We don't talk about Encanto enough.
Lin Manuel Miranda's music is pure magic in an unconventional Disney feature.
The Short Take:
The obsession-worthy songs by Lin Manuel Miranda are the main attraction in Encanto, but the first Disney animated feature to feature an all-Latinx cast also breaks the Mouse House mold with a sophisticated yet accessible family drama.
Image Credit: NBC News
The Long Take:
Most films I review have my full attention for one viewing. I wait until my kids are asleep, and then lock in. I’ve had a very different experience with Encanto because, with my kids, I’ve had the film run from start to finish about a half dozen times at least. And if you’re a parent of little ones, you likely know that this doesn’t mean we were all sitting down watching it the whole time every time. But in a world where bite-sized Youtube videos cater to a child’s limited attention span, I’m always impressed (and excited!) when a feature-length film holds that attention.
I haven’t gotten tired of it. Quite the opposite: the more I watch it, the more I love it. Part of that is the unconventional narrative, but part of it is also, paradoxically, how this film’s music transports me to the golden age of Disney animated features in the late 80s/early 90s.
The first movie I remember seeing in a theater was the one that ushered in that golden age: The Little Mermaid. I would have been six or seven at the time. I assume that sparked my love not only of Disney but of Disney movie music. The Broadway-inspired songs would get stuck in my head to the point where I had all the lyrics memorized. And the story for these movies simply wouldn’t exist without them.
Disney had what I assume was a marketing strategy where they would release a soundtrack album months before the film’s theatrical release. I have memories of visiting the Disney Store at the mall and buying the CD as soon as it was available. I sometimes would have only a vague sense of what the movie was about, and the songs would be my first introduction to the story. I would spend hours listening and imagining what the movie would be like based on the songs. And this was pre-Internet so I couldn’t just look it up on Wikipedia. Writing this paragraph, by the way, has made me feel extremely old, as Disney stores, CDs, and even malls to a certain extent are obsolete.
Encanto brings me back to that feeling of living in the soundtrack of an animated movie. Moana, which also features music written by Lin Manuel Miranda, did this a little bit. But the pull to put the soundtrack on repeat is so much stronger with Encanto. In thinking about why that might be, I keep going back to this idea of song as story. The songs are catchy, for sure, but if the lyrics don’t convey information and character development, then they aren’t as memorable for me.
There’s so much storytelling packed into these songs. They’re always very character-focused, conveying both individual thoughts and feelings and useful exposition. The opening number, “The Family Madrigal,” is doing a lot to introduce every member of the sprawling inter-generational family at the film’s center. When I first heard it, I found it a little too fast towards the end to grasp the content (especially with my attention divided — again, that’s life with small kids). But now when I listen to it, I hear it all and am in awe.
Apologies to all my fellow Lin Manuel Miranda/Hamilton-heads out there. This shout-out took far too long. If you appreciate the musical stylings of the songwriting wunderkind (who’s one Oscar away from an EGOT), you will enjoy his work in Encanto. The choral parts, especially when the whole town starts singing, reminds me SO much of moments in Hamilton where the stage is full of people singing together. And many other melodies and refrains sound like they are of a piece with Hamilton.
Image Credit: Collider
My favorite songs are “Surface Pressure,” and “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” possibly because they are the most Lin Manuel Miranda-y. The rhythmic repetition in the chorus in “Surface Pressure” — “pressure like a drip drip drip that’ll never stop” — has that trademark hip hop-influenced vibe [update: some light research indicates Reggaeton is the primary genre] and is just a brilliant use of onomatopoeia. (And yea, that’s the poetic device that everyone usually makes fun of!) “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” also has some fantastic wordplay with Bruno seamlessly morphing into “No, no, no…” The sung conversation structure houses gorgeous harmonies and lyrical intricacies. And Miranda uses the Cha-Cha to give the song a romantic yet dramatic, almost spooky tone, befitting of Bruno’s character as an oracle and the taboo surrounding him.
Lyrically, “Surface Pressure” hit me the hardest because Luisa very accurately describes what it feels like when you feel like you have to excel all the time and can’t let anyone in your family or community down. I’m going out on a speculative limb here, but I feel like I saw Lin Manuel Miranda in that moment. After the wild success of Hamilton, what kind of pressure must he be feeling as an artist?
Image Credit: Variety
My kids, two and five, LOVE the music in this movie too. We’ve had car rides where they repeatedly request it. The two-year-old only wants what he calls “the Encanto song,” which is actually called “Colombia, Mi Encanto.” When we’re at home, they dance (or, in the two-year-old’s case, run in circles). My five-year-old sings along, with surprising lyrical accuracy. This may be Miranda’s greatest achievement here; he’s able to stimulate my Hamilton nerd brain while still creating a broader appeal for non-acolytes.
This balance between sophistication and mass appeal extends to the story itself, which many critics have already observed is refreshingly unconventional. TV show runner and critic Andy Greenwald, for example, went on The Big Picture podcast explicitly to make the case for why more critics should pay attention to Encanto. There are no villains scheming and plotting. And, as Greenwald uniquely notes, the narrative turns inward rather than outward to ratchet up the tension and drama. There isn’t a grand quest to another land. The conflict exclusively revolves around much less tangible healing amongst members of The Madrigal Family.
