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‘Encanto’ Review: In This House, We Make Magic

Disney’s new film, about a gifted family in Colombia, has stunning animation, a beautifully composed story and spellbinding songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

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encanto movie review essay

By Maya Phillips

For better or worse, Disney has always been in the business of making magic. We all know the worst: the unimpressive secondhand sorcery of formulaic plots, flavorless songs and lifeless animation. But the best — well, that’s the kind of magic that gets passed on for generations.

So it’s not unlike the magic of Casita, the living house of the Madrigal family in Disney’s brilliant new animated film “Encanto.” Forget Alexa — Casita’s a smart home like no other. She speaks in a language of clapped tiles and flapping window shutters, and helps keep things in order.

And she has her traditions: When each young Madrigal comes of age, she grants them a gift and a door to a new bedroom, an impossibly large and elaborately designed chamber themed around a special ability. It all started years ago, when the Madrigal matriarch, Abuela Alma (María Cecilia Botero), and her family fled the violence of their village. After a tragic loss, however, a miracle appeared in the form of a candle that granted the kids their powers. There’s a shape-shifter, a prophet, a healer and more — and then there’s Mirabel (a perfectly cast Stephanie Beatriz), the muggle of the clan.

When Mirabel finds herself in the middle of a mystery about the future of her family’s magic, she goes on a mission to figure out how she can stop the worst from happening. It’s a surprisingly small-scale story: Instead of on a journey, the action unfolds in and around the Madrigal home. But that’s because “Encanto” is most interested in the love and struggles of family, without silly side characters or romantic leads.

The computer animation, some of the best from any major studio in the last several years, presents a dazzling confabulation of hues and a meticulous weaving of precious details — like the embroidery on skirts, the golden-brown crust of a cheese arepa and the selection of native Colombian flora.

In “Encanto” there’s a robust engagement with, and respect for, Latino culture in all of its dimensions. The Madrigal family members’ skin tones range from lighter to darker, their hair textures from straight to kinky-curly. And the grand pooh-bah of the contemporary musical movie score, Lin-Manuel Miranda , provides a spellbinding soundtrack of songs combining salsa, bachata and hip-hop played with traditional folk instruments from Colombia.

The directors, Jared Bush and Byron Howard, last collaborated on another of Disney’s brightest gems of the last decade, the racially aware “ Zootopia ,” and they subtly incorporate an important political message into this film as well. This is a story about displaced people who build a home from nothing. Their history is the source of their magic, and they use that magic to selflessly improve their community, without needing to assimilate into it. Given our nation’s track record on these subjects, to see such a tale in a children’s movie is quietly extraordinary.

But “Encanto” also resists having its magical characters fall into the trope of the model immigrants — that they have only earned their place because of their special abilities. The Madrigal family members belong even when they’re not conjuring roses or transforming the weather. And even with these fantastic feats of wizardry, the Madrigals, with all of their relatable family dynamics, are believably loving, funny and flawed.

If home is where the heart is, my heart’s with Casita.

Encanto Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. In theaters.

Maya Phillips is a critic at large. She is the author of the poetry collection “Erou” and “NERD: Adventures in Fandom From This Universe to the Multiverse,” forthcoming from Atria Books. More about Maya Phillips

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encanto movie review essay

Finding something the whole family can watch during the holidays is a perennial challenge. It’s as much a part of tradition as turkey on Thanksgiving and Christmas carols on the radio soon after. This holiday season, Disney is serving up a warm, feel-good family friendly movie called “Encanto,” a Colombian magical realist tale of a family that received special powers after surviving a tragedy. Now, a few generations later, they live together in a magical house and each member develops their own talent, like the ability to control the weather, shapeshift into other people, and talk to animals. Their casita (house) responds to the family’s requests and responds to their moods. Each bedroom is magically tailored to the relative and their magical gift. All except for one, Mirabel ( Stephanie Beatriz ). 

