The studio’s latest combines the pop of its latest in-house pictures with a Pixarian high concept and Stephanie Beatriz’s excellent voice work to strong effect.
What if you were the only one in your entire family without magic? Disney’s Encanto sets out to answer that question with music and charm as its fanciful powers.
Encanto is a new animated musical from two of the minds behind Zootopia, Tangled, and a few other recent Disney Animation films that have been rightfully praised for stretching beyond the limits of what audiences want from this juggernaut studio now that computer animation can realize even the most complicated ambitions. With Encanto, filmmakers Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro Smith bring that new guard energy to one of the warmest, most wholehearted Disney films in years.
Encanto’s story follows the magical Madrigal family, who live in the modern-dayEncanto, a fictional, halfway mythical setting located in Colombia. The Madrigals are an eccentric bunch, and each of them is gifted with a single supernatural ability. One has incredible strength, another can hear a pin drop from miles away, another can shapeshift, and so on. There’s a morsel of that gleeful Incredibles unpredictability to the way the Madrigals’ powers wind into their family dynamic, but with a whole extended clan including cousins, aunts, uncles, and siblings. And that’s before considering their enchanted house, or casita, which is also capable of all manner of quirky, magical things.
All is well, save for the fact that that one of the youngest Madrigals, Mirabel (voiced by Brooklyn Nine-Nine‘s Stephanie Beatriz) is the only member of her family to never have gotten her “miracle,” for reasons unknown. Amongst her amazing, larger-than-life siblings, each capable of doing wonderful things that bless their entire community, Mirabel is aimless and out of sorts. She loves her family more than anything, but she doesn’t quite know how to fit in or make herself useful to everyone else.
It’s hopefully not too much to say that the typical Disney film follows a familiar formula when it comes to plot structure. Its characters start in one place, things go wrong, they leave on a riveting quest and perhaps pick up friends along the way to resolve the crisis, you know the song. What’s immediately alluring about Encanto is that its driving narrative is built into its already captivating location, allowing the audience to bask in the vibrant details and foibles of the Madrigals.
Encanto is a wholesome, delightful movie with so much heart—every one of its frames bursts with color and personality.
The music in Encanto hits the right notes, its hummable pop lyrics built on the lush sound of Colombian culture. Lin-Manuel Miranda developed the songs as he did in Moana, but unlike that film, it’s the third act tune — a hauntingly somber piece that might trigger waterfalls of tears from the right audience — that pushes the picture’s otherwise above-average soundtrack into iconic territory.
There are joys and pleasures scattered throughout Encanto (both the film and its namesake). An early number kindly (if perhaps a bit pedantically) lays out who is who and related to who and what they can do. The voice acting is sharp across the board—particularly Beatriz’s work as Mirabel. John Leguizamo does similarly standout work in an important supporting turn—the sort of performance that makes one long for more of it.
Encanto is a wholesome, delightful movie with so much heart—every one of its frames bursts with color and personality. The casita is a wonderful setting, invoking magical realism’s wonder. Encanto plays like a blend of Pixar’s high concepts and the sleek, poppy appeal of Disney Animation’s most recent films.
The picture’s only real issues lie in some too-tidy storytelling dynamics toward the end, including a sudden love triangle that doesn’t get enough setup to justify its landing. Indeed, the third act as a whole owes a lot to its barnburner of a big song, since otherwise, it’s hurried enough that it plays like a bunt instead of the home run it was winding up for.
Even bearing those potential flaws in mind, Encanto has more than enough charm and is built with more than enough care to sing. Children and parents alike will dig it—to the point of dancing even.
Encanto brings its magic and its music to theaters on November 24th, 2021.
