For better or worse, Disney has always been on a mission to make magic. We all know the worst: the unimpressive second-hand witchcraft of stereotypical storylines, tasteless songs, and lifeless animation. But the best part – well, it’s the kind of magic that is passed down from generation to generation.
It is therefore reminiscent of the magic of Casita, the Madrigal family’s dwelling house in the brilliant new Disney animated film “Encanto”. Forget Alexa – Casita is a smart home like no other. She speaks a language of slammed tiles and swing shutters, and helps keep things tidy.
And she has her traditions: When every young Madrigal comes of age, she gives them a gift and a door to a new room, an incredibly large and painstakingly designed room on the theme of a special ability. It all started years ago, when Madrigal’s matriarch, Abuela Alma (María Cecilia Botero), and her family fled the violence in their village. After a tragic loss, however, a miracle appeared in the form of a candle that granted children their powers. There’s a shapeshifter, a prophet, a healer and more – and then there’s Mirabel (a perfectly cast Stephanie Beatriz), the muggle of the clan.
When Mirabel finds herself in the middle of a mystery about her family’s future of magic, she sets out on a mission to find out how she can prevent the worst from happening. It’s a surprisingly small-scale story: instead of a journey, the action takes place in and around Madrigal’s house. But that’s because “Encanto” is mostly about love and family struggles, with no silly side characters or romantic leads.
The computer animation, among the best of any major studio in recent years, features a dazzling confabulation of hues and a meticulous weaving of precious details – like the embroidery on the skirts, the golden brown rind of an arepa cheese. and the selection of native Colombian flora.
In “Encanto” there is a strong commitment and respect for Latin culture in all its dimensions. The skin tones of the Madrigal family members range from light to dark, their hair textures from straight to frizzy. And the great pooh-bah of contemporary musical film music, Lin-Manuel Miranda, delivers a haunting soundtrack of songs combining salsa, bachata and hip-hop performed with traditional folk instruments from Colombia.
Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard last collaborated on another of Disney’s brightest gems in the past decade, “Zootopia,” and they also subtly incorporate an important political message into this film. It is the story of displaced people who build a house from scratch. Their story is the source of their magic, and they use that magic to selflessly improve their community, without needing to assimilate into it. Considering our country’s track record on these subjects, seeing such a story in a children’s film is rather extraordinary.
But “Encanto” also resists its magical characters falling into the trope of model immigrants – that they only earned their place because of their special abilities. Members of the Madrigal family belong even when they are not conjuring roses or transforming the weather. And even with these fantastic feats of witchcraft, the Madrigals, with all of their family dynamics, are presumably loving, funny, and flawed.
If home is where the heart is, my heart is with Casita.
Encanto
Classified PG. Duration: 1 hour 39 minutes. In theaters.