“Encanto” follows the “girl with no apparent gift” Mirabel, who tries her best to fit in a family so extraordinary that her judgmental Abuela Alma ( María Cecilia Botero ) offers only her disappointment at every turn. For Mirabel, it’s tough to stand out when her mom, Julieta ( Angie Cepeda ), can heal wounds with her cooking—more specifically, her arepas con queso, her sister Luisa ( Jessica Darrow ) can lift the heaviest of objects with ease, and her sister Isabela ( Diane Guerrero ) can grow the most beautiful flowers without barely thinking about it. Mirabel notices the family’s casita is starting to show cracks, but no one believes her and downplays her worries as something her estranged eccentric uncle Bruno ( John Leguizamo ) would say. It’s up to Mirabel to find out what’s happening to save both her family and her home. 

Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard (“ Zootopia ”) and co-director Charise Castro Smith (” Raya and the Last Dragon ”), who bears more than a passing resemblance to the movie’s main character, have created another kind hearted movie about misfits trying to do the right thing. Most notably, there’s no villain in this Disney movie, just a nebulous “unknown” threatening the family and their home. The conflict is minimal at best, which allows for Mirabel to spend more time learning about what she can do despite her lack of powers, but it also leaves the movie feeling a bit meandering. To make up for lost action, the movie shines in its animation and design, really making use of the house with doors to new worlds and musical sequences that allow for a little more abstract artistic freedom. 

Speaking of those musical sequences, I think it’s time Lin-Manuel Miranda takes a break. After knocking it out of the park with “In the Heights,” “ Hamilton ” and “ Moana ,” his 2021 offerings have been a little lackluster. For this review, I finally watched the movie “ Vivo ,” in which he voices the title character as well as handles the song writing duties. Those numbers sounded flimsy and forgettable. In one song, he rhymes “drum” with… “drum.” In “Encanto,” the odds are a little better, more songs fare better than others, but there’s still a sense that these musical numbers are the reheated leftovers from other projects. They sound like his work, but don’t offer anything new or exciting to get stuck in our heads. Isabela and Luisa’s disposable pop songs “What Else Can I Do?” and “Surface Pressure” are cloyingly repetitive. “The Family Madrigal” is a less effective version of the opening song from “In the Heights.” Only Carlos Vives’ rendition of Miranda’s song “Colombia, Mi Encanto” sounds like a memorable stand-out.

Unimpressive songs are an unfortunate thing to befall an animated musical like “Encanto.” Thankfully, there are other elements to enjoy like the movie’s boisterous voice cast that includes Carolina Gaitán , Rhenzy Feliz , Ravi Cabot-Conyers , Wilmer Valderrama , Mauro Castillo , and one-name Latin music stars Maluma and Adassa. It’s also impressive to see an animated Disney movie finally include varying skin tones and hair textures in the same family, while also incorporating Colombian fashion like ponchos, flowing embroidered skirts, colorful dresses and guayaberas as part of a character’s details. Beatriz is magnificent as Mirabel, embodying both pain and love in her voice throughout the film, yet never losing a sense of the goofy playfulness that makes her character so likeable. Abuela’s singing voice comes from the one and only Olga Merediz , another “In the Heights” alum.

Similar to how Pixar’s “ Coco ” paid tribute to Mexican culture, “Encanto” holds many nods to its Colombian roots, from the use of flowers and animals specific to the regions to crafting songs that incorporated their respective countries’ musical palette. In both stories, the matriarchal abuelas have to also go through an emotional journey just as much (if not more) than the younger protagonists in the movie. It’s an interesting development to see both Pixar and Disney Animation move into the world tour phase of their storytelling, but I hope they avoid repeating each other in thematic and narrative elements. 

