‘Encanto’ Review: Disney’s Latest Animated Fable Is Miraculous

“Encanto,” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ latest computer-generated confection, is the studio’s 60^th feature-length production (there’s even a special version of the Steamboat Willie logo that plays in front) and the first since 1945’s post-war package film “The Three Caballeros,” to take its inspiration from the people and culture of South America. Disney animated fables usually take their cue from the prompt of “once upon a time …” but part of the magic of “Encanto,” as enchanting and emotional as any film in the studio’s vast library, is how relatable it is. Through a winning combination of magical realism, family drama, and musical theatricality, “Encanto” is downright miraculous.

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Loosely taking place in the “first half of the 20^th century,” “Encanto” is set in a fairly realistic Colombia – in the prologue, we watch as Alma Madrigal (María Cecilia Botero) flees political upheaval in search of a safe place to raise her three newborn children. Sadly, her husband perishes, but the jungle gives her a magical blessing in the form of an enchanted candle that grants each member of the family an extraordinary gift. (The family lives in a similarly enchanted casita.) That is, of course, except Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), who is awkward, nerdy, and deeply feeling. She’s watched as her sisters claim their powers – Isabela (Diane Guerrero) is beautiful and perfect, able to control plant life and to make flowers spring from every conceivable place; and Luisa (Jessica Darrow) has superhuman strength. (The movie begins on the eve of her young cousin Antonio, played by Ravi-Cabot Conyers, accepting his gift. He can talk to animals, including an extremely unimpressed capybara.) When Mirabel, who is otherwise just attempting to please the other members of her family, gets a glimpse of a potential catastrophe, she is forced to investigate a mystery from the family’s past in a desperate please to keep them all together.

“Encanto” is remarkable for many reasons but the first might be the fact that it’s set almost entirely in the Madrigal family house. There is a quest, of sorts, as Mirabel tries to piece together why her uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo), who could see the future, was exiled from the family. And since the house is magical, rooms can open up into vast expanses of lush rainforest or reveal a crumbling, sand-filled tower. But unlike many other Disney female protagonists (most recently, Raya from this spring’s “Raya and the Last Dragon”), Mirabel doesn’t actually go anywhere beyond her family tree. It’s an understated, mature approach, with unexpected emotional and psychological contours, and one that benefits the movie in many other ways.

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The movie’s limited setting allows it to be expansive in other ways, chiefly in the staging and execution of its elaborate musical numbers. Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is pretty much a Disney legend thanks to his contributions to “Mary Poppins Returns,” “Moana,” and the upcoming “Little Mermaid” live-action remake (amongst many others), returns to write a handful of memorable, ear worm-y songs. They are some of the best songs he’s written for the studio, full of personality and Miranda’s characteristically playful wordplay. But it’s the way in which directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush (and co-director Charise Castro Smith) bring the songs to life that really dazzle. Each sequence is eye-popping and wholly different than the sequence that came before it, fully embracing the limitless possibilities of animation while never losing sight of the emotional bedrock that the song (and indeed, the movie as a whole) is built upon. These are some of the all-time best Disney musical sequences, combining the catchiness and fun of some of the songs from the Disney Renaissance (say, “Friend Like Me” from “Aladdin”) with the gently envelope-pushing surrealism of something like “Elephants on Parade” from “Dumbo” or, indeed, “Tico Tico” from “Saludos Amigos.” It goes without saying that this is one of the most colorful, most gorgeously designed Disney animated movies, full of detail (the costumes!) and character (the casita is just as richly drawn as the human characters), and the musical numbers will absolutely leave you breathless.

If there’s a standout musical number, though, it’s “Dos Oruguitas.” The first song that Miranda has written (“beginning to end”) in Spanish tells the tale of what really happened to Mirabel’s grandparents as they made their way to safety. Stark and presented without subtitles, it’s a moment when Mirabel comes to understand her family in a way that she never thought possible. It is absolutely gorgeous and hugely impactful (you could hear the muffled sobs at our screening), standing out dramatically against the more over-the-top musical numbers that largely define the rest of the movie.

While the filmmakers behind “Encanto” decided to make the story specifically about Colombia (skirting the usual “magical land inspired by a real-life place” disclaimer, which occasionally robs the films of oomph), that specificity makes it more universal. This is especially true in its depictions of the various relationships and power dynamics that that exist within families, regardless of culture, race, ethnicity, or whether or not any of them have oversized superpowers. (“Encanto” features another clearly queer-coded character that is never explicitly identified as such.) You will see yourself in one of “Encanto’s” characters – the ostracized weirdo, the weight put on an older sibling, the pressure of expectation – and in the way that feelings can be broken, and just as easily mended. In a movie as visually stunning as “Encanto,” it’s the depth of its empathy that might be its most miraculous feature. [A]   

“Encanto” debuts in theaters on November 24.