industry. Another very well-known singer in the Spanish world who is responsible for singing “Dos Orugitas,”one of the many emotional songs in the movie, is Sebastian Yatra who has received 23 platinum singles and two gold singles for digital sales in Central America. The voice actor for Mariano who plays the man who Isabella, the town’s “flower,” is later on betrothed to, is voiced by another popular Colombian singer called “Maluma” who has won a Latin Grammy award.
The directors of Encanto, Jared Bush and Byron Howard, also directed popular movies such as “Zootopia” and “Zootopia 2”, “Tangled”, “Bolt” and many more.
The animation in the movie is colorful and full of life with details in the Madrigal home added from Latin places like Columbia, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. It’s very catchy music and beautiful animation earned them a nomination in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) awards for best animation and best music. Although the movie can no longer be viewed in the theaters and is only accessible to those with a Disney+ account, it is still very possible to watch it on other websites with a quick Google search.
However, it might be hard for some viewers who don’t understand the Spanish language to understand certain heartfelt moments/songs which are in Spanish. For example the song “Dos Oruguitas,” which plays as a background song for abuela’s (Mirabel’s grandmother’s) backstory and how she receives the gift which could be considered one of the most heartfelt scenes in the movie. Those who don’t understand the song might not feel the same impact as someone who understands the meaning behind the words of the song and how it correlates to the scene.
The movie is great at delivering other many heartfelt moments because you can literally feel the emotions through the screen as well as see it on the characters faces, whenever something big happens or a sincere moment occurs, the movie does a great job of portraying what a character is feeling. What makes these scenes so good are these scenes shown between families that you can experience yourself as well or have experienced with your own family, making it that more relatable and easy to understand the characters emotions.
The ending of the movie, although happy, is not the typical “happily ever after’’ Disney is known for. There is no definitive villain in this movie, which I actually think is a great thing because it helps add more focus and depth to the characters and less focus on villainous characters.
What the broadcasting of this movie means to the Disney industry would be the release of a more diverse movie which had immense success with a great story and characters. It would be another great movie added to the Disney roster that represented the Latin community and people of color, instead of the cookie cutter princess movies that Disney is often associated with.
I truly think this movie’s success is well deserved, with a story full of fun and great characters, great animation, songs that are so catchy you’ll find yourself singing them in the shower, and a great story that shows how strong the bond of a family is, fue un encanto verlo (meaning it was a wonderful movie to watch) and I believe others should take some time with their family to watch it and enjoy it.
