By Sara Solimani, The Current Staff Writer
Disney’s new movie, Encanto, is a heartwarming story that many found relatable in its own aspects. From listening to the soundtrack on repeat to being able to relate to the individual characters, audiences of all ages are able to enjoy this movie long after watching it.
Encanto is a movie about a Colombian family that all have unique powers, or gifts, granted to them by the Encanto. Except for Mirabel, the protagonist of the story. Because of this difference, her family members look down on her and belittle her often throughout the tale. Mirabel is not discouraged by this, however, as she sets out to find what’s causing Casita, the magical house of the Madrigal family, to lose its magic.
Among many other things, Encanto did an excellent job of portraying commendable themes and enjoyable aspects, even if it doesn’t follow the typical Disney format. For an entertainment company that is known for its movies revolving around princesses and overcoming a general evil (normally a villain), they successfully depict a character that doesn’t have these special traits. It’s made obvious that Mirabel is different, but Disney doesn’t make her completely useless and doesn’t introduce a villain for her to defeat to try to wrap up the movie.
The voice actor of Mirabel, Stephanie Beatriz, is a part of the Latinx community, along with almost the whole cast. A lot of people are astonished by how these voice actors were able to sing the tricky high notes and how perfect the songs were. They were especially drawn back by Jessica Darrow’s performance in ‘Surface Pressure’ as Luisa Madrigal, as well as the ensemble in ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ sung by Stephanie Beatriz, Diane Guerrero (Isabela Madrigal), Rhenzy Feliz (Camilo), Adassa, Carolina Gaitán (Pepa), and Mauro Castillo (Pico).
The song choice is especially useful in setting the dramatic tones throughout the movie, and also the somber ones. This was effectively brought out during ‘Surface Pressure’ as the song becomes increasingly more dramatic to emphasize the tension felt by Luisa as she struggles to hold up the family. Another scene where this is demonstrated well is during the end of ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ when the songs start overlapping and an organized chaos plays out across the screen while Mirabel is trying to make sense of it all and fix the problem she faces.
The directors of Encanto, Byron Howard and Jared Bush, are also notable for their other movies, Zootopia and Moana. As they have had experience directing these popular animated films, it isn’t surprising that they were able to make Encanto just as incredible.
Many people were excited and joyous about the fact that Mirabel was able to earn respect for herself, but also because of the representation- even if it wasn’t 100% accurate. Sophomore Carolina Herrera shares her point of view as a Colombian, “I think that they somewhat described the Colombian experience but with basic elements; coffee, the farmhouse (the farmhouse was well represented), empanadas, they had good meals in there too…” She unpacks the cultural and familial aspects as well by expressing that, “It really just shows the pressure that Latino households are put into when coming from strict parents with high standards.” Encanto is rich with backstory, challenges, overcoming personal obstacles, and embracing yourself for who you are as a person. Although it fell somewhat short of what some expected for representation, fans are ecstatic to have an impressionable all-Latino cast in a Disney movie.