By: Andrew Wing

Encanto is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is the 60th film produced by the studio, and it was directed by Jared Bush (co-directed and co-wrote Zootopia, and also wrote the film Moana) and Byron Howard (directed Bolt, Tangled, Zootopia), co-directed by writer Charise Castro Smith (The Haunting of Hill House), and produced by Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer (producer for Lilo & Stitch and Wreck-It Ralph), with original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton, In the Heights).

The film stars the voices of Stephanie Beatriz (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Short Term 12), María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo (Ice Age film series, Bloodline), Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda (The Seed of Silence), Carolina Gaitán (Narcos, The Greatest Showman), Diane Guerrero (Jane the Virgin, Doom Patrol), and Wilmer Valderrama (That ‘70s Show). The film follows an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live in a magical house in a charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encano has blessed every child in the family with a unique gift except one, Mirabel (voiced by Beatriz). But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her family’s last hope.

The film premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 3, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 24.

THE GOOD

It is truly remarkable that this is the 60th motion picture Walt Disney Animation Studios have delivered to us, and there is no doubt in my mind that I have seen at least 50 of them. What’s arguably more impressive is how they are still able to bring us as an audience new and enticing stories that still revolve around what’s most important, family. Upon seeing the trailer for Encanto, I was instantly hooked. A magical house that gives everyone special abilities, what’s not like about that? And oh yeah, it’s a musical film that had its original songs written by none other than Lin-Manuel Miranda (just reviewed his directorial debut film, tick, tick… BOOM!), so they were in pretty good hands from the start. But where does it rank compared to some of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ other masterpieces? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!

Encanto had some talented filmmakers for this one with Jared Bush and Byron Howard who have put out their fair share of successful Disney films (Tangled, Zootopia). I think what impressed me and stuck out to me the most with their direction for this film were the messages they were trying to convey. First, I really loved how the film’s main character does not have powers, while everyone in her family does and most Disney films’ protagonists have. For most of the movie, the main character Mirabel feels like she isn’t special and she feels like she does not belong because everyone else was given a purpose (their powers).

However in the end (without giving too much away) we see that she does belong. I just found this to be a very big step forward for Disney because regular people deserve to have the light shined on them too, it doesn’t always need to be superheroes or magical princesses even though I enjoy those too. Also, the film has a very clever way of subverting expectations when it comes to a couple characters in the movie. These characters are presented as one thing (beautiful, strong, confident, etc.) and then we see that that's not how it always is for the character. In this movie, even people with superpowers can struggle with self-esteem and other related issues, and I just loved how the film included that because everybody in today’s world deals with those things.

The movie is a musical, and when the movie's songs are written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, it’s just a fact that they are going to be a good time, and that was just the case here. So far this year Miranda has had In the Heights that he produced and wrote songs for and also tick, tick… BOOM! which was his directorial debut, but his songs in Encanto are in my opinion the best. Literally every song is marvelous, but the best one of the bunch would have to be “Dos Oruguitas” which is very likely getting nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Original Song. If you end up taking my recommendation and go see this, I challenge you to not have the biggest smile on your face during the musical numbers because you just can’t help it, they are so fun!

As for this movie’s animation, and I know it might get redundant after a while, but Disney just continues to outdo their past work when it comes to animation. This movie is one of the most colorfully vibrant films Disney has ever put out. The amount of color on display is dazzling at times. There is so much depth to every image and it was just an overall beautiful film. I just don’t know where they go from here with their animation, like how can it get any better than this?

All the voice performances in this were amazing as you might have guessed. Stephanie Beatriz shines in the lead role as she voices Mirabel, and she did a wonderful job at bringing that character to life by expressing all of her emotions just through her voice. I also really enjoyed John Leguizamo as Bruno Madrigal, Mirabel’s uncle, as he was responsible for a number of laughs. Speaking of laughs, my favorite character was by far Luisa Madrigal (voiced by Jessica Darrow) who has superhuman strength and the biggest biceps in Disney history. Luisa’s big musical number “Surface Pressure” was one of the better songs and it had me smiling throughout its entirety with how funny Luisa’s character is.

Encanto was just a blast. I really loved the film’s message and I just think this film will resonate with a lot of young kids. It’s important to have a film like this out there that shines a light on just a regular person that kids can look up to rather than a larger-than-life fictional superhero. It is also the perfect time for a story like this with how rough the past couple years have been. Also, like most other Disney films, I did get a little emotional towards the end with its beautiful story coming to a close. In conclusion, Encanto is a great addition to Disney’s catalog and I would love for this to win Best Animated Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards and I predict that it will!

THE BAD

When you clicked on this review, if you thought that I was going to bash the newest Disney film Encanto, well you were sorely mistaken. Once again, I just have such a hard time finding something to critique about this film. The only minor thing that came to mind was that, and it might have just been for me, there were a lot of moving parts in the first third of the film as we get introduced to the characters, the Encanto, all of the character’s powers, and just why the Encanto’s magic is dying. Like I said, it might have just been that way for me, but definitely come prepared to pay attention.

All in all, once the movie settles in and you know everything you need to know, you’ll get sucked right into the wonderfully moving story, and I can’t see anybody not enjoying this.

THE VERDICT

From the minds that brought us past successful Disney films like Zootopia and Moana, comes the likely winner for Best Animated Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards, Encanto. It is just a blast from start to finish with its vibrant animation, lovely characters, wildly entertaining musical numbers, and also its great messages it conveys to the audience. This really is the perfect family movie and I would suggest checking it out in theaters as soon as possible! If you can’t make it to the theaters, don’t worry because it will be streaming on Disney+ on December 24.