Reviews

Encanto

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.

Encanto | Disney Movies
Encanto, Walt Disney Pictures

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.

'Encanto' and 'Tick, Tick ... Boom' review: Lin-Manuel Miranda isn't  throwing away his movie shots - CNN
Encanto, Walt Disney Pictures

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

★★★★

Related Articles

After Yang

After Yang is both a departure and continuation from Kogonada’s previous film Columbus. Aesthetically it follows on from Columbus with the mind-numbingly gorgeous static cinematography

Read More »

Nope

Jordan Peele’s Nope is yet another hit from the innovative horror director. This time he takes his skills in horror to the skies to wonderful

Read More »

Not Okay

Many films have attempted to breach into the world of internet culture, either through scathing analyses or satirical comedies, but none of them truly ever

Read More »

Bullet Train

Didn’t think this film would make as many Thomas the Tank Engine jokes as it did, but man did it get me every single time. This

Read More »

The Grey Man

Look, I really wanted to like this. I thought the abhorrent amount hate this film is getting was a residual effect of people just hating

Read More »

Ms. Marvel

Yet another addition into the ever-expanding MCU, Ms. Marvel introduces one more young, relatable and endearing hero into the fold. Without a doubt the best

Read More »

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Somewhere within this 6-hour event there lives a concise and powerful 2-hour film, but sadly the filler and bloated nature of the latest Star Wars

Read More »

Cha Cha Real Smooth

The newest instalment into Cooper Raiff’s filmography has secured him as one of my favourite up and coming directors. With both his cinematic outings there’s

Read More »

Lightyear

Damn the animation in 1995 really went hard. As far as corporate cash grabs go, Lightyear actually presents an interesting premise on its surface. The film

Read More »

Severance

One of the most original and inventive pieces of content to come out in the last decade, Severance is a refreshing and mind-boggling mystery that

Read More »

Moon knight

Moon Knight brings Oscar Isaac into the MCU and it’s all the better for it, however it also brings a whole lot of inconsistency. Reflecting

Read More »

Morbius

Someone please just tell Sony to sell the Spider-Man characters back to Marvel. Morbius is another fantastic addition into the catalogue of Sony Spider-Man films

Read More »

Fresh

Fresh is truly refreshing. There’s something so tonally unique about it that the safety of the comedy makes the horror so much more terrifying. I’m

Read More »

CODA

I must’ve watched a different film from everyone else, cause this was fine, not a best picture winner. On the surface this film could’ve been

Read More »

Turning Red

What is it with amazing, animated films about generational trauma lately? Turning Red is another delight from Pixar, opting for a more fun, poppy story

Read More »

Bergman Island

The most postmodern film ever, filled with metaness, intertextuality and an abundance of homages to Bergman yet it lacks any semblance of narrative. This film

Read More »

The Batman

I’m simply in awe of this film. In a time where we’re saturated with the onslaught of comic book films that seem to rehash the

Read More »

The outfit

This would’ve made a fantastic play. The Outfit is a smart, witty crime thriller helmed by a delightful performance from Mark Rylance. Penned by Graham

Read More »

Uncharted

Y’know what, it wasn’t that bad. As a huge fan of the games I had zero expectations going into this, I didn’t like any of

Read More »

Belfast

A Kenneth Branagh film with no Dutch angles?!? I’m shocked. An emotional resonant and cute picturesque account told through the eyes of a child of living

Read More »

The Lost Daughter

2021 has been a fantastic year for directorial feature debuts and The Lost Daughter is another fantastic addition into this set of films. A masterful

Read More »

Being the Ricardos

Mediocrity at its finest. Nothing about this film felt special, and especially coming from a man as acclaimed as Aaron Sorkin this comes as a

Read More »

tick, tick…boom!

tick, tick… BOOM! is a masterful debut feature film from Lin Manuel Miranda, confirming that he can tell a beautiful and touching story through the

Read More »

The Last Duel

After seeing House of Gucci, I was feeling trepidatious with the prospect of sitting down and watching another 3-hour Ridley Scott feature, but my fears

Read More »

Licorice Pizza

Licorice Pizza is the comedy film of the year, a genuinely non-stop fun ride that completely immerses you in the world of 70s LA. PTA

