Hello and welcome,
When Encanto was officially announced at Disney’s Investor Day a year ago I was won over right there and then. Think about it, it’s a Disney animated musical with songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and one of the directors who also did Zootopia and Tangled so it is safe to assume high expectations. The only question is did it meet my expectations? well let’s begin
Background
In 2016 the then head John Lasseter had presented the idea to Lin-Manuel Miranda for a musical about Colombian culture and soon after that the co-Director of Zootopia Byron Howard and the screenwriter Jared Bush for Zootopia was on board to Direct.
Disney hired several cultural experts as consultants on the film which became the "Colombian Cultural Trust." In 2018 the production team visited Colombia on a research trip. There was going to be a 2nd trip in March of 2020 but I think you can guess why that did not happen so instead the trip was virtual, on a side note in between that time Lasseter was replaced by Jennifer Lee.
Plot
The Madrigal family lives hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a wondrous, charming place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family with a unique magical gift with the exception of one Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). Because of that Mirabel is looked down upon by the other's but when she discovers that the magic is fading Mirabel decides to take it upon herself to save Encanto.
Opinion
To start off, the animation is gorgeous and everything about it is excellent. I love that the house is its own character and the animators did a remarkable job at making the house expressive. I also like the designs, particularly Mirabel whose design is very unique compared to the other Disney princesses/heroines. Mirabel is pretty yet not overly sexualized, oh and I may be wrong, but I think she is the 1st Disney heroine with glasses. Mirabel might be one of the most relatable Disney leads because we all feel different and looked down upon sometimes (usually not to that extreme). The other family members all have a moment to shine quite literally. That’s the trouble with a big cast of characters; only a handful can become two-dimensional characters without the movie being 5 hours long. The songs I'm sure are instant Disney classics.
Overall Encanto did meet my expectations because I was hoping for a worthy addition to the Disney catalog and that’s what I got so I’m proud to give it 5 out 5 stars if you have not seen it yet after you're done reading this go to Disney+ and Watch it. I believe it is still playing in some theatres so you might still have the opportunity to see it on the big screen.
Goodnight and Bee Happy™
Mr. Bee
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