The Emotional Punches of "Encanto" - Why Are We All Bawling Our Eyes Out?

Am I really late to the party with this film? Absolutely. Will that stop me from writing about it? Nope!

Beware of some major spoilers. I think it’s the sort of movie that you will want to watch even if you know everything about it, but still, if you do care about spoilers and haven’t seen it yet, maybe go and watch it first.

At 34 I’m still a child at heart in many ways but Disney has somewhat lost its hold over me in recent years. There are exceptions, but many of their modern animated releases have left me a little indifferent.

I didn’t particularly like “Inside Out”. Yeah, sue me. I thought some of it made no sense, there were too many missed opportunities and it just didn’t connect for me.

“Moana” had its moments. It had a lot of things going for it, starting with the people involved. I’m a fan of Dwayne Johnson and Lin Manuel Miranda and I think Auli’i Cravalho is an absolute gem. Yet, even with all of that, I felt like “Moana” was lacking some magical unnamed ingredient. I think it mostly kept me engaged because I grew up near the sea and I could relate to loving water.

“Coco” impressed me even less than “Moana”. I saw the effort put into it, I understood why it was supposed to touch me, it just… didn’t? At least not as much as was expected. I know a lot of people love it and that's great. I appreciate the theme of family and identity. I just once again needed something more.

All in all, the last thing Disney made which really spoke to me was “Zootopia” (a.k.a "Zootropolis"). I’m actually very fond of that one! While its message is not groundbreakingly original, it's certainly necessary and the way the film delivers it is very effective.

But even “Zootopia”, while being a definite favourite, doesn’t make me burst into tears every five minutes. So what the heck did they put in the recipe for “Encanto” so that the entirety of the internet is crying? Seriously, look anywhere online and you’ll find people posting tearful reviews and reactions.

Here are only a few of the HUNDREDS of "I cried my eyes out watching this" type videos:

Video title: who else CRIED THEIR WAY THROUGH ENCANTO?! 😭

Video title: *I Couldn’t Stop CRYING* Encanto 2021 Movie Reaction | My HEART is FULL!

Video title: Encanto Movie Reaction | *SORRY I CRIED A LOT*

Well? What did Disney get right - well and truly right - this time?

1. The Visuals

First of all, “Encanto” is gorgeous. Oh, I know - so was “Coco”, so was “Moana”, so is more or less every Disney animated feature. But, no, seriously, this film is stunning. Colombian culture just lands itself so well to this style of animation - the vibrant colours, rounded corners and big, exaggerated shapes which are a Disney staple feel completely at home in this cultural context. In the past Disney has tried to diversify their art style with movies such as “Mulan” and “Hercules”, but since neither of those was a massive success, they tend to play it safe nowadays and just “disnify” everything. As an example, “Frozen” is pretty but I’m not convinced its visual style really evokes Norwegian culture in any way beyond some colours and patterns. With “Encanto” the exact same style through a happy coincidence just feels more authentic (at least to me - a non-Colombian).

There are multiple moments where the backgrounds are breathtaking...

... but the visual storytelling through the characters themselves is even better.

The character design is great - everyone is distinct and memorable and the range of features, skin tones and hair textures truly reflects the diversity of the place. The creative choices regarding how “Casita”, the magical house, is animated are original and very effective. The result is a joy to watch. Probably the most impressive thing is the quality of the character animation. It is superb, even for Disney. The level of detail in everyone’s expressions and movements is incredible and I would wager that even watching that alone would be enough to provoke an emotional response in the audience. You could literally turn off the sound, not hear any of the dialogue or music, not understand at all what the story is about and you would still be entertained. There is so much to see that you will want to watch it several times just to try to take in what’s going on in the background.

2. Lin Manuel Miranda... I mean the songs... I mean Lin Manuel Miranda.

Am I biassed because I’m already a fan? Perhaps, but I don’t think so. Look, it’s not even that the songs are absolutely perfect - they aren’t. But, much like the Madrigals themselves, they don’t have to be. If there is occasionally a note or lyric here or there that could be improved, that is so overshadowed by how intelligently these musical numbers are written, that it only serves to enhance the effect. Lin Manuel Miranda knows how to write with intention, how to make sure that the notes and the words serve a purpose. His style is, as always, very distinct. The ocassionally genius rhyming and fast-paced tongue-twister sequences are inimitable. All of the songs have little motifs which quickly turn into incurable earworms. And, just like with the visuals, the film’s songs can pretty much tell the story by themselves. Just listen to all of the musical numbers! Because of how much is in the lyrics and melody, you will get almost the full emotional impact of the story even without the rest of the dialogue and with no other context. That means that when you put the brilliant music together with the brilliant animation it’s a great marriage - neither has to carry the other and compensate for its flaws, everything is just enhanced.

