Encanto Movie Review

Published 1 year ago -


By Isabella Mastrototoro, Staff Writer

Bored and can not decide what to watch? Next movie night you should watch Disney’s Encanto which takes place in Columbia and is about the family Madrigal whose magical gifts are disappearing. It is up to Mirabel the only person in her family without a magical gift to save the magic. Encanto is great because of its relatable characters, and the awesome soundtrack that helps tell the story.

The large number of characters it has makes it so the audience has multiple characters to connect with. If people feel like they always have to be tough they relate to Luisa whose magic gift is strength. If people have trouble with their emotions they can relate to Tia Pepa whose magic gift is controlling the weather with her emotions. If people feel like an outsider they can connect to Mirabel who does not feel special because she lacks a gift.

Furthermore, Encanto did a good job of balancing their huge cast of characters. Sometimes movies struggle when they have a lot of characters by overpowering a few and forgetting the rest. This was not the case in Encanto where all the characters including adults and children interacted and impacted each other. For example, Mirable would be spending time with her sisters Lusia and Isabel and then the movie would show how Abuela was impacted by this.

Additionally, it is not surprising that the soundtrack is a hit because the music for the film was written and composed by Lin Manuel Miranda and Germaine Franco. Disney fans will recognize that Miranda also wrote music for Moana and Hamilton. Germaine Franco has done music for other movies such as The Sleepover and Work It.  The soundtrack makes the movie great because it is necessary to understand the story instead of just being added to make a scene more interesting. 

Moreover, the most popular song of Encanto is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” which has reached number one on the charts and is trending on TikTok. Bruno is the black sheep of the Madrigal family that disappeared, and whenever characters ask about him they get shut down because they do not discuss Bruno. The song is funny because of the hypocrisy of singing about a guy that you are not supposed to even mention. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is when the audience finally gets to learn about Bruno alleviating some of the anticipation of the audience. The best feature of the song is all the characters and their different perspectives of Bruno. Specifically, when the different parts of the characters overlap each other at the end of the song.

Additionally, the artwork of the movie is beautiful and makes Encanto worth rewatching because you can spot something new every watch. The outfits some of the characters wear have symbols that reflect their magical gifts. Lusia has magical strength so her outfit has a pattern of dumbbells on it. Isabel’s magical gift is growing flowers so her outfit is embellished with flowers. The background is amazing because it takes place in beautiful Columbia. The Casita and other background houses are based on Columbian architecture.  There are beautiful tropical plants. It does a good job of showing Columbian culture without being offensive. It has been a very long time since Disney centered a movie in South America with the last one being Saludos Amigos in 1942. Encanto added meaningful diversity to Disney’s movie lineup. Hopefully, this diversity will continue with more movies that represent everyone.

In conclusion, Encanto is a fantastic movie because of its relatable characters, catchy soundtrack, beautiful artwork. You will instantly love the amusing quirky characters. The soundtrack will be stuck in your head for days and you will be belting it out. I was never bored watching it because the movie just draws you in so get your popcorn ready.

36 recommended
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