Rating: 8.4
Encanto totally delivers on being Walt Disney Animation’s 60th film, and that’s definitely some big shoes to fill! I am so happy to report that it’s a wonderful film, it totally exceeded all my expectations. It tells a sweet and heartfelt story about family and valuing what others of different skill sets can offer. It really gets to the heart of the theme of family, and I loved how they used the house itself (which is basically a setting and a character) to thematically connect to the family aspects. And wow do they ever need to build this house at Disneyland, it’s so cool! The movie takes place pretty much all inside and around the house, and I loved the creative ways they made it feel much larger and expansive than it is.
Like I said earlier, I wasn’t overly excited for this movie, but it managed to really sweep me away. The trailers just didn’t sell me on it, and it turns out they really undersold the movie. It’s a great film to see with family, and visually spectacular! The animation, in classic Disney fashion, is stunningly beautiful. It’s super detailed and complex, filled with fantastic colours, inventive lighting and brings the story to life in such a magical way. The world building is also great, but I wish they dove a little bit deeper into the mythology and background of the story. The movie does move at a brisk pace and is fairly short, so I feel it could have benefited from an extra 15 or 20 minutes. I did really love the story too, and was surprised that it kept me guessing so much; it kept subverting my expectations and had some really cool twists, all of which made me very happy! It is also a great depiction of real world cultures and issues (even powerfully touching on immigration) and employs many magical realism techniques.
I really loved the characters too; they were all so unique and memorable! Stephanie Beatriz was really charming as Mirabel, and fit the role well, but unfortunately her character seemed to be outshined by the other characters due to the fact they all have powers and she doesn’t. She does make an impression but the movie struggles to make her seem like the true lead of the movie. Truly my favourite character was Bruno (voiced by John Leguizamo)… but as the movie says “We don’t talk about Bruno!” so you’ll just have to see it to see why he’s so great!
And how can you talk about this movie without bringing up the songs?! Lin-Manuel Miranda knocks in out of the park once again (are we surprised?), crafting songs that are all so memorable and unique, they truly feel like a blend of styles and work so well. My only problem is, and this is very minor, is that there wasn’t one standout song, an equivalent to “Let it Go” from Frozen or “How Far I’ll Go” from Moana. The songs worked well with the story, but unfortunately seem to stop the plot when they come on rather than progress the story through the song, creating “song-breaks”. (Although a few managed to keep it going). Still, the music was phenomenal and a highlight of the movie, I just had a few issues overall. And of course… the songs are indeed stuck in my head!
Overall I really enjoyed the movie! It’s filled with emotions and is a magical, heartfelt film to be seen with your family! I think of it came down to it I enjoyed Raya and the Last Dragon a little more but this was still very very good, and exceeded all my expectations!
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IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 91%
RT Audience Score: 95%
Metacritic Score: 76
CinemaScore: A
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Disney
Directed by Jared Bush & Byron Howard
Screenplay by Charise Castro Smith & Jared Bush
Story by Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse & Lin-Manuel Miranda
Original Songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Cast: Stephanie Beatriz, John Leguizamo, María Cecilia Botero, Diane Guerrero, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Wilmer Valderrama
Runtime: 1hr 39min
Rating: G
Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
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A young Colombian girl has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.
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Fun Fact: Walt Disney Animation Studios' 60th feature film.
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