Read More »

Don’t Look Up

McKay is certainly not subtle with what he’s trying to do with this film, yet I don’t think that stops Don’t Look Up from being

Read More »

House of Gucci

Possibly one of the worst directed films in recent memory, and what’s more surprising is that it’s coming from one of the world’s most prolific

Read More »

West Side Story

There’s something so oxymoronic about the buffest guys you’ve ever seen doing ballet in the streets of New York. Spielberg directs the shit out of this

Read More »

Eternals

Eternals marks the 30th project that takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and promised to deliver something we’ve never seen before from Marvel. Helmed

Read More »

Titane

London Film Festival Watch #5 The unofficial prequel to Pixar’s Cars. Shocked is putting it lightly. Titane is a grotesque, insane trip of a film

Read More »

The French Dispatch

London Film Festival Watch #3 I’m blown away. Wes Anderson’s The French Dispatch is the director operating at full Wes Anderson and I adored it.

Read More »

Last Night in Soho

London Film Festival Watch #2 Edgar Wright’s first foray into psychological horror leaves a lot to be desired, despite technically being some of the best-looking

Read More »

The Guilty (2021)

The Guilty is an artistic rendition that simulates expertly the overwhelming anxiety of a 911 operator in a world that’s falling apart around him. The

Read More »

Spencer

London Film Festival Watch #1 “A fable based on a true tragedy.” Spencer is a biopic, but it’s a biopic in the way that only Pablo Larraín

Read More »

The Green Knight

“Why Greatness? Why Is Goodness Not Enough?” The Green Knight is another fantastically shot thinker of a film from A24. Leaving the cinema my thoughts were

Read More »

Annette

If you’ve ever wondering what Adam Driver looked like singing while performing cunnilingus, then have I got the film for you. Annette is strange. There’s

Read More »

Reminiscence

When I say I’m disappointed after watching this that’s putting it lightly. Lisa Joy has co-created what I believe to be one of TV’s best

Read More »

Monsters At Work

Monsters at Work is Pixar’s first complete miss for me. Pixar has had a pretty incredible track record to date with only a few misses in their expansive

Read More »

Dave Season 2

Season 1 of Dave must be one of the most underappreciated comedy shows out there. From the brain of Lil Dicky came one of the

Read More »

M.O.D.O.K

M.O.D.O.K is a fun but ultimately weak foray from Marvel into comedy and animation. Despite the stellar voice cast who deliver great performances, it doesn’t make up for the hit

Read More »

Free Guy

Easily the best video game film there has been to date and THE blockbuster of the Summer. While I think this is a film that

Read More »

Zola

Zola is a wild ride, probably what you’d expect from a film that’s based on a Twitter thread, but don’t be turned off by the

Read More »

The Suicide Squad

James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad is an absolute blast, far and away better than the train wreck of its predecessor. This is exactly what the

Read More »

The Tomorrow War

This film is an abomination. What should’ve been an entertaining popcorn flick is instead a generic action film with no ounce of effort into making

Read More »

City of Thieves

Written By David Benioff 📒What It’s About The book takes place in war-torn Leningrad and follows a 17 year-old Russian named Lev, a shy chess-loving

Read More »

Loki

Loki continues the trend of the MCU shows being brilliant character studies of already established characters in the universe, by giving them time to breath

Read More »

Shiva Baby

Shiva Baby is a fantastic, funny and fresh first feature film from Emma Seligman. Not only does this film shine in its originality but also

Read More »

Cruella

So I’ve seen a lot of reviews and thoughts on this movie that were either moderately positive or high praising and I honestly feel like

Read More »

Black Widow

Hm. I have very mixed feelings on this film, but I’ll start off with what worked. Scarlett Johansson. It’s no surprise that Johansson delivers yet

Read More »

Luca

Disney’s Luca, aka Vespa: the movie, is another hit from Pixar, a beautiful tale of friendship that perfectly captures the spirit of an unforgettable Summer.

Read More »

WandaVision

Wanda. Maximoff. Wow this show surpassed my expectations, in the MCU I feel like there’s been 3 distinct, fully realised character arcs: Iron Man, Captain

Read More »