‘You’re exactly what this family needs...’
My undying love for Pixar movies has been well documented. It’s been documented too much, if anything. The Disney branch of the animated side of things has always left me a little cold, however. This is mainly due to the fact that I hate the combination of singing and moving pictures. I know this is weird. And I know it means that I have no joy in my heart. But I hated Frozen, I think Moana overrated, and I dislike 90% of all musicals that I have ever had the misfortune to sit through. This didn’t bode particularly well for Encanto, and so it transpired…
The Madrigal family are granted magical powers by an ancient candle which they use to serve the local village of which they are the leaders. One day, cracks begin to appear throughout their house and the family’s magical powers begin to fade prompting 15-year-old Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) to go on a spiritual quest to save the magic. Along the way she must work with her older sister Luisa (Jessica Darrow) who has super human strength, her ‘perfect’ sibling Diane who has the power to make flowers bloom and Bruno (John Leguizamo), the black sheep of the family, who has been forced into exile. She also sings many boring songs and one great song.
The inclusion of Lin Manuel Miranda on songwriting duties is an intriguing one, but really, there is only We Don’t Talk About Bruno (which is admittedly a banger) that really shines here. The story is at once needlessly convoluted and derivative, and while this may seem a harsh criticism of what is essentially a children’s film, a quick glance across the way to the Pixar lot would provide an example of how you can make something for children that also contains substance.
That being said, Encanto has moments of visual ingenuity to rival anything in the Pixar roster. The Madrigal house is a character in and of itself, often twisting and contorting around the family and offering some of the film’s more thrilling moments, particularly towards the saccharine conclusion. It must also be noted that both Bruno and Luisa are wonderful characters that could both have made fine protagonists in their own film given the opportunity. Even their character arcs within this film are more interesting than that of Mirabel, and this is one of the key flaws inherent within Encanto. Mirabel is not captivating enough as a protagonist to really carry this film and this is a problem.
I must end this review by stating again that these films aren’t for me, both in a musical sense and in the sense that they are first and foremost made for children, but it also cannot be denied that Encanto is overrated no matter which way you slice it.