Magic is in us – review of the movie “Encanto”

The days are getting shorter, the night is falling earlier, the weather outside the window is not spoiling – while the colorful world of Encanto may turn out to be the perfect antidote to the autumn blues. For the entire family!

It’s only good for photos to be good with your family

The Madrigal family lives in a small town in the Colombian countryside. This is not such an ordinary family – each of its members has a magical gift: control over flora and aura, super strength, perfect hearing, anticipating the future or shapeshifting. Everyone except Mirabel (in the original voice speaking Stephanie Beatriz, in the Polish version – Ada Szczepaniak) – the youngest daughter of Julieta, who is treating her with her food. The remarkable abilities of the Madrigals have served all the inhabitants of the town for decades, protecting them, allowing them to develop and ensuring prosperity. Instead, the source of magic is the never-extinguishing candle that the grandmother of the family, Alma, received when her husband, Pedro, gave his life saving from armed invaders fleeing the village – including his own wife and three newborn children. At a family celebration, the girl experiences an apocalyptic vision – the eternal fire of the enchanted candle seems to be dying out, and the Madrigal residence – a magical house, affectionately known as La Casita – is falling apart. Mirabel – the only ordinary member of an unusual family – decides to take matters into her own hands and save the home mir.

Strength in simplicity

It might seem that the studio signed with Walt Disney’s name has recently been occupied mainly with acting adaptations of classic titles – received coolly by critics, but eagerly watched by viewers thanks to nostalgic connotations. Meanwhile, the heart and the foundation of the studio’s success have always been fairy tales and original animations – Encanto only this regularity confirms. Under the guise of a simple family story, the film by Jared Bush and Byron Howard hides a topic that is both universal and topical. In subsequent family members, we observe all the symptoms of millennial burnout and bending under the weight of unrealistic expectations of the environment (which one of the sisters – superhumanly strong Luisa, indeed, sings about). The cracking walls of Casita symbolize the crumbling facade of the appearances surrounding the Madrigals – the family at first glance is perfect, but hides a deadly dose of petty disagreements and microaggressions in four walls, focusing primarily on the guilty God of Mirabel, in which the doyen of the family is at the forefront, stiffly keeping everyone in the magic house in check. The theme of the humanitarian crisis and the small homeland, which the Madrigals – de facto a family of refugees – are building in their town, is also appallingly topical in the background. Despite the unusual circumstances, the most human factor is at the root of the story. Thanks to this, the story seems universally understandable, and viewers will easily see themselves in individual characters.

Steam – bang, move your hips!

Encanto evokes associations with the greatest hits under the aegis of Mickey Mouse. The musical flair was given to the animation by the creator of the Broadway hit – the musical Hamilton – Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is also the co-author of the script and the author of as many as nine songs appearing in the film. Music is not only a pleasant addition, but a full-fledged hero of the Madrigal family story – even if we do not find candidates for the title of a hit tailored to the measure I have this power sung in the Land of Ice by Elsa (and millions of girls around the world), Latin rhythms will set even the most rigid rhythms in motion hips.

This is a classic animation, adhering to the safe Disney pattern, while the heroin itself follows Campbellow’s path in the book. Under the fabulously colorful envelope (no one should be surprised by the high quality of animation – the studio has a budget unimaginable for many smaller teams, not to mention independent creators), in fact, there is a well-known, maybe even a bit predictable story about cooperation, difficult love and accepting your own flaws and weaknesses that may turn out to be a hidden strength. Even though it seems we’ve seen the story somewhere before, it’s hard to resist the… well, the Encanto magic .