Disney continues to prove there’s more to its animated movies today than just Pixar with the first-rate “Encanto” — in theaters Nov. 24 and streaming on Disney Plus Dec. 24.
OK, it’s no “Frozen” — a “Let It Go” only comes around once every couple of ice ages — but it’s nonetheless a heartfelt and joyful take on a good old dysfunctional family.
This clan, the Madrigals, happens to be magical. Decades earlier, when the matriarch, Alma, and her babies were fleeing the violence in their homeland for Colombia, a spirit granted them special powers and a powerful casita to live in. (Think: the castle in “Beauty and the Beast,” except when a table walks around, it’s not a pitiable French townsperson trapped by a buffalo and a frozen rose.)
ENCANTO
Running time: 99 minutes. Rated PG (some thematic elements and mild peril). In theaters Nov. 24.
Since that day, every Madrigal child has been born with a special ability — talking to animals, controlling the weather, healing — except one: 15-year-old Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz).
The girl feels unloved by her grandmother, now Abuela Alma (María Cecilia Botero) because the Madrigals’ standing as celebrities in the community comes from their supernatural skills.
When the casita and the Madrigals mysteriously start to lose their powers, Mirabel learns that she is destined to either save the house or be the cause of its destruction.
The clever story is set to songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Germaine Franco. The tunes are some of the best Miranda has written for films so far, surpassing his numbers for “Moanna” and “Vivo,” which were lovely in their own right.
Most are high-energy pop, but you’ll be swept off your feet by the soothing “Dos Oruguitas,” about how Abuela Alma lost her husband. One of the most beautiful songs in any Disney movie, the tearjerker is performed by talented Colombian singer Sebastián Yatra, whose voice is butter.
“Encanto” finds its identity when Maribel meets her Uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo), a reclusive fortune teller who was banned by his relatives for being too strange. The character — a black sheep who can barely remember why he is one — will ring true for a lot of adults, especially on Thanksgiving.