Encanto

"Sometimes family weirdos get a bad rap."

The Madrigal family lives in the sentient Casita that is powered by a magic candle.  The candle also gifts the Madrigals with magical abilities:

• Pepa (Gaitan), Abuela's daughter, can control the weather.  Her husband is fun-loving Felix (Castillo).
• Julieta (Cepeda), Abuela's daughter, can heal people with food.  Her husband is accident-prone Agustin (Valderrama)
• Bruno (Leguizamo), Abuela's son, has the ability to to see the future.  He is estranged from the family.
• Isabela (Guerrero), Julieta's daughter, creates beautiful flowers
• Dolores (Adassa), Pepa's daughter, has incredible hearing
• Luisa (Darrow), Julieta's daughter, has superhuman strength
• Camilo (Feliz), Pepa's son, is a shapeshifter

The family, run by Abuela (Botero), uses their gifts to help the village.  Mirabel (Beatriz), Julieta's youngest daughter, is the only Madrigal without a gift.

On the day of Pepa's youngest son Antonio's (Cabot-Conyers) gift ceremony, Mirabel sees cracks in the Casita.  She believes that their magic is fading, but no one else believes her.  Mirabel sets out to find the what is causing the cracks.  But can she save the family, magic, and prove her worth?

This is Disney's 60th animated film.  This is an original story, penned by Charise Castro Smith and Jared Bush (who directed the film with Byron Howard).  It is a musical, with songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a score by Germaine Franco.

The Good:

The songs are catchy and memorable.  My favorite is "We Don't Talk About Bruno", but they all are all good.  The film has a musicality, with the rhythm of the characters movements (both in song and in general).  It also has incredible motion.  The characters are interesting and the voice cast does a great job.  It is bright and colorful, while also embracing darker emotions.

The Bad:

No real complaints.

Other Comments:

-I thoroughly enjoyed this film.  I was familiar with some of the songs before watching the film, and that added to my enjoyment.

-Olga Merediz provided Abuela's singing voice.  Merediz and Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel) also appeared in the film In the Heights (based on Lin-Manuel Miranda's award winning Broadway musical).

-Alan Tudyk voices Antonio's toucan.  He has voiced at least one character in every Disney animated film since 2012: Wreck-It Ralph (King Candy), Frozen (Duke of Weselton), Big Hero 6 (Alistair Krei), Zootopia (Duke of Weaselton), Moana (Hei Hei), Ralph Breaks the Internet (Knows More), Frozen II  (multiple), and Raya and the Last Dragon (Tuk Tuk).

-Nominated for the 2022 Academy Award for Best Animated feature and Best Original Song (for "Dos Oruguitas").

-"Dos Oruguitas" is performed by Columbian singer/songwriter Sebastian Yatra.  Yatra also performs the English language version "Two Oruguitas" during the end credits.

-The film also features the wordless short "Far From the Tree"

Encanto (2021) 102 minutes

Director: Jared Bush & Byron Howard

Starring: Stephanie Beatriz as Mirabel Madrigal

Maria Cecilia Botero as Abuela Alma Madrigal

John Leguizamo as Bruno Madrigal

Mauro Castillo as Felix Madrigal

Jessica Darrow as Luisa Madrigal

Angie Cepeda as Julieta Madrigal

Carolina Gaitan as Pepa Madrigal

Diane Guerrero as Isabela Madrigal

Wilmer Valderrama as Agustin Madrigal

Rhenzy Feliz as Camilo Madrigal

Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Antonio Madrigal

Adassa as Dolores Madrigal