Ok. I'm a little behind the boat on this. But Encanto? Brilliant. So freaking brilliant. I have watched it so many times, because I just adore it. And I'm gonna tell you why.
1. Lin-Manuel Miranda
Starting with a very easy and obvious thing about Encanto: Lin-Manuel Miranda. I love this man so deeply. He is so down to earth. So humble. And so so talented. It does not surprise me that a movie with deep Latino roots would enlist Lin-Manuel Miranda. And everyone who worked on the music and lyrics and story are just *chef's kiss*.
2. Animation
And to go along with that, the animation is absolutely beautiful. The people are not the same shape and color and size. They each have their ticks and traits and personality. And that goes with the animation and the writing. The characters are just so real. So tangible. The color amazing nods to the culture this story is so rooted in truth. But there's this magic to it. A fairytale quality. And it's amazing.
3. Mirabel + Bruno
One of my favorite lines in the whole movie is when Mirabel tells Bruno "Sometimes the family weirdos just get a bad rap." The sweet relationship between these two is great. It's funny. It's heartfelt. And they know what the other is feeling. They don't feel like enough. And don't we all feel like that sometimes? Like we're not enough? On the outside? Different? And therefore...not as important? Ouch. But these characters are so beautifully flawed and have such amazing story arcs.
4. Isabela + Luisa
The other two character who I related to sooooo much are Isabela and Luisa. I am the oldest in my family, and I am the oldest sister. And so the "I have to be perfect" and "I have to be strong and serve everyone all the time" thoughts that Isabela and Luisa respectively have are so so relatable to me. And Luisa's song, specifically, hit me so so hard. I felt that song. I FEEL that song to the center of my soul. And they also have such satisfying character arcs and endings to their movie arc. Such great lessons for us who think we have to be perfect and there for everyone all the time. We can rest. We can put ourselves first sometimes.
5. Generational Trauma
The...huge topic told so beautifully in this movie is generational trauma. The way that struggles lived two or three or more generations ago affect current generations. We see this all the time. Every day. This small, narrow story about one family experiencing this is so amazingly written. And the journey of Abuela, worrying so deeply about their family's protection and coming to the realization of the actual miracle...is a deeply relatable and heartbreaking. But that closing song when Abuela finally admits "The miracle is you. Not some gift, just you. The miracle is you." How amazing is that? We are not what we do. We are what we are.
There are so many other amazing pieces of this movie. So many quotes and lines that I love. And I will probably continue to add to the small collection of Encanto stickers that I've curated. But if you want to check out the ones I have, here it is:
And let me know what your favorite parts of Encanto were.
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