Encanto Trailer:
Read next: The Spool's Best New Releases
Streaming guides
The Best Live TV Streaming Services With Free Trial
The praises of live TV streaming services don’t need to be further sung. By now, we all know that compared to clunky, commitment-heavy cable, live TV is cheaper and much easier to manage. But just in case you’re still on the fence about jumping over to the other side, or if you’re just unhappy with ... The Best Live TV Streaming Services With Free Trial
How to Watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 3
Season 3 of the hotly anticipated Power spin-off, Power Book III: Raising Kanan, is arriving on Starz soon, so you know what that means: it’s the ’90s again in The Southside, and we’re back with the Thomas family as they navigate the ins and outs of the criminal underworld they’re helping build. Mekai Curtis is ... How to Watch Power Book III: Raising Kanan Season 3
How to Watch Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials
Ladies and gentlemen, we’re so back! To celebrate Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary, the BBC is producing a three-episode special starring none other than the Tenth/Fourteenth Doctor himself, David Tennant. And to the supreme delight of fans (that would be me, dear reader), the Doctor will be joined by old-time companion Donna Noble (Catherine Tate) and ... How to Watch Doctor Who: 60th Anniversary Specials
Which Netflix Country Has Each Movie of The Hunger Games?
For whatever reason, The Hunger Games series isn’t available in the same countries around the world. You’ll find the first and second (aka the best) installments in Hong Kong, for instance, but not the third and fourth. It’s a frustrating dilemma, especially if you don’t even have a single entry in your region, which is ... Which Netflix Country Has Each Movie of The Hunger Games?
How to watch Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin Season 2
After a years-long hiatus, scientist and explorer Albert Lin is coming back to National Geographic with a fresh new season of Lost Cities, renamed “Lost Cities Revealed.” In the past, Lin, who is probably the closest we’ll ever get to a real-life Indiana Jones, has traveled everywhere from the ancient Knights Templar in Israel to ... How to watch Lost Cities Revealed with Albert Lin Season 2
How to Watch Paramount Network With a Free Trial
To date, Paramount Network has only two original shows on air right now: Yellowstone and Bar Rescue. The network seems to have its hands full with on-demand streaming service Paramount+, which is constantly stacked with a fresh supply of new shows. But Yellowstone and Bar Rescue are so sturdy and expansive that the network doesn’t ... How to Watch Paramount Network With a Free Trial
How to Watch WE TV With a Free Trial
Previously “Women’s Entertainment,” We TV has since rebranded to accurately reflect its name and be a more inclusive lifestyle channel. It’s home to addictive reality gems like Bold and Bougie, Bridezillas, Marriage Boot Camp, and The Untold Stories of Hip Hop. And when it’s not airing original titles, it has on syndicated shows like 9-1-1, ... How to Watch WE TV With a Free Trial
How to Watch FX With a Free Trial
You’d be hard-pressed to find a bad show airing on FX. The channel has made a name for itself as a bastion of high-brow TV, along with HBO and AMC. It’s produced shows like Atlanta, Fargo, The Americans, Archer, and more recently, Shogun. But because it’s owned by Disney, it still airs several blockbusters in ... How to Watch FX With a Free Trial
How to Watch A&E With A Free Trial
If you’re a fan of true crime and insider docu-shows like The First 48 and Court Cam, then you’re probably already familiar with A&E. The cable channel is home to other reality TV gems like Hoarders, Duck Dynasty, and Storage Wars (they’ve moved on to spin-offs like Road Wars, Customer Wars, and Prison Wars now). ... How to Watch A&E With A Free Trial
How to Watch Unimás With a Free Trial
As the sister channel of the much bigger Univision, Unimás is home to popular Spanish-language telenovelas and talk shows (yes, including El Gordo y La Flaca), as well as a couple of sports events and programs. Most notably, however, Unimás also operates a couple of station affiliates around the country, so it also reports local ... How to Watch Unimás With a Free Trial
How to Watch TNT With A Free Trial
For many sports fans, TNT is a non-negotiable. It broadcasts NBA, MLB, NHL, college basketball, and All Elite Wrestling matches. And, as a bonus, it also has reruns of shows like Supernatural, Charmed, and NCIS, as well as films like The Avengers, Dune, and Justice League. But while TNT used to be a cable staple, ... How to Watch TNT With A Free Trial