Bringing a new generation of music, representation, love, and Disney magic, “Encanto” has become the new hit sensation movie that is beloved by all. Bringing up topics of family trauma and the healing that comes with it, it’s no wonder many consider this an Encanto of its own.

Since it was released on November 24, 2021, it has made $93,401,292 in the domestic box office. With a running time of 1 hour and 39 minutes, and filled with beautiful animation, greatly composed music, and enchanting colors, Encanto took about five years to come to its completion which included many steps such as character design and music composition. 

This hard work paid off with Encanto receiving a 4.4 rating and a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is one of the highest ratings for a Disney Movie. Many high rated directors worked on Encanto such as Jared Bush and Byron Howard, and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Miranda, who has worked on the musical aspect of other Disney movies, such as Moana, created many of the songs in “Encanto” such as the greatly beloved “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” which is was #1 on the Billboard top 100 for 5 weeks. 

The story of Encanto takes place in Columbia after Abuela/Alma Madrigal (voiced by Maria Cecilia Bonita) immigrated to new land along with the rest of the village in order to protect everyone from Spanish colonizers. 

The center of the movie focuses around Mirabel Madrigal (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz), an ordinary girl surrounded by her family who were blessed with magical gifts that are used to protect the village and help it prosper. 

Despite these gifts being something magical, throughout the movie we see how these powers put pressure on all the family members and eventually cause their magical house to crack, representing how hiding the stress you’re under can cause individuals and families to break apart.

The resolution of the movie ends with the family getting back together and learning that the true miracle is the relationship with the people you love. Telling such a beautiful complex story and covering topics such as immigration, family trauma, and generational trauma, “Encanto” shows us how true magic comes from within us all.

While this is not the first Lantix based film that Disney has made, in November 2017 the movie “Coco” was released, with much praise. Although these two stories have some similarities, such as an emphasis on family and the use of supernatural powers, there are some differences. One difference between the two is that Coco is based on a Mexican holiday (Dia de los Muertos), while Encancto takes place in Columbia and shows Columbian traditions. Although both are good at representing each country, I appreciate that Encanto has put some Latin traditions that are less known on the pedestal, such as food and clothing styles. 

Before seeing this movie I had figured that Encanto was going to be a stereotypical Disney movie, with magic fairies, helpless princesses, and the end message being the power of friendship (or something like that). I was pleasantly surprised when I first saw the characters that were played in the movie because of their ethnic appearances 

Many of the characters represented many Latinx people, with all different shades. Not only was the physical representation a good thing, but this story line did not consist of the same messages that are typically used in kid movies, such as the power of friendship. 

The theme of “Encanto” is one many people of all ages could relate to -experiencing pressure and high expectations from your family. It could be appreciated that a movie had brought these hard issues to a light, especially when many do not want to admit the feeling of this overwhelming pressure. It was a bit difficult  for me to follow and understand the characters in this story, since there are 12 members of the family to keep up with, but once you know who is who it is easier to follow the theme.  I also appreciated that some of the songs were in Spanish and contributed to understanding the story, such as the song “Dos Oruguita ” by Sebastián Yatra. The songs  “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and “Surface Pressure” by Lin-Manuel Miranda are great examples of songs adding and helping the viewer understand the storyline. Not only do these songs help the viewer understand the storyline, but they are also very catchy. Both these songs have accumulated  218,621,202 views on YouTube. “We don’t talk about Bruno ” was number 1 on the Billboard charts in the U.K and number 2 in the U.S for 5 weeks, it even surpassed “Let it go” from the movie Frozen on the charts. It also surpassed Disney’s last highest chart song, ”A Whole New World ” from Aladdin.

Overall,  “Encanto” is one of the best Disney movies I have seen;  it has the right amount of comedy, music, and has the plot of real life issues that many people deal with. I highly recommend watching this movie with family, friends, or just by yourself, just have a few tissues ready. I rate this movie 9.5/10