REVIEW: Encanto Lacks the Disney Magic Needed for a Milestone Movie

Imagine you were the only person in your entire family to not have a special gift. You can’t control the weather or talk to animals, you are just normal. The 60th film to join the Walt Disney Animated family, Encanto focuses on one “normal” young woman’s perseverance to help her family, even though she doesn’t possess the special gifts of her other family members.

The Madrigal family, a family gifted with a miracle after their abuela Alma Madrigal (voiced by María Cecilia Botero) and her husband were driven from their home as a young couple are the focus of Encanto. This miracle bestowed a gift on every member born into the family; gifts including strength, the ability to talk to animals, and even the ability to control the weather. Every member has some sort of special gift, except for one: Mirabel Madrigal (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz). Mirabel lives her life as a normal girl in an exceptional family, until the day their beloved Casita begins to fall apart, and the family’s gifts begin to wane. It is now up to “normal” Mirabel to save her home, family, and their gifts before it is too late.

Heavily inspired by the Latino culture and folklore, the animation in this movie was absolutely breathtaking. The animators, once again, knocked it out of the park. The best way to describe the visuals in Encanto is almost as if the team took the lush backdrops from Moana and added a dash of Tangled magic. Each scene was filled with vibrant colors and extremely detailed drawings. It will be hard for you to turn away from the screen as you watch the animated story unfold.

While the visuals are spectacular, the story is lacking. Written by Charise Castro Smith, the story has little magic and flow to make for concise storytelling. As Mirabel struggles to unravel the mystery behind her crumbling Casita, the audience is left struggling, as well. There are so many characters vying for attention that none are given the proper time to help tell the overall story, except for Bruno, wonderfully voiced by John Leguizamo. There are certainly songs to help tell the story, but the songs don’t do their characters justice, nor do they even drive the story along.

With eight original songs throughout the film, all written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, only three fit and flowed with the tale. The opening number, “The Family Madrigal”, was a fun introduction to the family and a great way to kick-off the movie. The ending number, “All of You”, did a nice job giving a final ode to the family. “Dos Oruguitas” will be a sure-fire Oscar contender, but the rest just did not fit the story. Individually, they are all solid songs. The lyrics are good and the instrumentals are catchy, but as part of the storytelling, they felt incomplete. Too many times I was left wondering why this character was breaking into song and I should never have to question that when watching a musical.

Encanto marks the 60th animated motion picture to be released by Walt Disney Animation and, sadly, it lacks the charm and Disney magic to make it a must watch classic for years to come. This is definitely a movie I would wait to see when it hits Disney+ or On Demand rather than head to the theaters to check it out.

Grade: C+