One difference is that “Encanto” explores the Madrigals’ backstory beyond their household, showing the Madrigal grandparents fleeing their homeland for safety and Abuelo’s ultimate sacrifice in an artistic flashback. The story of a homeland lost and the family who rebuilt in a new land is not an uncommon one for many immigrant families, and by sensitively including it as part of a charming Disney movie, perhaps will give a new generation a better sense of belonging or at least the comfort that others have shared their experience. It may help kids who didn’t grow up with those stories of a “paradise lost” to understand those that did. Maybe that’s an optimistic view for a movie many will flock to in a post-turkey coma, but despite a few missteps, “Encanto” is one of the more charming animated movies to hit theaters this year. 

Exclusively in theaters today. 

encanto movie review essay

Monica Castillo

Monica Castillo is a critic, journalist, programmer, and curator based in New York City. She is the Senior Film Programmer at the Jacob Burns Film Center and a contributor to  RogerEbert.com .

encanto movie review essay

  • Stephanie Beatriz as Mirabel Madrigal (voice)
  • John Leguizamo as Bruno Madrigal (voice)
  • María Cecilia Botero as Abuela Alma Madrigal (voice)
  • Wilmer Valderrama as Agustín Madrigal (voice)
  • Diane Guerrero as Isabela Madrigal (voice)
  • Jessica Darrow as Luisa Madrigal (voice)
  • Angie Cepeda as Julieta Madrigal (voice)
  • Adassa as Dolores Madrigal (voice)
  • Mauro Castillo as Félix Madrigal (voice)
  • Rhenzy Feliz as Camilo Madrigal (voice)
  • Carolina Gaitán as Pepa Madrigal (voice)
  • Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Antonio Madrigal (voice)
  • Maluma as Mariano (voice)
  • Alan Tudyk as Pico (voice)

Cinematographer

  • Alessandro Jacomini
  • Daniel Rice
  • Nathan Detroit Warner
  • Byron Howard

Writer (story by)

  • Charise Castro Smith
  • Lin-Manuel Miranda

Co-director

Composer (original score composed by).

  • Germaine Franco
  • Jeremy Milton

Composer (original songs by)

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Disney's 'Encanto' teaches us to see God in ourselves and others

A scene from the movie "Encanto" (CNS/Disney)

A scene from the movie "Encanto" (CNS/Disney)

encanto movie review essay

by Facundo Gonzalez Icardi

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Disney's new animated movie, "Encanto," provides deep insight into the spiritual nature of human beings and our yearning to encounter God.

NCR goes to the movies

On March 25, NCR Opinion & Culture Editor Olga Segura moderated a conversation about the 2022 Oscars with Jose Solís and Sr. Rose Pacatte. This year's awards ceremony, honoring movies released in 2021, is Sunday, March 27. Here are the nominated movies NCR has reviewed. " Being the Ricardos " " The Hand of God " " CODA " " The Eyes of Tammy Faye " " Attica " " Don't Look Up " " Dune " " Encanto " " No Time To Die " " Nightmare Alley "

Set in Colombia, the movie revolves around la familia Madrigal , a family blessed with an encanto , a magical enchantment that gives all the members of the family a gift. These include superhuman strength, the ability to communicate with animals, controlling the weather or shapeshifting. All members of the family receive their gift at age 6 and use it to help their village; all of them, that is, except Mirabel.

The movie, with music composed by the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda, tackles intergenerational trauma and the pressure to uphold family expectations among complicated family dynamics and relationships. Being the only member of her family without a gift, Mirabel feels constantly neglected and rejected by her family, especially the family matriarch Abuela Alma, whose general attitude of disapproval toward Mirabel sets the foundation for Mirabel's feeling of not belonging.

All these feelings are captured in the song, "Waiting on a Miracle," in which Mirabel describes her yearning to belong, to be like the rest of her family. In a quasi-spiritual manner, she prays that she can be blessed with a miracle.

As I was rewatching the movie, a good friend pointed out a particular line in the song, where Mirabel sings: "I am ready, come on, I'm ready / I've been patient, and steadfast, and steady / bless me now as you blessed us all those years ago." Mirabel is longing, yearning for a gift, something out of the ordinary and grandiose to prove that she belongs, that she is worthy of her family's love.