3. The Writing and Messages

Disney has tried multiple times to talk about about family, feminism and mental health, not to mention the ever-present theme of finding yourself, which is practically synonymous with the brand. Their success has been… varied. But where others have failed, “Encanto” completely knocks it out of the park.

Let's start with why this film is a good example of feminism.

On the most shallow level of what "feminism" means, the world of “Encanto” seems pretty matriarchal and the truly active characters are all women. All of the characters who have a solo song are female and the one song sung entirely by a male (who is not even a character but an unseen narrator) is actually centred around the story of a female character. The men who marry the Madrigal women join the Madrigal family instead of the other way around. But, honestly, none of this is what actually makes “Encanto” a good representation of women. It's a bit less obvious than this. See, it turns out all Disney had to do to stop me complaining about how bland, uninspired and lacking in subtlety their recent attempts at “feminism” were was to introduce a cast of several incredibly different female characters who were strong in very different ways and had interesting relationships with each other. Who knew!

Let’s talk about the obvious one - Luisa.

Luisa is physically strong and - thank goodness - she also has the muscles to justify that, instead of being magically able to carry a pile of donkeys while looking like a Barbie doll (a la Wonder Woman and many others). Not that a dissonance between looks and abilities is always a bad thing - it can be very funny or even meaningful in a different way. But when we see it too often it almost creates the idea that modern women are supposed to be able to fight bears while ALSO having the physique of runway models. Even better - Luisa’s muscles do not indicate a lack of femininity! She wears very feminine clothes and hairstyle and even her movements when she isn’t performing some feat of strength are very feminine. Look at her dance sequence! She is simply a feminine woman who happens to have muscles - no more and no less. Her mere presence on the screen does more for little girls than the utterly pointless addition of “Speechless” in the live-action “Aladdin”.

The women in “Encanto” aren’t fighting against the patriarchy because there is no patriarchy to speak of in their world. Instead, they are just complex human beings whose problems and aspirations have nothing to do with their gender. This is all feminism really is - showing that women are not, on the whole, different from men but they can be and are different from each other. They can have different shapes, sizes, looks, personalities, insecurities, interests, talents and relationships, and all of these can be valid.

“Encanto” does a great job where representation of individual characters vs family dynamics is concerned, too. Nothing is unrealistic, nothing is exaggerated, nothing is unjustified. The love between the Madrigals is very clearly portrayed but so are the complexities of being part of a large family. Everyone’s struggles are acknowledged, as well as their strengths and what they contribute to the whole. The script takes care to remind us that these are individuals who exist outside of their role in the family and even outside their role in the main plot - each of them could probably easily carry an entire movie of their own. And it's not just the main family! Every single extremely minor background character pops off the screen, which, considering how large the main cast already is, is nothing short of a miracle. The character moments are genius. A prime example is one little girl whose name we don't even learn. She's a random child from the town whose only purpose in the story is to allow Mirabel to info-dump about her family. She has maybe three lines in the entire thing. And yet I guarantee you that anyone who has seen the movie remembers that little girl. Why? Because...

"IT IS PHYSICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO RELAX!!!"

It is also nearly physically impossible not to giggle at that line and thus you get a memorable character, even if they are only there for a tiny amount of time.

Well-rounded characters are essential in a story which is entirely about relationships. There is no villain here (at least not in the present) - the conflict comes solely from the struggle of a group of people to understand one another and do what’s best in response to the difficulties life throws at them.

It's interesting that somehow, unlike many recent Disney stories which try to be hip and modern to the detriment of the grandeur often associated with the company, this one does feel appropriately epic. The resolution is simple, it consists of one family reevaluating what is important in their lives; a grandmother and granddaughter reaching out across the generational gap. However, this is put in the context of something much greater than the Madrigals themselves. They carry the scars of monumental events in the past and, as a family, they set the tone for their entire community. The ultimate message of hope and moving forward encompasses the entire town and, perhaps, the entire land and culture "Encanto" is based on.

