What They Say:
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “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 an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift from super strength to the power to heal—every child except one, Mirabel (voice of Stephanie Beatriz). But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family’s last hope. Releasing on Nov. 24, 2021, the film features all-new songs by Emmy®, GRAMMY® and Tony Award® winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “Moana”) and is directed by Byron Howard (“Zootopia,” “Tangled”) and Jared Bush (co-director “Zootopia”), co-directed by Charise Castro Smith (writer “The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez”), and produced by Clark Spencer and Yvett Merino; Bush and Castro Smith are screenwriters on the film.
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
The Spanish word for ‘encanto’ is a word used to describe a spell, charm, or enchantment, words I would easily use to describe the latest animated film from Disney. Now the 60th Full-Length Animated Feature Film from Walt Disney Animation (56 if you’re a purist like me who believes sequels shouldn’t count), “Encanto” bursts off the screen with vivid colors, vibrant music, and a lead protagonist who is extremely optimistic in the face of obvious family abuse! Clearly, this is a story that Disney knows and knows how to tell well! The plot revolves around a family who lives in an enchanted house in a small village. It’s sort of like the castle in “Beauty & the Beast,” where this house moves, has personality, and is strongly connected to the people who live inside it (the main difference here being that everyone views their situation as a blessed miracle where the teapots in the other movie viewed it all as a curse).
Every family member in the house is blessed with a “gift” that allows them to do amazing things. One of the family members talks to animals. The other can heal people with food. One of them can even grow flowers. I’m not sure how that’s a gift seeing as how none of them are wedding planners, but I’ll let it slide seeing as how they have the magic of Disney animators on their side to make the effect look pretty darn cool. The only one who was not given a gift was Mirabel, who got the shaft from the house and now must tiptoe around the family during special events because…I mean, who wants the powerless girl ruining big magical nights, right? Isn’t that like having Cousin Jimmy over for Thanksgiving dinner with the knowledge he’s the only registered Republican in the room? Never mind. For as poorly as the family treats her Mirabel is easily the most likable member of the family. She has a bright disposition and does her best to get along with everyone who surrounds her!
There are hints that she may be overcompensating because she wants to be accepted in the family (something her grandmother – the head of the household – does not do), but regardless of the reason, she is easily the most likable protagonist to come from Disney since Moana burst onto the sea. She is not only the kind of sister we would all love to have in our lives; she is a great role model for how to treat others when they don’t treat you the way they probably should. There is a bigger story in the fact that the house that grants everyone their powers seems to be falling apart and Mirabel is the only one who’s not in denial about this fact, however, what is going to really suck most families into the world is the animation and characters. I saw the movie in RealD 3D where the world in front of me practically surrounded me, and it was a mesmerizing effect, to say the least. The colors popped in ways that they didn’t in previous films “Frozen II” and “Raya and the Last Dragon.” The quality of the story felt timeless AND modernly relevant (as opposed to the already dated “Ralph Breaks the Internet”)!
And the songs! My goodness, the songs are so very…very average. Alright, if I’m going to put on my critic cap and sour the mood at any point, it may as well be with the fact that I personally did not find most of the songs very memorable. They have energy, yes, but they aren’t especially memorable or engaging as far as I’m concerned. There was one song near the end involving the grandmothers past that I did enjoy. However…it was sung in Spanish, and it felt ironic that the one song I managed to connect with was the one song I couldn’t actually sing while I walked out of the theater. The averageness of the songs was especially strange considering the soundtrack was produced by Lin-Manual Miranda, who’s had one heck of a year now after having his Broadway show “In the Heights” adapted into one of the best films of the year and making his directorial debut with “Tick, Tick…BOOM!” If the music was better, this could have easily been a top-tier Disney film. Alas, without memorable music, it’s merely very good.
In Summary:
Still, at the end of the day, I can forgive this as everything else about “Encanto” is simply magical! No, it’s not a perfect film, but it is so good that I want to point to it and tell audiences that THIS is why they don’t want Disney making sequels to their animated films! Yes, we fall in love with those characters, sure, but look at these ones! Do you not realize that if Disney wasn’t so concerned about selling Olaf toys that we could have had Maribel in our lives four years earlier?! That’s the kind of thing that makes you stop and wonder what else is missing in your life that you don’t even realize you were missing? Disney has been making statements about how they want more diversity in their films and how they want to make inclusive stories that everyone will love. I think they stumbled with “Raya and the Last Dragon,” but with “Encanto” they are making good on their promise in a VERY big way, and I can’t wait to have the spell cast on me again!
Grade: A-
