Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. The last Disney/Lin Manuel Miranda pairing produced one of their great recent soundtracks, including a banger of an all timer at least for me. So the pair join forces and try to recreate the magic, this time in the Colombian jungle. Encanto, double meaning enchantment and sweetheart, mostly pulls off that Disney Magic Manuel Miranda channeled in Moana, giving us a lovely tale in a new exciting locale.
Caught in harrowing circumstances (I mean, it’s a Disney movie, what’d you expect?), Alma Madrigal (María Cecilia Botero) witnesses a miracle, which saves her and her 3 kids. The miracle manifests in the form of an ever burning candle and a house that is as alive as she and her 3 kids: Pepa (Carolina Gaitán), Juileta (Angie Cepeda), and Bruno (John Leguizamo). At age 5, each of the 3 kids get special “gifts” which they use to help the townspeople that move next to the house Madrigal. Alma’s kids then start having kids, making Alma an Abuela to a host of gifted grandkids. All…but one actually: Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), who is happy enough but a little confused/jealous why her perfect sisters Isabela (Diane Guerrero) and Luisa (Jessica Darrow), and cousins all got powers but she did not.
The filmmakers in Encanto really did their homework, travelling to Colombia to understand the culture there to make sure Encanto would feel right at a Colombian home, but a bit Disneyfied. The result is that beautiful animation we always get and underappreciate: the screen is awash in all the colors, be it amazing floral displays, house brickwork, or various musical numbers, a visual feast. The story is set in a magical realism world of South America: around these reverent places in nature, and the magic is just an extension of a person, instead of turning you into a wizard or something like that. That last detail is pivotal to Encanto’s success. Luisa, for example, has super strength, always going the extra mile to help move a bridge or collect donkeys, etc, but that burly hard exterior the writers use to hide a well of nerves and fear underneath. Using setting to help inform character development really immerses you in Encanto’s Colombian locales and culture, and makes you hope you’ll get your own magical door and be a part of House Madrigal.
But Encanto is not really about the House. It’s about the Madrigal’s inside of it: the story of a family. What’s lovely about the story is how totally believable the family dynamics are, that simultaneous love and irritation that can coexist. Mirabel feels the disapproval from her Abuela and sisters for example, but the love from her parents at the same time exists in her as well, which manifests in our narrator as a person eager to please and longing for that perfection and gifts given to others. Alma is also fascinating; the emotional wallop of the story happens because of her experiences. In general, she’s a loving caring grandmother, however, that care teeters on the verge of overprotection: she knows how scary the world can be, and comes off cold and hostile in hopes to protect the family from bad outside forces. These feelings all make sense, but also inherently drive the conflict and forward momentum of the tale, making you fall in love with the Madrigals and hope they find the happiness as a family they so long for.
Catchy songs, eye popping visuals, and a loving family. What more could you ask for in a Disney movie? The Lin Manuel Miranda/Disney pairing is 2 for 2. What continent will their next movie be on? Africa? Europe? Antarctica? Ooohhh, rapping Penguins in Antarctica! Yep, sign me up!