Ranking the Encanto Soundtrack from Magnificent to Good!

Encanto is a wonderful film, and I cannot stop singing its songs, or quoting its most meme worthy lines. Full of heart, and family drama, and some points about generational trauma that almost hits the nails on the heads.

To sum it up, Encanto is a feast both visually and audibly. The use of cumpia, vallenato, salsa, and some other fantastically vibrant musical influences from Colombia. Combining such authentic, earnest sounds with the sumptuous colors and beautiful artistic marks to create an atmosphere in the film full of love for Colombia . . . oh, it hit its mark as if Bruno had prophesized it himself.

So, I want to create a list of the songs (no instrumentals in this list) from the movie's soundtrack- and let me be clear! There are NO bad songs on this list. All the songs are beautiful, and I will here nothing else about it! So, rather than ranking songs from best to worst like a typical list . . . I'm ranking them all as highly as they deserve . . . just some more highly than others, of course.

1. "We Don't Talk About Bruno"

Yes! The completely expected answer that is the same as probably half the people who have seen Encanto! You know some would say that just means the song is overhyped, but on the other hand there's got to be a very good reason so many people can agree on the same thing. There hasn't been a song that's enthralled me so completely in a very long time. To the point that I'm listening to it in the car going to and from work, in the storage room of my job while I'm working on cataloguing inventory . . . at every possible moment I'm throwing that track up. My two favorite parts on this song though are hopefully not so mainstream . . .

Felix and Isabela killed on this track. I mention those two because I feel like the song portions given to them offer such a great look at their characters and their motivations. For Felix it was his unwavering love for his wife and his desire to always keep her uplifted even as she couldn't stop from fretting over the world and herself. Listen- that bit where he croons so softly "sorry mi vida, go oooooooonnn~" I FAWKING love that part, it just- whoo! Continue to love your wife regardless of all else! And then, "Abuela got the umbrellas!" and "What a joyous day but anyway!" He remembers that day with fondness because he got to marry the love of his life, even among stinging rain that glossed his eyesight and soaked him to the bone, and gale force winds that nearly tore his clothes apart and made it near impossible to hear the words of anyone around him. Like he is a dedicated man that cares for nothing else but his family, no matter the obstacle or cost.

Y'all need to start talking about Felix a little more.

Isabela's got her own great song (feelings of which I share later in the list), but her piece here in this is so great because it's like your first glimpse into something deeper in Isabela? When I first watched the movie I could only give a fleeting thought to how weird Isabela's facial expression was as she was dancing around Mirabel in the song as Mariano was approaching. Now I get it, after seeing the whole thing and it's so cool how you can assign different theories to Isabela's words and actions in that song. Like, it was a village wide truth that whatever Bruno foretold would happen, so how did that make her feel? When she sung that Bruno told her the life she envisioned would be hers, and her powers would grow, what was she thinking? It becomes clear later in the film that she never wanted to marry Mariano or be the icon of perfection she felt she had to be for her abuela and family. Did she feel like she would be the only person for whose prophecy would be false?

Or! Did Isabela still hold firmly to the idea of the prophecy, and if so how did she rationalize the course of events regarding her upcoming engagement as being part of the plan that would see her dream life manifesting? Maybe she thought that marrying Mariano would be an unfortunate but necessary step to achieving the life she dreamed of? It takes hard work to raise plants right? You have to water them, care for them, ensure the weather conditions are neither too much nor too little, and then you can finally stand back and watch the fruits of your labor. Isabela can make miles or roses appear with a pretty twist of her fingers, but she worked hard for years to cultivate an image that would benefit the family and make Abuela proud. So, even as I laud the lyrical magnificence, I do wonder how much was hiding behind her smile as she slowly descended on her flower swing . . .

(WOW, did not mean to turn this list into a character study of Isabela)

2. Colombia, Mi Encanto

It's just such a wonderful party song, and I love how much it echoes, or compliments maybe, the message of community in the movie. In their Encanto, that they worked so long and hard for, they enjoy each other. They work hard, protect fully, and party happily! Carlos Vives being on this soundtrack is such a great thing because he's one of the most acclaimed Latin American artists. His fusion of pop and traditional vallenato really shone on this particular track and makes it a fantastic declaration of love for Colombia.

3. The Family Madrigal

The intro song! Our familiarization with the family Madrigal with peppy, wonderful beats and Stephanie Beatriz imbuing vibrant attitude into the lyrics. This was sort of the cue to me that this movie was going to be a sort of . . . animated theater show? I mean, yeah I know it's a musical but the dancing from each character and the rotation of singer as they parry and overlap each other really harkens to a musical on Broadway itself. Which, you know, is kind of a new style I don't recall seeing in animated musical movies. But it's so funny listening to Mirabel singing so proudly about her family and then the rest of the movie absolutely showing you how surface level that song is in comparison to the real Madrigal family.

