Encanto

Voices of: Stephanie Beatriz, Maria Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitan, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, Rhenzy Feliz, Alan Tudyk
Directed by: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Charise Castro Smith
Rating: PG
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Adventure
2021

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) struggles to find her place in an extended family who all have magical powers... except for her.

Review:

Tim: I loved Encanto. I think it's the finest non-Pixar animated movie Disney has made in many, many years. It abandons much of the typical Disney formula and the film is better for it. It feels fresh, unique. It tells a powerful story about family dynamics and family dysfunctions. It features stunning music by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It's a incredible animated movie.

There's so much to like about this film. I'll start with the fact that the Madrigal family is Columbian. Disney's move toward more diversity in their movies has been a huge lift. Moving away from consistently white protagonists has increased the representation of other cultures and it's given Disney a much broader, more colorful tapestry to work with. As Disney better reflects all of humanity, we get more diversity and uniqueness in their entertainment. I also loved that the main character and most of the main characters are women. Bruno is a solid character and there's a few other supporting ones, but Mirabel, Luisa, Abuela, and to some extent Isabela are the most memorable ones. This is another big plus for the film. I really appreciated getting to see different cultures depicted here and so many strong, incredible women characters.

I also loved that Encanto refuses to follow the typical Disney formula. There's really no villain in this movie. Our protagonists aren't fighting against anyone. The story focuses purely on their family and the actions and words that either contribute to building the family, or work to tear it apart. This is brilliant for so many reasons. Kids all over the world come from many different families. Some are wonderful and supportive. Some are toxic and dysfunctional. Some are fractured but trying desperately to hold together. This movie explores so many of those themes and reflects them back for kids to learn from. There are kids who, like Mirabel, feel left out, not special. There are kids like Luisa who are shouldering the weight of the world, who have to always be strong to hold their family together. There's kids like Isabela who are expected to be perfect in everything they do. There's Uncles or brothers or sons like Bruno, who have become outcasts in their own family. The fact that Disney could portray all this but never shove those messages down the audiences' throats is incredible. The focus on the family and the different dynamics is a big reason why this movie is set apart.

I've talked about the movie this long without mentioning the music. It's incredible. It's some of the best music Disney has ever done, period. I do think it's weird that so many different songs have emerged as the "key" ones. I know "We Don't Talk About Bruno" was on the Billboard charts for a while, for some reason. It's good, I guess. "Dos Oruguitas" is leading the way for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. That's fine, but neither are the best songs from the movie. "The Family Madrigal" is absolutely brilliant. Lin-Manuel Miranda's writing is crisp, funny, and powerful. The music is catchy. My kids love this song and I do, too. It's exposition-heavy, but a great tune. And then, "Surface Pressure", perhaps the finest song on the soundtrack. It so perfectly encapsulates the pressures many people feel- to always be strong, tough, to be the one who holds everything together. It's a brilliant song with incredible depth. Any way you at it, though, the brilliant Miranda is a big reason why Encanto is a great film. The work he did on the soundtrack is fantastic and I'd be crushed if he and this film didn't win Academy Awards.

The movie is beautifully depicted, as well. Animation continues to improve and I just loved the look and feel of the film. It's been a long time since beautiful animation felt like a true differentiator, but this movie's look feels even more special than we're used to.

The voice cast is superb. I love Stephanie Beatriz from her days on Brooklyn Nine-Nine and she does simply indescribably wonderful work bringing Mirabel to life. Her singing, her acting, it was all top notch. I loved hearing John Leguizamo here, too. He helps elevate Bruno to one of the more memorable characters, even if he doesn't get much screen time. Jessica Darrow was really good, too. The rest of the cast worked well also.

Now, while I loved this movie, it's not perfect. There's so many characters in the Madrigal family. I couldn't keep them all straight, even with the catchy songs. At least half of them meant nothing to me by the end of the film. The movie's conclusion is a bit weak, too. It feels a bit convenient and not fully earned. These are reasons why the movie isn't perfect, but they don't prevent it from being great.

I like Disney a lot, but outside of Pixar, I think it might be decades since their last truly great movie (I said it). Whatever that streak is, it's over. Encanto is a charming, fantastic movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



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