Encanto is another charming, colourful delight from Disney animation that really makes you wonder why we aren’t getting more wonderful original stories like this and instead are being treated to the onslaught of half-assed remakes. Since Frozen, Disney have been on a roll with their premiere musical films and Encanto is another fantastic addition to this renaissance of animated Disney musicals.
Part of this is due to the fantastic music that accompanies the film, once again created by Lin Manuel Miranda. His trademarks are all over this film, more so than Moana, with singing and rapping interchanging together so effortlessly and for the most part it really works, creating eight new original songs that are all incredible catchy. A personal favourite of mine has to be We Don’t Talk About Bruno, which builds up to a very Hamilton-esque finish that is sure to get people’s nodding along.
The story is very serviceable for the film, it’s predictable in its broad plot points however there’s still this charm to the film that makes you feel like you’ve been placed under an encanto. However, thematically it’s intriguing as the film takes a look at generational trauma and the idea of feeling like an outcast within your own family, yet just put through a Disney lens. There’s also an ending that will pull on your heartstrings in the best possible way that managed to hit me in the feels. Mirabel is fantastic lead character, her relentless optimism and outlook on life was refreshing and it’s also just a fun journey to view this beautiful world from her eyes. Stephanie Beatriz does a brilliant job in this role, alongside the rest of the voice cast, there was no weak performance.
With all of Disney and Pixar’s outings this year it honestly didn’t matter if the stories were that great because the animation has become so impeccable that it’s a delight to just sit and take in the colourful worlds the animators have created. Every single frame is just stunning. It helps though that there’s so much love and care put into their stories too that it’s hard not to have a good time watching these films and leave with four new songs stuck in your head
★★★★
