Let’s talk about Encanto. In the movie, they may not want to talk about Bruno, but its plot was fantastic.
Encanto follows the Madrigal family, whose members have been blessed with magical gifts. All of them have special gifts…that is, except Mirabel. Her family consists of Lusia, Isabella, Camillo, Dorles, Antonio, Julieta, Austin, Pepa, Felix, Bruno and Alma, her Abuela. Mirabel always tries to impress the villagers and her family to the best of her ability. It seems to never be enough because the villagers always feel bad for her. Her family doesn’t listen to her, and they often tell her to move out of the way when they are doing something. Mirabel then soon realizes that the family’s magic is disappearing and she is the only one that can save it. This plot was everything because it’s very simple and very straightforward, but it was more underneath that needed to be picked apart. This movie is a lot deeper than it seems on the surface. It discusses family trauma, and the expectations placed on families, siblings, and ourselves.
Speaking of deeper meaning, there are many overarching themes throughout the movie. One of Mirabel’s sisters, Lusia, holds the weight of her family on her shoulders and she is the one that everyone goes to for help. The song “Surface Pressure” explores how her family expects her to do their heavy lifting. Her character and the song are loved by the audience because any older sibling can relate. Older siblings are often burdened to do everything and be strong for everyone else. This leads to them not showing any crack or emotions so they won’t be viewed as weak by anyone else. Since her gift is super strength, Luisa feels that she needs to do everything. If she can’t do this, then she’ll be letting everyone down.
Another important theme is perfection, shown through Mirabel’s other sister, Isabella. She is considered the golden child, and everyone wants to look and be like her. In the song, “What Else Can I Do,” Isabella talks about the pressure of being perfect and how she has very high expectations from the family and everyone in town. She expected to be that one that everyone comes to as a role model. Surrounded by her family’s magical gifts, Mirabel is disappointed in herself and you can see that through her actions. Even though she doesn’t have a gift, she tries everything in her power to impress her family, especially her Abuela. It’s nice to see that this movie had a lot of themes that families can relate to.
The cast is diverse, which is good, because Disney always has trouble showing a broad representation of anything, but they nail it with this one. The film is set in Columbia, and Columbia comes with all different body types and skin tones. Often, Disney sticks to the same white cast, especially when it comes to cultural representation. It often comes out as racist or not accurate to the culture. Encanto steps out of the typical Disney standard and produces a masterpiece of Columbian representation.
Since Encanto has been released, it has been shown great praise by several audiences. The live-action version of Mulan was not well-received. It was a lack of representation of their culture, with some of it being highly inaccurate. Encanto was all about culture and representation and I wish that Mulan had more of what Encanto has. Another culture that needs more representation is Black culture. I understand that there are movies with black characters as the main focus, such as The Princess and the Frog and Soul, but the main characters are not human. They are both wonderful movies and tell a great story, but why are the characters not human for most of the movie? It makes them feel less important than the other movies that they have produced. When you see something like Encanto, it makes you want more about the people and culture of whatever community.
With a great movie, comes with a great soundtrack and Encanto was full of great bangers. The most popular song to come out of this is, “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.” It’s been so successful, that it reached number 1 on the billboard top 100. This is the first Disney song to be in the Top Ten since “Let it Go” from Frozen.
Imani Turner-Wells is a third-year cinema and photography major who is always waiting for the chance to talk about Bruno. They can be reached at [email protected].
Art by Julia Young.