She begs and pleads for something to happen. How often do we pray, and plead, and beg for God to perform something extraordinary in our life? How often are we waiting on a miracle?

Someone once told me that miracles are nothing but God's ordinary truth seen with surprised eyes. That which is surprising to us is recognizing God by who God is: an omnipotent being, capable of moving mountains and turning water into wine.

Yet too often these are the only actions that we think of as miraculous. How frequently, though, do we think of the mundane as miraculous as well? St. Ignatius reminds us that we can find God in all things since all creation reveals God's majesty and grandeur. God's presence is all around us, and recognizing that presence is recognizing a miracle.

Toward the end of the movie, Mirabel realizes that the true miracle is not the extraordinary gifts that her family has, but rather the ordinary ways in which they can show each other how they love, care for and support one another. She realizes, as do we, that the miracle that she is yearning for has been around her this whole time.

The real miracle is not strength, the ability to communicate with animals or shapeshifting. The miracle, as the last song reveals, is all of them, coming together, loving each other and embracing their true selves, without reservations, and unconditionally.

In one of the most moving scenes in the film, Mirabel and Abuela Alma talk by the river where the family's magic was born. The younger Madrigal acknowledges and centers Alma's pain and suffering at raising her three kids after losing her husband and home. Together, both women listen to one another and help each other heal.

Each family member, in one way or another, learns that the miracle — the magic — was in who God created them to be. They embrace and love every aspect of themselves, recognizing the fearful and wonderful miracle that we each possess as human beings.

"Encanto" is a story of self-discovery and self-worth, where the characters learn to embrace and love their true, authentic selves through intergenerational familial healing.

*An earlier version of this essay misspelled Mirabel's name. 

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‘Encanto’ Review – A Touching Lesson On Self-Worth

Aaron Escobar

Walt Disney Animation Studios releases their 60th feature film, Encanto , this Thanksgiving and for such a big occasion, it certainly meets those expectations as a solid new entry in the Disney canon. Encanto follows the Madrigal family, who reside in an enchanted town hidden in the mountains of Colombia. They live in a huge magical house they call their casita (Spanish for little house), and every child in the family has been granted their own unique magical abilities. Luisa has the gift of superhuman strength, Isabela can conjure flowers, Camilo can shapeshift, and so on and so forth.

Mirabel, however, is the only member of the family to not have a gift of her own, leaving her feeling like an outcast among everyone else. One night, Mirabel discovers that her casita, and the magic behind it, is beginning to come apart. No one in the family believes her, things start to get worse, and that leaves Mirabel as the only person who might be able to save it before it all comes crumbling down.

Disney’s animated ventures have come a long way since Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs , with the animation here looking as vibrant as ever. It’s colorful, fluid, and a genuine treat to look at. There are so many lively details not only in focus but in the background as well. The animation has come so far that if looking closely, you can see the fair-colored hair on the nape of a character’s neck. The team of animators really get to show off their might with the Madrigal’s abilities and the special rooms granted to them along with their gifts. Their bedrooms are like dream worlds. For instance, Antonio has the gift of communicating with animals. When his powers manifest, his room transforms into an endless jungle. It’s filled with many of Colombia’s fauna, from toucans to capybaras and everything in between. It’s clear that the artists at Disney put so much work into Encanto , during a pandemic no less.

Mirabel voiced by Stephanie Beatriz in front of the magical Madrigal house glowing bright with golden embers in the new Disney animated film set in Colombia, ENCANTO.

In a refreshing light, Afro-latinx characters are featured in the film. There’s been controversy in recent years with films like Coco and In The Heights failing to include darker-skinned characters, just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Hollywood’s problems with colorism. In Encanto , they’re not just kept in the background. They’re part of the Madrigal family and main cast. It’s delightful to say that Felix and his son Antonio are a joy to watch and are treated with just as much care as the rest of the family. Their inclusion brings hope for better representation on screen going forward.

