Encanto (2021)
directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard
(co-directed by Charise Castro Smith)
★★★★☆
The latter half of the Second Disney Renaissance (which I consider beginning with The Princess and the Frog, although others would probably say Tangled) has brought us several completely original and diverse animated movies. Frozen delved into Scandanavian lore. Zootopia tackled race relations using anthropromorphic animals. Moana taught us about Polynesian mythology. And now Encanto tells a story of a magical family living in an enchanted house nestled in a Columbian jungle in the early 20th century, after the abuela de familia had to flee from an attack on her villiage, presumably during the Thousand Days’ War.
The story itself is completely original, albeit predictable to a fault. La Casa de Madrigal is a magical, sentient home that has been enchanted by Abuela Alma’s magic candle. Every member of the family is bestowed a special gift by the candle upon coming of age — every member, that is, except the main protagonist, Mirabel. Mirabel loves her family and begrudgingly accepts her status as its only (to borrow a term from the Wizarding World) “squib”, but starts having visions of the figurative and literal collapse of the Madrigal, which she sets out to prevent, encountering resistance from the family themselves. Story beats are typical family movie fare, and there aren’t many surprises, but the heart is there.
Animation-wise, this might just be WDAS’s best, incorporating the most “rubber-hose” animation I’ve ever seen on human characters in CGI, as well as the abstract fantasy elements Disney hand-drawn animation was known for in the ’40s and again in the ’90s, elements that started to return in Moana. Also returning from Moana is songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, whose signature rapid-fire, multi-layer lyrics are front and center here. Viewers who have a hard time following his style may be turned off by the songs in this movie, but I personally love it.
The impressive cast is made up entirely of actors from and descended from Columbia and South America, including Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Stephanie Beatriz, and character actor John Leguizamo, continuing Disney’s recent trend of respecting their stories’ people and culture instead of white-washing it. Everything about the traditions and designs of this movie accurately depict their origins.
There’s a lot of nuance to the otherwise pedestrian plot, and the characters are memorable and lovable. The Columbian setting also adds to the film’s mystique by weaving culturally significant elements and symbolism in wherever possible. The Disney touch is all over this movie, and elevates it above what it could have been under any other studio. I really hope Disney continues to work with the diverse and talented group of people who’ve been involved in the last several Feature Animation films.
