Encanto

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This is a movie that very much delves into family, as we open with a story along with a musical number, giving us a nice dose of magical family history. Years ago, a young woman named Alma Madrigal and her husband, Pedro, are forced to flee their home with their three newborn children, Julieta, Pepa and Bruno. Sadly, Pedro falls in combat, but Alma manages to escape the fight with the three kids.

Fortunately, Alma happens upon a magical candle which provides her with a sentient house, known as the "Casita" (which makes total sense when you look at translations) for them to live in. Eventually, a whole village grows around the Casita, and the now grown up Madrigal family helps the village to grow and thrive. The Casita further grants the family special abilities to help these villagers. However, Bruno, having gained the gift of precognition, causes a lot of controversy and is ostracized by the family.

The main story here focuses on the youngest daughter of Julieta (Angie Cepeda), Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), who we discover is a bit of a black sheep in that she gains no special abilities. She does, however, have a big heart, and considers her family to be all the blessing she really needs. One night, when the film provides an awesome example of the ability-gaining process, Mirabel finds a crack in the Casita. Fearing the worst, she tries to warn the family, but goes unheard, so naturally, she takes the mystery into her own hands, and the adventure goes from there.

Along the way, we meet a variety of interesting family members and their abilities; namely, her sisters. There's her sister, Luisa (Jessica Darrow), with superhuman strength; cousin, Isabela (Diane Guerrero), who can make flowers grow; other cousin, Dolores (Adassa), with superhuman hearing and several more. All of the voice acting is solid here, and the songs are no exception. This is quite honestly one of few Disney animated films where I actually liked every song on its soundtrack. They all have this specific Colombian rhythm to them you can't help but find catchy. 

On top of all that, I have to appreciate the originality of the film's overall concept, while still using that "uncanny abilities" concept. I also like the fact that they don't see these as superpowers as though they're superheroes. They just kind of help with things around their village without ever having to face some big evil villain who wants *insert greedy desire here*. This is actually a great example of how to expand on the, shall we say, "superhero" concept while keeping things rather quite original in other ways. It also feels as authentically Colombian as 'Coco' feels authentically Mexican.

There's even more to appreciate here as the film does things like have the heroine be the one who isn't superhuman in any way. It provides a good sense of "girl power" we should be seeing more of, but without cramming it down our throats. It's all topped off with a positive message about the importance of family, but does so in a way that I think whole families can relate to rather than just the kids watching. I have to admit, Disney animation has been reaching Pixar quality levels over the past several years, and this one is definitely no exception. I honestly loved it.

5/5

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