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Exploring the Magical World of Encanto: A Critical Analysis By Josephina Johnson
What is it that makes Encanto enjoyable to a vast age range? Is there something in the movie that is truly deep and meaningful, so that it can touch all age groups, and perhaps, eventually, touch future generations if Encanto becomes a classic? Or is it a commercial and consumeristic aspect of marketing and catchy songs?
Over February break, my little sister Naomi turned eight, and we threw her an Encanto-themed birthday party. For those who don’t know, Encanto is a Disney movie that follows Mirabel, the only one in her magical family, the Madrigals, who never received a miraculous gift and who struggles, therefore, to feel accepted. Although Naomi’s party was hosted for second graders, when researching decoration ideas, I realized that the movie, characters, and music appeal to people of all ages. But what is it that makes Encanto enjoyable to a vast age range? Is there something in the movie that is truly deep and meaningful, so that it can touch all age groups, and perhaps, eventually, touch future generations if Encanto becomes a classic? Or is it a commercial and consumeristic aspect of marketing and catchy songs?
Of course, the undoubtedly popular movie wasn’t perfect. Although Encanto’s soundtrack is quite possibly its most popular element, I found it quite off-putting at first. As a musical, Encanto struggled. It just wasn’t a movie moved by music. The story felt stilted, as if the music was a fun addition instead of a real element of storytelling. The music did not feel inseparable from Maribel’s story; it felt like a garnish. I had been expecting a musical like La La Land or West Side Story (1961), where music is at the heart of the storytelling. La La Land used music to further the plot. West Side Story choreographed the fight scenes as dance numbers. Encanto simply had characters bursting into song to proclaim their feelings every once in a while. It felt as if Encanto had two separate modes, musical and regular movie. During some scenes, like “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the entire town is singing, dancing, and communicating through music. In other scenes, the movie might well have never been a musical. For example, when Abuela and Maribel fight, they simply stand there, yelling at one another, while the house cracks around them. There’s a little background music but it is still nothing close to the exemplary scene in Frozen, where Elsa freezes Anna’s heart. This argument, in contrast, is composed almost entirely of the song. It’s not a song that anyone typically calls to mind when they think of Frozen, but it is an important link that helps to bind and unify the movie as a musical. Without scenes like this, Encanto loses its rhythm and doesn’t have the unified tone that a better soundtrack would have given it. I had also hoped Encanto would have some big dance numbers, but that’s more of personal taste.
Don’t get me wrong, the music is amazing. Lin Manuel Miranda wrote wonderfully catchy songs that are a joy to sing. We Don’t Talk About Bruno is increasingly popular and Dos Oruguitas was nominated for an Oscar. Furthermore, each song feels sincere and emotional. Unlike Mary Poppins Returns, the musical scenes aren’t just a dazzling display of hard-to-reach notes and over-the-top special effects. Instead, the characters’ heartfelt songs truly connect with their audience.
Additionally, each Madrigal has their own musical genre, showcasing a different side of Colombian music and reflecting their individual personality. Camilo, the shapeshifter and entertainer, sings in a dramatic and theatrical style. Luisa, the strong one, sings Surface Pressure, an EDM reggaeton song you can easily imagine working out to. While the many distinct sounds of the Madrigal family sound great separately, together they reflect the family dysfunction. This is most clear during the opening tune, “The Family Madrigal,” which constantly changes tempo as Maribel rushes about town describing her eccentric family. The song felt jolting, offbeat, and slightly overwhelming. This may have been the point. At the beginning of the movie, the Madrigals, like cogs in a clock that no longer ticks, aren’t working as they’re supposed to. They sound much more unified in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” as they demonstrate the family’s knack for ostracization and scapegoating. The one thing the Madrigals are in sync on is their willingness to ignore their issues.
The downside of these musical techniques is that, at first, the soundtrack does not feel like a single album. It is more like a set of amazing singles. Although each song is great individually, they just don’t have the same vibe.
Similarly, it is not the Madrigal family as a whole that captivates us, but each individual member. Each Madrigal has their own magical gift and a psychological curse. It is left up to the viewer to decide whether the gifts exacerbate and create the character’s mental issues, or if the miracles are meant to be tools to deal with them. For example, Tia Pepa is extremely temperamental and her mood affects the weather. Pepa treats her gift as an adversary that amplifies her negative emotions. However, the gift could be used as a mindfulness tool, physically indicating her mood swings and giving her an emotional outlet. The ladder would be similar to the YA novel, All the Crooked Saints, which follows another dysfunctional Latina family featuring magical powers that display people’s personal struggles, although it focuses more on how fear affects facts than the many themes that Encanto casually dips into with its multitude of characters. For example, with Luisa and Isabela, Encanto shows how expectations, pressure, and perfectionism can weigh a person down and steal their life. With Maribel and Bruno, the movie depicts the effects of ostracization and the danger of deriving your worth from your talents. Each member of the Madrigal family can be seen as a warning, an example of an attitude to avoid.
In their own special way, each Madrigal family member needs therapy. This is part of Encanto’s allure. It opens itself up to older audiences by dealing with more mature issues and giving us something to discuss. Encanto also leaves its magic up for interpretation. By allowing its viewers to theorize and discuss, Encanto makes us feel intellectual. If Frozen 2 is any indication, the magical lore of Encanto should remain up for interpretation indefinitely.
Encanto matures beyond the average Disney movie not only through its deeper protagonists, but also through the lack of a clean-cut, malice-filled villain. Although Abuela could technically be called a villain because of the harm she inflicts upon her family’s mental state, she is not depicted as a villain. Her backstory does not portray a descent into evil, but rather the same need for therapy that the rest of her family exemplifies. Abuela is not a treacherous stepmother or bloodthirsty dragon. She’s an old woman with good intentions who has lost sight of what is beneficial to her family.
Encanto also went beyond the usual Disney movie standard when pointing out the Disney Princess stereotype. Instead of resorting to a goofy Wreck-It Ralph-type scene, Isabela’s growth as a character meaningfully depicts the effects of trying to fulfill this ideal in a style more likely to resonate with children.
Unfortunately, Encanto loses all its maturity with its ending, which is a Disney-style, unexplained resurrection. As none of us understand the origins of Encanto’s Magic, we cannot contest its reappearance. However, it’s generally viewed as bad form to resolve conflict with magic the audience doesn’t understand, at least according to Brandon Sanderson. On top of that, Maribel and Bruno’s ostracization, Isabela and Luisa’s perfectionism, and the many other less explored but no less present family ills could not realistically be undone in a single peppy song. Although its ending thoroughly lowers its tone, Encanto is a gem that has put a stamp on our generation and will surely not be overlooked by future ones. You should watch the movie or listen to the music as Encanto is a burgeoning part of our society.