4. Surface Pressure

Luisa was such an awesome character who maybe didn't get a ton of screen time that didn't involve her going through an emotional upheaval when she was just wanted to keep it all together, but she's quite a fan favorite for a good reason. This song here being one of the very good reasons to love her of course, her wonderfully song admission to Mirabel that not everything was okay. Not with the family, and not with her.

I love how throughout the whole song she worries about how she can be of service to her family, and that her greatest wish is just to lay down that burden and enjoy the simple pleasure of rest. It's, perhaps, the most relatable (and awesome) song for me in a world that increasingly presses down upon us all given recent events. Another interesting note I always think about is how in the very beginning of the song Luisa confidently states that she knows what her worth is . . . and yet, she then spends the rest of the song letting everyone know that she absolutely does not know her own worth as a person outside of what she can provide to everyone else but herself.

5. What Else Can I Do?

Listen, now, Isabela . . .

When Disney was doling out little crumbs to start bringing up Encanto to the audiences, Isabela was perhaps the most incredible teaser bit of the whole lot. Yeah, yeah, magic house and amazing adventure in the lush beauty of Colombia but-

H-Her. Isabela . . . She who descends slowly upon flower swings her gift created. She who, with every spin, could spawn oscillating waves of roses and flor de mayo in soft colors like lilac, burgundy, baby pink. She's in the top ten of character designs Disney's ever made and that is amazing. This song is amazing.

I actually loved that she was kind of a mean girl, because she was really good at it; subtle, her curtness was more sharp in the brief moments she used it because her graceful actions always spoke louder than she ever felt a need to. She wasn't ever going out of her way to be mean or make a point. Her presence was the point, and you couldn't do anything but just eat it up. So then watching her not only acknowledge that yeah she was the golden child, but that she worked hard to make it so in order to rise above and beyond the expectations set up by Abuela was just such a triumphant moment.

Seeing her confusion at creating a cactus, and then how swiftly it transformed to elation and curiosity was so pleasing. She could have easily, as her characterization beforehand would indicate, rejected that imperfection and lock it away . . . but she adored it! This whole song was so wonderful because I got to see so many plants and flowers I'd never heard of before and that was another lovely ode to Colombia. Palma de Ceras are so freaking cool, and Sundews?! Ugh, it was so cool how she had all these ideas of plants and flowers she'd like to create and it was kind of surprising because I would have never thought she would care for such ungraceful creations. Now, I don't want to compare characters here because Isabela is incomparable. However, the . . . the energy of this song reminds me a lot of the energy in "Let It Go" but better. Both songs about releasing themselves form the chains of expectation and roles cast upon them they never necessarily asked for. But, I think Isabela's vibe was more so impatient, vibrating with repressed excitement and I loved that. Plus her visuals were better.

(Sorry Elsa)

6. Waiting On A Miracle

A powerful song where Mirabel admits to herself (and us) that she really is sick of being cast aside and obviously regarded as not part of the family by her own family. I like the line that goes, "I've been patient, and steadfast, and steady!" Something seems so classic about that line, like the Disney princess of old who taught little girls all over the world that if you only remained patient, steadfast, and steady, that your wishes would come true. That wish, of course, to be rescued by a handsome prince and brought to better social and economic standing. Well, and also the lesson from Pinocchio. The point is, I like the addition of that because then it becomes clear that Mirabel no longer wants to wait and be patient and steadfast when it's gotten her no further into the family dynamic than she was made to be. She's got to make her own miracle, or better yet become her how miracle.

7. All of You

This is a really nice sort of song that rounded out the story. When before it had been brought up in various threads throughout the story that many members felt isolated and pressured by their gifts, this song symbolized that all came to the realization that their self-imposed shackles were just that: self-imposed. And matriarchal, but, hey we just forgave Abuela now didn't we . . .

It was nice to see them all remember what the gift was truly about, you know? Their family. Each other.

8. Dos Oruguitas

A good song, to be sure! Just not my favorite of all the bunch, but that's okay because this song still had a really important message and was arguable the most heartbreak heavy of the lot. The thing for me was, throughout the movie the songs and story thus far had been spoon feeding me all the information so when this one came around I was like, "Oh, hell, I'm too deep in this wine glass to process metaphors" in addition to it making me contend with the fact that Abuela's reaction and choices were . . . not excusable, but understandable. It's a little sorrowful for me, the idea that even as two people grow and love each other so dearly, when they evolve and grow they know they cannot stay together any longer. Which, I mean it's also hopeful, but in the context of Abuelo Pedro's demise (and our own pandemic) it's just a little too melancholic and I sort of feel like India Opal from Because of Winn-Dixie when she learns what that word is.