It’s actually quite subversive, the more I think about it. Disney’s bread and butter has historically been the Princess hero quest conceit, which relies on the notion that our main character is special in some way. Exceptional. Even those not born a princess, like Belle from Beauty and the Beast, become elevated to that status in the end, and that’s how the narrative resolves. Social order restored. Happily ever after. Post-Frozen (but more accurately post-Brave), Disney Princess movies have gotten big upgrades in terms of unraveling marriage and antiquated gender dynamics from that narrative, but the “chosen one” or “special” part has remained largely intact.
Encanto challenges the very idea of exceptionalism, or at least of the main character of a Disney movie being special. Mirabel is the only child in the Madrigal family who did not receive a magical power or “gift” when they came of age. Most of her struggles — external and internal — revolve around her dealing with being ordinary when she has a sister who can conjure beautiful flowers out of thin air and another who can lift an entire building with one arm.
[SPOILER WARNING: I’m about to talk about what happens at the end of the film, so, if you haven’t seen it, scroll ahead to the “The Oscar Race” subheading below and you will be completely safe.]
The lynchpin of Encanto’s subversiveness is that Mirabel doesn’t conveniently get a gift at the end. There’s no “correction,” or “putting things right.” The happily ever after doesn’t come after someone has magically been transformed into what they most desire in a swirl of pixie dust (see The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, just to name a few). That really communicates to kids that it’s okay to be like Mirabel. Even though she felt left out in her family, she never needed to change. Having what everyone else had wasn’t going to “fix” her problems. It’s an anti-Cinderella story in the best way.
All the resolution stems from familial communication and understanding. It’s only when Mirabel witnesses Abuela’s flashback — that explains how she started the family Madrigal — does the family, the house, and their magical blessing begin to heal. For Mirabel, it’s about learning family history, and for Abuela, it’s about confronting the grief over her husband’s heartbreaking sacrifice to protect his wife and three infants, Julieta (Mirabel’s mom), Pepa (with the raincloud), and the infamous Bruno. My tear ducts activated just now at the mere thought of this scene. It’s so powerful and such a meaningful, cathartic catalyst for a happy ending.
The Oscar Race
Does Encanto have any Oscar buzz? Disney and Pixar usually dominate the Animated Feature category, but Pixar came out with Luca this past year as well. I think Encanto is way better than Luca (which I liked just fine). Netflix/Sony has The Mitchells vs. Machines (which I recommend - it’s very funny!), but I’ve heard some pundits say that the Lord and Miller film is too quirky and “hyper” for older Academy voters. And there’s also talk of Flee, which is a Danish documentary film about a refugee from Afghanistan, co-produced by Ruiz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. I doubt Flee would win here, but only IF it gets nominated in another category (namely Documentary or International Feature). So Encanto’s chances are a little uncertain right now, but it’s very much in the conversation. I think if enough voters actually watch it, we can call it a frontrunner.
Lin Manuel Miranda’s going to have to wait a little longer for his EGOT, though. Some experts on Gold Derby currently list the song “Dos Oruguitas” as a frontrunner for Best Original Song, but every other source I’ve consulted seems to think Billie Eilish’s “No Time to Die” will take home the prize because a.) Bond songs usually win and b.) people really want to give Billie Eilish awards. Eilish already won a Grammy for the song (even before the film came out). I’m still scratching my head at why we’re not making the same argument for Beyoncé’s “Be Alive” from King Richard. Queen B seems to have so much more celebrity wattage. Listen to the tracks and get back to me with your music takes in the comments, please.
Like Greenwald, I’m shocked that there hasn’t been more discussion of Encanto, in the context of awards season or otherwise. I know it had a very short pandemic-burdened theatrical release before jumping to Disney+, but before I actually saw the film I feel like the temperature of the critic’s room was, “it’s fine.” I think it’s more than fine.
The only criticism I can come up with is with the house or “casita” as its own character. When I initially heard this concept, I thought it was very cool. But the execution seems a little sloppy, as if it were a cute animal sidekick they just threw in to make the audience happy. I am a sucker for a cute animal sidekick, though. As many who know me might guess, I would 100% want Antonio’s gift. The casita seems to be able to communicate with Mirabel, but does it do so with the rest of the family as well? And does that mean it’s (magically) sentient? And if it’s sentient, then why doesn’t it know more about the trouble with the magic? When it’s lightly guiding Mirabel, is that because it knows more than she does? It’s still cute comic relief, but I need clearer lore behind my magic. I didn’t really mean to end with how complicit casita is in the Madrigal family crisis, but here we are.
Image Credit: Variety
If you haven’t seen Encanto yet, I urge you to check it out. And if you have kids, bring them along. They might surprise you, as mine did.
Great review as always. I also think Billie Eilish will win the Oscar but Miranda isn’t out yet. I also felt Hamilton-Esque beats in the songs. Loved it.