Rent Encanto on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Charise Castro Smith & Jared Bush (screenplay by), Jared Bush & Byron Howard & Charise Castro Smith & Jason Hand & Nancy Kruse & Lin-Manuel Miranda (story by)
Directed by: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Charise Castro Smith (co-directed by)
Starring (voice): Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, Alan Tudyk
Rated: PG
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Plot
A young Colombian girl has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.
Verdict
Mirabel feels like an imposter in her own family due to a lack of special powers, but even the members that do have powers feel constrained by them. That's how the viewer can relate to these characters, we're seeing them at a moment when they lack confidence and this family is fractured. This movie is a family drama explored through the exaggeration of unique abilities. While I wish this dug deeper into the issue, it's certainly a nice message for kids and adults that bears repeating. Everyone is unique and gifted.
Watch It.
Review
Encanto means charmed or enchanted. That's exactly what the Madrigal family and their house is, enchanted. Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) lives in a magical house with her entire fantastically gifted family. Through a miracle, Mirabel's grandmother Alma was holding a candle while fleeing an armed conflict. We don't know the why or how but the candle saved Alma and family. It comes down to Alma was in need and the world at large provided. While the family lives in a semi-sentient house, Mirabel's sisters, cousins, and aunts & uncles possess special powers imbued by the candle, that is everyone except Mirabel.
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| Stephanie Beatriz voices Mirabel |
While Mirabel tries to convince herself that she's content, it's difficult to be the only one in the family without a superhuman power. She doesn't even know why. What went wrong?
Each child gets a ceremony where they're bestowed a gift. The last ceremony was Mirabel's where nothing happened. Her nephew Antonio is nervous about his upcoming ceremony, and we get a nice moment where Mirabel comforts him. She may not have a gift, but she isn't bitter.
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| The Madrigal family |
The main plot of the movie is Mirabel resolving to save the family, and the inherent magic, despite not having any gifts when she has a vision of the magic candle failing. Along the way Mirabel realizes that everyone in the family is trying to maintain appearances. The abilities create a facade. Alma has become so focused on the abilities that she forgot the underlying reason for those abilities. The miracle is the family, and the abilities are a byproduct.
Alma saw Mirabel's lack of a gift as a crack in the foundation, that the magic could fail. That scared her and created a self-fulfilling prophecy. Mirabel did cause the magic to end, but she was also key in reigniting it. The magic resides in caring about each other, not solely what they can do with magic powers. While Mirabel's sister is super strong, that doesn't mean she doesn't need emotional support. This exemplifies what had gone wrong with the family.
Lin-Manuel Miranda got a story by credit, but the songs in the movie sounded like him from cadence to style. The credits of the movie confirm he did write all of the songs.
This is a Disney movie, and it feels like they're striving to match Pixar in how Pixar structures plot. Instead of an antagonist, the characters have to overcome situations. This is a good movie, but it's missing that push that sets Pixar apart. It's certainly a credible attempt. Everyone is special is a great message, but I want this to explore more than just a standard platitude.
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