Encanto is an American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and the 60th Disney animated movie. Directed by Jared Bush and Bryon Howard, it was released theatrically on November 24, 2021.
Though never explicitly told, the film has a heavy focus on Latino culture, especially Colombia.
Synopsis[]
Encanto tells the tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called Encanto. The magic of Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift from super-strength to the power to heal—every child except for Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family’s last hope.
Plot[]
When Alma (Abuela) Madrigal is escaping from terrorists, her husband Pedro dies, but she manages to rescure her children, Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno. The candle she had salvaged was enchanted or blessed to protect a secret village in the mountains of Colombia hidden away in an 'Encanto'. Abuela's new house flourishes and thrums with magic. Julieta was given the power to heal through her food at the age of 5, and Pepa could affect the weather due to her emotions. Lastly, Bruno was given the gift - or curse to predict the future, but everyone thought that Bruno was making the bad predictions happen, for example, at Pepa and Félix's wedding, he says "It looks like rain" which triggers Pepa and possibly due to how she was feeling, she was "married in a hurricane". Finally, tired of being criticized, Bruno runs away from home on the day Mirabel did not recieve her gift, because of the bad vision he had about her and the magic, leaving Pepa and Julieta in the Casita.
Soon, Julieta gives birth to 3 children, Isabela, Luisa, and finally Mirabel. Isabela recieved the gift to make flowers bloom wherever she stepped, Luisa was given the gift of super strength, and Mirabel was not given any gift. Mirabel touches the door handle, but sadly, she did not get a gift. The door, instead of a portrait of her appearing on it, disappears.
Years later, when she is 15, during Antonio's gift ceremony, Mirabel sees cracks in the Casita that no one else sees. Abuela pretends not to care, while later in the night she begs Pedro for help. Abuela asked her husband how to save the miracle, and Mirabel decides that she will save it. She then asks Dolores for help, and she says that Luisa was nervous. Mirabel confronts Luisa and her older sister says that she should go to Bruno's tower and that when Mirabel mentioned the cracks and the candle almost going out, she felt weak. Mirabel goes to Bruno's tower and finds the vision. When the Guzmáns come over to make plans for Isabela's proposal, Mirabel gets caught and everyone learns about the vision.
After that, Mirabel finds bruno and convinces him to have another vision. He sees a butterfly and Mirabel hugging Isabela. Mirabel does what he says hesitantly and the cracks dissapear and the Candle grows brighter. But then, Abuela and Mirabel argue, and the house breaks down. Later, Mirabel runs away and Abuela finds her. Abuela tells her story and they hug, and Bruno returns home. With the help of everyone in town, they build the Casita back. Apparently, they all had made a doorknob for Mirabel, and she places it on the door, which brought the magic of the Casita back. And the front door had a portrait of the whole family together.
Cast[]
- Mirabel Madrigal - Stephanie Beatriz
- Alma Madrigal - María Cecilia Botero
- Bruno Madrigal - John Leguizamo
- Julieta Madrigal - Angie Cepeda
- Agustín Madrigal - Wilmer Valderrama
- Pepa Madrigal - Carolina Gaitán
- Isabela Madrigal - Diane Guerrero
- Luisa Madrigal - Jessica Darrow
- Camilo Madrigal - Rhenzy Feliz
- Dolores Madrigal - Adassa
- Antonio Madrigal - Ravi Cabot-Conyers
Songs[]
- The Family Madrigal
- Dos Oruguitas
- Waiting On A Miracle
- Surface Pressure
- We Don't Talk About Bruno]]
- What Else Can I Do?
- All of You
- Colombia, Mi Encanto
Trivia[]
- This will be the second time that Lin-Manuel Miranda has worked on a Walt Disney Animation Studios film, after Moana (film).
- This will be the first Disney Animated Canon film to be produced by more than one person since Big Hero 6.
- This will be the second Disney Animated Canon film to be released on November 24, after Tangled.
- This will be the second Disney or Pixar animated film to have a 1.85.1 aspect ratio after Luca.
- This will be the fourth Disney Animated Canon film to explore Latin American culture, after Saludos Amigos, The Three Caballeros and The Emperor's New Groove.
- This will also be the first Disney Animated Canon film to center on one specific Latin American culture, as Saludos Amigos and The Three Caballeros were package films with shorts taking place in multiple Latin American countries and The Emperor's New Groove never made its exact location clear.
- The word encanto comes from Spanish and means charm, spell, or enchantment. It is both used as a way to tell a magic incantation and as an adjective for "sweetheart".
- This is the second Disney Animated Canon film to have a foreign title. The first being Saludos Amigos.
- This'll be the first Disney Animated Canon film with a 1:85:1 aspect ratio since Winnie the Pooh.
- This is the fourth Disney Animated Canon film with a protagonist who wears glasses after Milo from Atlantis: The Lost Empire, the eponymous character in Chicken Little (film), and Lewis in Meet the Robinsons but the first of such movies with a female glass-wearer in the lead role.
- This is the second film from the Disney Animated Canon to feature a human female protagonist debuting in 2021, after Raya from Raya and the Last Dragon.
- This will be the first time in Disney history that two human female protagonists from two different Disney Animated Canon films will debut within the same year.
- This is the first film in Disney history that has a princess that wears glasses.
- This is Disney's third animated film to release on November 24th, after Toy Story 2 (1999) and Tangled (2010).
- This is the second Disney animated Canon film to have a foreign title. The first being Saludos Amigos.
- Second computer-animated Disney film directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, after Zootopia (2016), five years prior.
- Encanto won a 2021 Golden Globe for "Best Animated Feature Film".