Disney’s ‘Encanto’ is pretty to look at, hard to follow
There is so much to enjoy about “Encanto” – the songs, the gorgeous animation, the cultural traditions.
All of which make the script’s serious shortcomings all the more surprising and disappointing.
A major plot development arrives out of nowhere, unearned, and changes everything. Then a further development undercuts the apparent message the filmmakers have been trying to send for the entire movie.
It’s confusing at best.
Too bad. Because there is a lot of joy in the Disney film, directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith. They also wrote it, along with Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the songs. It’s a visual feast, with exploding colors and animation so detailed and precise a few of the scenes look as if they’re live-action, only better.
“Encanto” is set in Colombia in a village that is home to the Madrigal family, all of whose members have a singular magical gift like great strength, shape-shifting or superhuman hearing. They learn what their gift is during a ceremony when they turn 5.
All but one of them, that is. Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) came up empty in the magical gift department, a huge disappointment to her family and, of course, to her. But she’s a good sport about it, kicking off the film with “Family Madrigal,” a boffo musical number introducing her relatives and their powers, showing her obvious love for all of them.
But the magic was born of tragedy. Many years ago, the family’s abuela, Alma (María Cecilia Botero), tried to escape the village where she lived with her husband and their newborn triplets. He was captured and presumably killed. But he left Alma a candle, which created the village where they now live as well as their magical house. And it gave all the family members their gifts.
The candle’s flame is never extinguished.
Mirabel’s ceremony was a letdown. But there is excitement a few years later when her cousin is about to have his. It’s during this that she has a vision of their beloved, magical casita cracking apart and the candle going out. When she tries to show everyone else, it all seems normal again.
But there is trouble afoot. Mirabel overhears Alma talking about troubles with the magic and the house. Something is afoot, and it seems to involve Mirabel and her Uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo), whose gift of prophecy wasn’t welcomed by everyone, so he disappeared. (“We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is one of the highlights of Miranda’s eight original songs in the film.)
Thus it’s up to Mirabel, the only one of the Madrigals without the gift of magic, to save the family.
On that front, “Encanto” is a pretty standard underdog story. What enriches it is the visual splendor, which dovetails with the energy of the songs. And Beatriz’s performance is engaging. She’s funny but tough, and a life lived masking disappointment and bucking up to support those around you comes through in how she plays it.
All of the voice acting is good. Jessica Darrow gets at the hidden vulnerability of the super strong Luisa, for instance. Leguizamo seems like he’s doing a Colombian version of Al Pacino at times as the out-there Uncle Bruno – and it works.
What trips all of this up are the inexplicable plot developments. It’s as if the filmmakers painted themselves into a corner, albeit a beautiful one, and just decided to stroll right out of it, no matter what a mess it makes. It’s left to the audience to clean it up.
‘Encanto’
Two stars
out of four stars
Rated PG; thematic elements, mild peril
1 hour, 49 minutes
In theaters