(Warning Spoilers Ahead!)
Disney’s latest masterpiece Encanto, was released in UK cinemas on the 24th of November, 2021, before landing on Disney+ the following month. In just a couple months, the movie has touched the hearts of millions and earned the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature film. But what is it about this animated masterpiece that has everyone talking?
Set in vibrant Colombia, Encanto explores the magic of the Madrigal family who swear to protect their beloved community. From their spirited house – La Casita – to their curious super powers, it’s clear the Madrigal family is anything but ordinary. Magical and unusual families with their quirky characters and infuriatingly catchy songs have graced our screens for as long as one can remember. What is it about Encanto that has fans buzzing with excitement?
A perfect balance of fictional, fantastical world building and realistic, almost heart-breakingly relatable character experiences, woven beautifully together by the renowned Lin Manuel Miranda – Encanto masters suspension of disbelief and everyday encounters simultaneously. What else can make you cry about the back-breaking pressure to carry your family’s burdens effortlessly, whilst in awe of the shimmying, rhythmic donkeys? Like BoJack Horseman (2014-2020), Encanto tackles the most poignant aspects of family life, mental health and trauma with the optimum degree of fantasy, absurdity and humour. It’s enough to make you reflect on generational curses without completely spiralling.
This is perhaps best shown through the beloved characters. Each member of the Madrigal family has a certain attribute about them which makes one think “could never be me”, only to be met with a begrudging “that is so me” – allowing the viewer to feel some form of relief at the end without the hyper awareness of explicit self projection. For example, how many of us can manipulate Mother Nature with just one thought, painting the town with roses and hydrangeas? Probably not many. But how many know how it feels to have the whole family relying on you as the eldest to continue or even enhance a legacy to which you have no real connection? Hands up if you can carry five or six donkeys and push an entire church with your bare hands? Interesting. Now do the same if you feel that your worth is inextricably linked to your productivity and the service you provide for others.
Now, let us do the unthinkable and talk about Bruno. In my opinion, Bruno’s story arc is exactly why Encanto has specifically won the hearts of young adults, particularly those from immigrant households. Whilst we don’t all have the ability to summon a sand storm and see exactly what the future holds, many of us know how it feels to be ostracised from the only people who really ought to have your back. Clairvoyance aside, Bruno is a man who loves his family, a child who couldn’t meet his mother’s harmful expectations – cast aside and spoken ill of, because he told the truth as it was instead of telling everyone what they wanted to hear. Whilst I would hope nobody reading this lives within their estranged family’s walls, I am sure the notion of sitting quietly as you hear your family talk amongst themselves about this evil, fictional version of you, is not unfamiliar.
Encanto gives every one of us the chance to live in a family that chooses to heal.
Spotlight Magazine 
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