Movie Review: Encanto

"Maybe your gift is being in denial."

Ouch!

That stung.

Have you seen Encanto? If yes, ride along and let's go through fun scenes.

If you haven't, book a seat, enjoy the ride.

Have you accidentally called it Enchanto instead of Encanto? No need to fret, I also had the same issue the first time I sww the trialer.

Movie recap

A family is blessed with supernatural powers with each child exhibiting a different power from the other. The magic surrounding the family falls into chaos and it's up to one member of the family to save them all.

Madrigal!

I've been humming her song for a while now. The tune and beat just stay with you.

Plot

Massive spoilers ahead.

In the Madrigal family we have Abuela, and her three kids—Pepa, Julietta and Bruno and then we have her grandkids—Mirabel, Dolores, Isabella, Louisa, Camilo and Antonio.

Pepa, Julietta and Bruno are blessed with weather influence, healing and vision respectively.

Their kids Louisa, Isabella, Camilo, Antonio and Dolores have the gifts of strength, plant growth, shape-shifting and animal telepathy and far hearing.

Then there's OG, Mirabel.

My friends and I have discussed this movie and come up with crazy analogies about the candle. For me, I believe the candle is Abuelo Pedro reinvented. He lost his life and the candle took the form to protect the family.

I know it's pretty wild. 

The story in Encanto is not far-reaching as we sometimes find ourselves in Mirabel's shoes. Being the only child without a gift into a family of gifted people must have been hard.

And even when her mother and father would encourage her, her other family members just never acknowledged she was possible or more.

Scenes

Do you see that man that gifted her a hamper? He deserves to be flogged seriously. 

A special unspecial gift or whatever.

It's even worse than what her family does. And those pesky kids that kept asking what her superpower was.

I would have spanked them hard especially when one said her superpower was being in denial.

Ouch!

The Casita

Having a house that practically assists you to decorate itself and clean up is an elevation in home living, but Casita wasn't just any house.

It was the Madrigals' abode and magic dweller. 

It stood the test of time and when push came to shove came through for the family.

Notice how only Abuela and Mirable had communication with the house?

Yes, it helped the others, but for Mirabel, she could understand and relate to the house parts.

Bruno

"We don't talk about Bruno."

The gift of vision is swell as long as people benefit, right? 

The Madrigals already placed themselves as protectors and guardians of the clan. Having negative visions like a goldfish dying or rain pouring on a wedding day is the sort of thing that gets you in trouble.

Bruno was like Mirabel, but even worse. While Mirabel was cast as not special and not even having powers, Bruno was accosted for seeing negative visions that weren't "helpful" to the community.

Jeez, Abuela! It's not his fault, you know.

Bad things happen all the time. You can't just see one gift and ignore the other. 

The scene where she found him hiding behind the family dining table with his table and name carved on it made me so sad.

Love for the family can cut deep.

And aside from her parents, he truly loved his niece. He left to protect her from what he knew they would read into his vision.

And the uncle of the year goes to…

The In-laws

We all focused on Mirabel—which we are supposed to—but imagine being an in-law in the family. We hope to see Bruno's wife but those men are strong.

Marrying into a family that has strong magical roots and family heritage must be daunting. 

And the fact they all live in the same space is something I just don't know how they worked around.

It was obvious that there wasn't any tension between the men, maybe because they were men, hmmmmm.

Theories on Mirable and The Door

This has been a major issue in the animation space. No two people seem to completely agree on one major reason why the door faded so I'll just go ahead and list all the reasons I've heard.

1. She was meant to take over from Abuela as Matriarch so her gift was Matriarchy.

2. Her gift was the ability to understand Casita.

3. She was the gift and you can't top up what is already filled.

4. Her gift is being the cell holding the people together.

5. The door faded because the casita is her door and she's meant to own it.

Here's mine.

Mirabel wasn't ordinary. On the contrary, she was more special than the entire house. 

Remember the gift she gave Antonio? She was sensitive to know he loved animals and when his gift manifested, the tiger appeared to.

She was strong enough to hang around a ceremony of gifting when hers was in their opinion a total waste. 

I can't do it. I'm not kidding.

I'll lock myself in the room and cry all day until the event is over.

But she stood there. Running errands and being cool, tall and strong, and even led Antonio up the stairs. 

Many people would have gladly watched the Casita go to ruin because it would have made all the members equal.

But not Mirable.

I would visit a far relative and stay away until they were done.

It's too painful.

Back to her gift

I agree that the Casita chose her and the reason there was no door was because the Casita was her door. 

Some have also argued about Abuela not having a gift.

I see.

Put yourself in the shoes of a single mother with triplets trying to survive. Her gift was leadership, strength and courage. She had a room because she fuelled the candle the day her husband died.

I agree she was being tough on them, but she didn't want to lose her home. A mentality Mirabel had to correct.

She doesn't need to fly to prove a point. And don't forget the casita listens to her also.

The Rooms

We got a glimpse into Antonio's Amazon jungle themed room, as well as Isabella's, but I would have loved to see the others.

I've been wondering how Louisa's room would look. Will it have rocks? Mountains? Boulders?

🤔🤔🤔🤔

Favourite and touching scenes

1.  Mirabel leading Antonio up the stairs and watching them take a family photo.

2. Bruno living behind the family dining room and having a plate with his name on it.

3. Dolores whistling "I know" when Mirabel and her father were trying to hide the vision plate.

Hilarious stuff

4. Abuela and Mirable reconciliation

5. Seeing the candle take life after Pedro died.

6. The community helping to build the house without magic.

7. Casita saving Mirable and protecting the family as the candle faded.

8. Mirable opening the door and making Casita hers.

Moral lesson

The animation was self-explanatory and holds a strong lesson for us.

You already know this, don't you?

You're extraordinary no matter what people say. The absence of a visible gift doesn't deplete your existence and life.

When good things happen to people around you, celebrate with them. Don't be envious. Just be happy for them. Your time is coming.

Disney must have realised how everyone liked the ocean in Moana and now gave us a house.

Who knows what's next?

Rating: 10/10

No cap.

What's your gift theory? And what were your favourite scenes?

If you were to pick one power from the family, whose power would you go for?

As for me, Mirabel's mum. Her healing abilities are a lifesaver. Literally.

Disney OGs

We don't talk about Bruno equals?