Disney Film “Encanto” Review
February 13, 2022
Disney has gone on to be one of the biggest entertainment platforms in the world bringing happiness and joy to all its fans! The company has broadened its ability to reach its audience by creating a streaming service called Disney Plus! Disney Plus has opened the door for fans to watch all the Disney and Disney-partnered movies all in one place! In just two years, Disney Plus has become the third highest rated and used streaming service in 2021.
Disney has gone on to produce multiple successful films, including their newest release called “Encanto.” This colorful, meaningful movie was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, co-directed by Charise Castro Smith, and produced by Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer. The film also includes original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, the writer of the blockbusting Broadway production of Hamilton. “Encanto” was released in November of 2021 and has made exponential success with grossing $234.2 million worldwide, making it the highest grossed animated film in 2021 before it was surpassed by “Sing 2” going into 2022.
The film is based on a Colombian family called the Madrigals. All of them possess magical gifts except for the youngest granddaughter, Mirabel.
It begins with a woman, Abuela, who suffered a tragic loss of her husband when trying to flee their homeland and was left behind with her three children. In light of this tragedy, a magical candle blessed her and the people with a hidden paradise for them to live in harmony! With this blessing came gifts that were given to her children making them obtain exponential power that fit their personality. They use this power to help the townspeople and keep the blessing alive. These children went on to have kids and when their kids became of age, they were granted with magical gifts, but Mirabel sadly fell short and wasn’t given a gift. Due to this, she is treated differently but wants to make the family proud with what she can do. One day, the family begins to lose their magic so she sparks on a quest to help the family and save the magic! Mirabel goes on to prove you don’t need magic or gifts to be powerful and ultimately brings the family back together.
“Encanto” is such a monumental film for so many reasons. This film goes over the struggles and the label placed upon Colombian and Latin American households. Many Latin American viewers described that this film displayed a perfect representation of the standard placed in the household and the need to protect the ones around you, no matter the cost.
A critic for the “Observer (UK),”,Simran Hans, similarly stated, “What’s interesting and unexpected is the film’s subtle acknowledgement of culturally specific generational trauma and displacement.”
One Rotten Tomatoes viewer, Scarlett Marie, shared, “It’s refreshing to see a movie talk about Latino generational trauma and the pressure these families place on their older children. Not many people will understand this movie for the very reason that they can’t relate to the characters.”
With many Disney films showing how being magical is mainly the one thing that makes a character special but this film went to show how normal it was to be magical and how powerful it was to not be. They did a good job by giving power to all the characters and making them all special in their own way, even Mirabel who lacks them. This gave viewers a different perspective that magical or normal, you are perfect the way you are! This also made people more acknowledged that even if someone seems perfect or strong, they still face many of their own struggles that appear invisible to others.
This film truly embodies Colombian culture! The creators, Jared Bush and Byron Howard, travelled to Colombia to truly understand and absorb the culture and to be able to accurately execute it in the film which can be seen through the food, dance, and music! “Encanto” gives perfect representation to Latin Americans by providing accurate representation and diversity! The setting of the film stays true to the Colombian roots with the vast array of flowers, animals, and buildings brought to life in the film.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, the songwriter who became so well-known for “Hamilton,” truly never falls short in his storymaking and musical genius. Miranda has gone on to make several successful stories and music that has given him a well-deserved name in the film and music industry. Nonetheless, his song, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” went on to be one of the most popular Disney songs of all time and “Dos Oruguitas” is being nominated for an Oscar!
Another Rotten Tomatoes viewer, David Barnel, commented, “This movie was such a great representation of the culture of Colombia. Both in the family aspect and also in the daily life aspect. As a Colombian, every time I saw the food and heard the music it almost brought tears to my eyes. The way they depicted the matriarchy en la familia Madrigal was perfect.”
Janet Alvarado Hernandez, a junior, shared, “Encanto is important to me because it shows/explains that a family isn’t always perfect. Families go through hard times but together get through it and learn something new about yourself along the way. I love “Encanto” because it’s different from other Disney movies. You don’t need a prince to save the kingdom/town, you just have to believe in yourself. Also the songs in “Encanto” are so catchy and fun!”
Disney truly made something so amazing by still staying true to the culture, meaning, and the magic
Image: Google images