Charm

“It’s all about the legacy they left with me, it’s destiny.” (Unmarked Spoilers)

The 60th film in the Disney Animated Canon, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, concerns the Madrigal family, who possess a miracle candle that gives them magical powers, a living house called the Casita, and created the surrounding village. One day, the magic starts to disappear as mysterious cracks appear in Casita. Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) begins to investigate but runs into problems because she’s seen as kind of a loser. Why? She’s the first “Disney Princess” to have glasses, and only losers wear glasses.

Actually, it’s because Mirabel doesn’t have any powers. And since the family’s whole sense of self-worth is built around having these abilities, most of the Madrigals look down on her for it. Especially abuela Alma (María Cecilia Botero). That said, those with powers don’t have it much better. Isabela (Diane Guerrero) is pressured to always be perfect, while Luisa (Jessica Darrow) is likewise pressured to always be the strong one. 

That is actually why the family’s magic is waning. The cracks in the family home represent the cracks in the family unit. The song lyrics about rebuilding the home’s foundation isn’t just about the building. The symbolism is easy enough for the younger viewers to pick up on it, which is good.

Another piece of symbolism is butterflies representing the family’s love. Butterflies are all over the movie and the promotional material. Mirabal sees one in Bruno’s vision, which guides her to how she can save the family. A butterfly can be seen when Alma and her future husband Pedro meet. The dress Mirabel wears even noticeable has multiple butterflies on it.

As video essayist Lindsay Ellis pointed out in her video “Are Disney Villains Going Extinct,” classic Disney villains are out of place now that they’ve gone from simplistic good vs. evil stories to more character-driven plots. There’s also a relatively recent trend of making who the villain is some big plot twist. In Encanto, the mysterious Bruno Madrigal (John Leguizamo) is teased as a classic, flamboyant villain, but the plot twist is that there is no villain. Bruno is misunderstood, not evil.

Alma ends up being the antagonist by causing the family’s toxicity by pressuring everyone to be perfect, but she’s not deliberately malicious, merely misguided. Alba also comes around at the end, working with the family to repair the foundation. And that’s great because this movie didn’t need a Hades (James Woods) or Dr. Facilier (Keith David) so that the focus can remain on the family drama.

After learning that family is more important than any special powers, the Madrigals get their special powers back. Since this is a children’s movie, you can have your cake and eat it too. Like in Soul, where after Jaime Foxx spends the whole movie coming to terms with mortality, he gets to live again. Or in Hotel Transylvania 2, where after Drac finally gets over having a human grandson, it turns out he’s a vampire after all. Of course, a less cynical reading would be that all the above results from good karma.  

If you need a good Disney movie, then I would recommend Encanto. The music’s not as good as in Hamilton because Miranda set the bar really high with that one, but it’s a cute film with a good story. It’s also well made, with good animation and the whole cast doing a great job. It’s fun for the whole family.