Disney Movie Challenge
Encanto (2021)
My original goal was to finish this challenge before Encanto came out but took a few breaks but I think ending on number 60 works perfectly, and getting to see the last one in theatres seems like a great end to the challenge.
Encanto is about the magical Madrigal family, who live in a magical house in the jungles of Columbia. The matriarch Abuala Alma oversees the house and the family. She was there when a magic candle first created the house and gave special powers to each of her children (Julieta can heal people with her cooking, Pepa can control the weather, and Bruno can see the future). As the family has expanded each grandchild has been given special gifts (super strength, super hearing, shapeshifting, talking to animals, and being perfect) except Mirabel. Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) loves her family but feels left out because she has no power and Abuela Alma seems to blame her for the magic candle losing some of its power. Mirabel sets out to save the magic and prove she can contribute to the family. Her first mission is to find Bruno who has been ostracized for his premonitions.
As with most Disney films Encanto was made collaboratively. When you look at the credits and you see 3 directors and 6 writers for most films that would mean it was a disaster behind the scenes. For Disney animated films it’s par for the course. Jared Bush and Bryon Howard who both worked on Zootopia were credited as Directors and Charise Castro Smith was credited as co-director. Bush and Smith were also credited as co-screenwriters with story by Bush, Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse (The Simpsons), and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton). With so many cooks in the kitchen it amazing that Disney can manage to get a cohesive story
After sharing songwriting duties on Moana, Disney finally let Miranda free to write a full on musical. Tapping into his Broadway roots Miranda wrote 8 original songs that are used to tell the story. Broadway style storytelling was used in abundance during the renaissance and revitalized by Frozen, but Miranda gives a his own flavor to the songs that makes it stand out from any previous Disney animated film. The songs have a lot of energy and are pretty catchy and the performances are spot on. Beatriz has the majority of the singing and she just absolutely shines. My favorite is when she sings "The Family Madrigal" towards the beginning of the film. The song is a lot of fun and an important part of introducing all the characters. But Beatriz doesn’t get all the songs to herself, everyone gets a chance to shine.
As with all great Disney movies this one has themes that resonates with people. In this one it’s about feeling like an outsider in your own family and finding your own self worth. Not having a special gift Mirabel feels very worthless, and the person she is looking for the most acceptance from, Abuela Alma, blames her for the trouble. As Mirabel searches for the reasons for the cracks in the house she discovers there are cracks in her “perfect” family. Everyone feels so much pressure to be what's expected of them they never get to be anything else. Mirabel is able to get them to open up about their feelings and begin a healing process. The story makes for an emotional journey that of course has a happy ending.
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