Coming out on Nov. 24 of 2021, Disney’s recent release Encanto not only sparked lots of commotion from Disney lovers, but also became a viral phenomenon on TikTok.

With a soundtrack written by Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda and well known actresses such as Orange is the New Black’s Diane Guerrero, this movie was sure to fulfill its promises.

However, if you have not seen the movie yet, I recommend pausing at this point and taking a look at the movie so you can fully understand what is going on.

Encanto takes place in real world Colombia, focusing on a magical family named the Madrigals.

The first song Welcome to the Family Madrigal opens up the movie with our protagonist, Mirabel Madrigal, taking us through the family tree and what is special about every person in the family. 

But at the end of the song, we learn that Mirabel is the only one in the family to not have a gift, which adds a lot of pressure for her to be seen as important as her family members (which is seen in a later song, Waiting on a Miracle).

We also learn about a mysterious character Bruno, who seems to be a sensitive subject among the entire town and family.

On the note of Bruno, the Madrigal’s break out into a song, my personal favorite, We don’t talk about Bruno.

This song was basically everybody complaining about the things that Bruno caused and that is why they do not talk about him. Mirabel feels that he is needed for something, and begins to become more curious as to who this Bruno character really is.

If I was Bruno and was living in the walls when my entire family made basically a diss track like this about me, I would probably be having my own dance party with my rats because of how good it was. 

Fast forward a little bit into the movie, Mirabel meets Bruno and learns that he can tell the future. He sees the future for her, seeing that she will cause the damage to break the house…or so she thought.

In ways to try and preserve the house from crumbling, Mirabel did everything she could in her power to prevent the magic candle burning out (even going to extents to try and make amends with her older sister, Isabella).

As we could probably guess, the house does end up crumbling and we finally learn the backstory behind Abuela and why she runs the house the way she does.

Surprise surprise, at the end of the movie there is a big resolve, Mirabel turning out to be basically the “glue” that holds the house together, and everyone lives happily ever after just as all Disney movies end. 

All in all, I do feel that this movie lives up to the name that it was given by many, having clever plot details and a catchy soundtrack that has been stuck in my head for weeks since watching it.

I would say that this soundtrack is somewhat similar to Miranda’s previous works, with his use of rhyming and background sounds to create jubilant and upbeat songs to go with the vibrant colors that the movie includes. While it doesn’t include the fast raps and tongue twisters that Hamilton contains, this soundtrack is no less catchy than that one.
I do wish that Mirabel did get her own door though, because even though her power is being the “caretaker” I still do not think it is fair she does not have a magical room like every single one of her family members.

I also feel that it was a good way to bring more diverse and inclusive movies into the industry, having an entire Spanish version of the movie played by a full Columbian cast.

After not having much diversity in the disney movies, Disney has definitely stepped their game up in giving new cultures representation. 

Would I recommend watching this movie? Definitely! I feel it would be a perfect family movie night addition or even just an easy watch when you are bored with nothing to do.