Stephanie Beatriz, known best from Brooklyn 99 , lends her voice to Disney’s latest heroine. Beatriz imbues Mirabel with so much warmth and empathy. She’s quirky and a little weird, but she’s got a heart of gold. You can’t help but love her. Diane Guerrero ( Orange Is the New Black , Doom Patrol ) voices Isabela, Mirabel’s oldest sister. What at first comes off as superficial is actually a facade, with Isabela sick of having to be the “perfect daughter” and wanting to grow “less conventional” flora-like cacti with her gift. She’s tired of only growing colorful flowers and wants her true self to bloom, and Guerrero perfectly captures both her glitzy exterior and the defiance that sprouts within her.

Newcomer Jessica Darrow voices Luisa, Mirabel’s second oldest sister. Luisa doesn’t just carry all the livestock and heavy items in the town, she also carries all the burdens of the family. She never complains out of respect, but it’s reached a tipping point. She feels like she’s going to burst with the weight of the world on her shoulders and Darrow brings a genuine vulnerability to her. Beatriz, Guerrero, and Darrow are all perfectly cast and it’s quite hard to imagine anyone else in their roles, with Darrow, in particular, being the MVP of the film.

Little boy Antonio summoning the many Colombian wildlife, including Capybaras, Tapirs, Coatis, Toucans, and Jaguars, in the new Disney animated film ENCANTO.

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s original songs are a huge highlight of Encanto , and further prove that Miranda just might turn out to be a good luck charm of sorts for the House of Mouse. Audiences will be tapping their feet whenever a new song kicks in. The musical numbers are fun and high-spirited while at other times emotional, with Mirabel’s ballad “Waiting on a Miracle” perfectly encapsulating what it feels like to be lost and unsure in life. It’s poignant and lyrically powerful, and with its strong melody, all of these factors work together to make a special musical piece that will leave a lasting impact.

Encanto teaches some very heavy-handed things. You don’t always know what someone’s going through on the inside. Many people, especially those closest to us, are fighting their own battles. It’s not always something that can be seen, so many often suffer in silence. Be there for your loved ones and remember that self-love is exceptionally important. Perfection is not sustainable and your gifts are not tied to their worth. Encanto mixes these pivotal life lessons with plenty of fun moments and exciting music, so you’ll be sure to leave the theater feeling warm and contented.

Encanto premieres in theaters November 24 !

Follow writer aaron escobar on twitter: @aaronfraggle.

encanto movie review essay

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  1. ‘Encanto’ Review: In This House, We Make Magic

    Disney’s new film, about a gifted family in Colombia, has stunning animation, a beautifully composed story and spellbinding songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

  2. Encanto movie review & film summary (2021)

    This holiday season, Disney is serving up a warm, feel-good family friendly movie called “Encanto,” a Colombian magical realist tale of a family that received special powers after surviving a tragedy.

  3. ‘Encanto’ Summary & Review

    Encanto is a colorful, comforting, and relatable Disney film with beautifully sculpted characters. This animated musical-fantasy film revolves around the marvels of the enchanted Madrigal family. Encanto wins one’s …

  4. Review: Disney’s ‘Encanto’ has the Latine representation we’ve all …

    “Encanto” has everything I could’ve wanted — top-notch animation, vibrant colors, realistic representation, heart-tugging and upbeat music, expert attention to detail and love for …

  5. I wrote an essay about Encanto. Feel free to read and enjoy!

    The Encanto is the wall that Abuela has built in order to protect herself from the pain of more loss. Unfortunately, Abuela’s trauma leads to her mistreating her family unintentionally. As Abuela’s …

  6. Disney's 'Encanto' teaches us to see God in ourselves …

    Movie review: Disney's new animated movie, "Encanto," with its complicated family dynamics, provides deep insight into the spiritual nature of human beings and our yearning to encounter God.

  7. ‘Encanto’ Review

    Encanto follows the Madrigal family, who reside in an enchanted town hidden in the mountains of Colombia. They live in a huge magical house they call their casita (Spanish for little house), and every child in the family has …