'Encanto' Review
Encanto provides an ambitious and daring scope to make the story stand out amongst a crowd of other musical films.
'Encanto' Review
PG: Some thematic elements and mild peril.
Runtime: 1 Hr and 39 Minutes
Production Companies: Walt Disney Animation Studios
Distributor: Disney
Directors: Byron Howard, Jared Bush
Writers: Jared Bush, Charise Castro Smith
Cast: Stephanie Beatriz, John Leguizamo, María Cecilia Botero, Diane Guerrero, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Wilmer Valderrama
Release Date: November 24, 2021
In Theaters Only
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, charming 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.
Recently, the team over at Walt Disney Animation Studios has been going above and beyond with each new feature they create. Now we’re at their 60th feature with Encanto, which might be one of their most ambitious projects in a long while.
If there’s anything Disney Animation is going to do, it’s trying to add animated visibility to countries they haven’t scouted yet. Here, they do it with Colombia. While the narrative is mostly set within the confines of the Encanto and the mountain it resides on, the film is an energetic celebration of Colombian culture in every facet imaginable. The animators and character designers went out of their way to make sure every skin tone that makes up the country’s demographic is represented. You have characters who range from dark-skinned to light-skinned, and also brown-skinned. It’s a wonder to behold, for you don’t always get this type of diversity from the mouse house or even live-action films. Apart from that, they push the culture, including the fantastical wardrobe, food, interior design, and style to the forefront in such a seamless and beautiful manner. It’s such a burst of love for the setting, the culture, and the people that it feels like the new golden standard of what diversity in film should look like, animated or not. This is also reflected in the voice cast, for everyone is Colombian! This is the prime example, man! Disney is running circles now.
What else is there to say about the animation quality? It’s Disney Animation, they’re top-tier at making gorgeous worlds come to life. I could just copy and paste everything I said about the animation in Raya and apply it to Encanto, for this is another gorgeously animated and eye-popping effort from the studio. Like, there’s a moment where you see the sunlight reflect on a character’s back and you can see their back hair from a distance. ANIMATION HAS PROGRESSED FAR ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN SEE BACK HAIR! It reminded me of when I noticed the dust particles in Pixar’s Toy Story 4.
As far as the narrative goes, Encanto provides an ambitious and daring scope to make the story stand out amongst a crowd of other musical films. Instead of telling the story of some princess running a solo quest in a vast setting, Encanto scales itself back to be, in a sense, a single-set family drama. Most of this film is told from the confines of a house. To cheat the system, each Madrigal family members’ room has a luscious and fantastical background to fit their abilities. The living room might as well be a hub world to each member’s room, which is like stages in a video game. Still, it’s all set within the house. Where Raya and the Last Dragon was vast and focused on globetrotting, Encanto is the antithesis with its small scale. Some might say there is a lack of a clear structure, which makes it difficult to navigate, but the story is transparent about being a single-set family mystery, unlike anything Disney Animation has done before. I started to appreciate the loose structure more because it had me guessing which route the story would take.
Once you become acquainted with this Colombian house of mutants, led by the matriarch, you sympathize with Mirabel, the powerless of the bunch. She’s looked down upon by every family member except for her mother and her younger cousin. Despite feeling down, she retains an amiable sense of optimism and empathy towards others. Much like the character she voices, Stephanie Beatriz is the heart and soul of the film and you adore the heck out of her. Mirabel is such a lovable lead who depicts so much resilience and heart despite being seen as the runt of her family. Believe me when I say this movie speaks to people with grandma issues, so of course, I bawled.
Lin-Manuel Miranda provides the music as a songwriter and hardly any of the songs stand out. The musical numbers have great choreography and dazzling animation, but they stand out more than the songs themselves. They fill out the archetype of the Disney musical formula but I give it kudos for having songs that point out each family member’s inner emotional state. It’s more poignant in ambition than in execution and the weak lyricism in some of the songs is at fault. Outside of “We Don't Talk About Bruno" and “Dos Oruguitas” (which is the juggernaut of Best Original Song to beat this year), all the songs were a major letdown.
Encanto is the most narratively ambitious musical feature to come out of Disney Animation in years. It’s a beautiful celebration of family and Colombian culture that’s very small in scale but huge in scope and heart. Much like its setting, Encanto is dazzling and exuberant, and I’m completely stunned by the complex story told in such a rich manner. Wow, 60 movies in and Disney Animation can still add more greatness to their ever-expanding roster.
