Like a lot of people, I didn’t see many advertisements for the film. The only reason I even know about the movie was that “Surface Pressure” was all over my For You page on Tiktok. It made me fall in love with Luisa’s character, so, when the film dropped on Disney Plus, I raced to see it.
Before watching Encanto, I knew pretty much nothing about the story. I never even knew the movie existed until it was already becoming popular from its theatrical release. I knew from a friend of a friend that this movie was about dealing with generational trauma, and that was about it.
With that, I dove into Encanto and fell in love with the movie. I would also suggest you watch this movie with as little information as possible to avoid tainting your experience as well.
This post will be vague but not fully spoiler-free, so you’ve been warned.
There is a recent trend in Disney movies where there isn’t a real villain. The antagonists now are just misguided or misunderstood, and anyone who is truly bad is just a side plot to the actual conflict.
This can be a hit or mix for me. On the one hand, it teaches people critical thinking skills. Just because you were always told someone or something is wrong doesn’t mean it’s the truth. Think Wicked or Maleficent. On the other, it creates a slippery slope of forgiveness. Cruella is a misguided movie made by people working with this mindset. Cruella was a woman who stole pets to skin for clothing. No sad backstory can change that.
I think it works for Encanto because the conflict is a family one. No one in the family really wants to hurt the other members, but their methods of trying to help end up hurting people. Only after they communicate this and apologize for the damages caused can the family move forward.
My only grievance with the film is how underutilized most of the Madrigal family is. The writing and animation made every character feel three-dimensional and lively, but most were bystanders to the story. Everyone only really fills one role in the story.
To be clear, I don’t think this is a problem for the story. I just liked the family so much that I wanted to see more of them. Giving the other Madrigals more screentime might have changed the story for the worst.
Overall I would create this movie as 5 casitas out of 5.
Next time, I’ll tell you about the Disney Plus movie I watched while in quarantine, but until then, see ya!
Oh, and Happy New Year!
I Think Thinks 