“Encanto” also tackles the issues of anxiety and self-doubt beautifully, attacking the topic from all angles - with metaphors, acting, music, poetry and visual representations. We are literally shown what Luisa’s stress and anxiety look like on the screen while she is trying to explain it to us in song.

(Might I also point out that all of this is done while we are simultaneously laughing hysterically at dancing donkeys? Also, side note: I know "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is hailed as brilliant but I like "Surface Pressure" even better.)

Basically, if you do not relate to at least several of the characters in this movie, I really don’t know what kind of life you’ve led.

4. Mirabel is a Fantastic Role Model

On top of all else, “Encanto” makes a few slightly unexpected choices with its main heroine and executes them incredibly well. In most stories writers achieve conflict by forcing the hero to mess up somehow (make a very questionable decision or fail in some significant way) and then strive for redemption. By contrast, “Encanto’s” Mirabel is a truly glowing role model throughout. She makes good choices again and again, without becoming less sympathetic or lowering the stakes of the plot. That’s difficult to pull off! Everything that goes wrong in the story is outside of her control and she never really does anything wrong - her little spats with Isabela aside (they are honestly too insignificant to count as anything), she acts towards everyone around her with love, care and a great amount of understanding. She displays admirable resilience, tenacity and level-headedness, even when she is misunderstood by her family. She gets upset and angry by their behaviour or by certain events, but at no point does she decide in the light of some ridiculous misunderstanding (we’ve seen this done so many times!) that they don’t love her, nor does she hesitate to defend herself, take action or look for solutions to her problems, instead of manufacturing melodrama. It’s not just about “be yourself” this time - Mirabel knows how to be herself and nobody is really stopping her. This is about “Who am I to other people?”, “Who am I to my community?”, “How do I shine when I am not the one and only special snowflake - when everyone around me is special.” And that’s a bit different - Disney normally does like their special snowflakes.

It’s also not very often that we see a protagonist with two completely normal living parents who are actually good at parenting. Parents in children’s media are so often either absent or a major source of conflict. There is none of that here! Maribel’s mother and father are present and accounted for, they are perfectly understanding and supportive, and yet the story doesn’t crumble to dust because of this fact. See? It can be done!

5. The Emotional Punches

“Encanto” really knows how to create a moment that has the power to punch you right in the feels. Nearly every story beat in the film has the potential to make you tear up. But these moments are also expertly balanced with humour. The writing, animation and direction all have brilliant comedic timing. Little things, such as the facial expressions of a barely-relevant-to-the-plot tucan and completely-irrelevant-to-the-plot capybara, can make you laugh out loud. That makes it even more effective when the story is aiming to make you cry. There are probably too many emotional moments to count, but I’ll list the ones I can think of. Get your tissues!

1. Antonio begging Mirabel to hold his hand as he walks towards his door. In fact, their entire relationship.

2. Little Mirabel and the look on her face when the magical door disappears before her eyes.

3. All of the looks Luisa gives Mirabel during “Surface Pressure”. Honestly.

4. Bruno admitting that he left the family in order to protect his little niece from people’s assumptions and prejudices. What a gem of an uncle!

5. Bruno watching his family through a hole in the wall and the plate with his name PAINTED ONTO HIS TABLE. I can’t.

6. Mirabel declaring that once she saves the magic, she is determined to bring her uncle home. What a gem of a niece!

7. Isabella giving Mirabel a completely natural and heartfelt embrace after Mirabel has been chasing her, trying to hug her, for half of “What Else Can I Do”.

8. The house trying to protect the family while falling apart and the candle finally going out.

9. The obvious one - the entire “Dos Orugitas” sequence and specifically the look Abuelo Pedro gives his wife before walking to his death to try and save his family and community.

10. This line: “I asked my Pedro for help… Mirabel, he sent me you.”

11. Abuela embracing Bruno mid-sentence while he’s delivering a rant under the impression that he has to defend Mirabel.

12. Abuela singing the line “the miracle is you, not some gift, just you” directly to Bruno.

13. Pepa and Julieta nearly tackling their brother upon seeing him return.

14. The entire community arriving to show support for the family.

15. Obviously, the ending of “All of You” where Mirabel is openly acknowledged by her family.

There are probably more…

In Conclusion

This is one of those occasions when the hype doesn’t lie. Disney may be kind of evil in many ways but every once in a while they do manage to create some real good in the world. Watch “Encanto” if you haven’t seen it yet.