Why People Love Encanto

Spoiler alert

This movie takes us on a journey of the Madrigal family that lives in the mountains of Colombia in a magical house. The Abuela of the family was given a miracle of a flame candle for 50 years after losing her partner who was killed after they were trying to seek refuge in Colombia. With the miracle, she became the family matriarch and served her community. Abuela was seen as the villain but in Abuela’s defense, she was suddenly a single mother with three kids. Abuela was given a second chance by getting a magical house and a family with miraculous gifts.

Maribel the main character felt left out because she was not given a gift.

Generation trauma

Some of us can relate to at least one character in the movie. Family is important but they set expectations that can lead to fear of failure and insecurities that can stay with us for generations and this my friends is how we pass on our pain onto our own family. After dealing with family, we end up needing therapy and healing to feel purposeful and sane. This movie incorporated this narrative perfectly by showing how much each family member with a miracle tried their best to not only please Abuela but the entire village. That is a heavy burden to carry.

Let’s start with Maribel she was treated like an outcast by the family for not having a gift. Family meant everything to her. Her passion to protect the miracle and her family made her feel purposeful because of how her grandma treated her. She goes on to be the most powerful person in the family by proving that she can save the miracle and prevent the house from destruction only to find out that her uncle Bruno was not talked about for a reason.

Let’s talk about Bruno

Bruno’s gift was that he can see the future. This gift made him a threat to the family when he started revealing prophecies that Abuela and the people in the village did not want to happen. He was relatable because there is always that one person in the family that people avoid because they may know more than you want them to so therefore, they are a threat. This part of the movie upset me because I thought about how a mother can cast out her son. After all, he was revealing the truth. THIS IS a hard reality that Latino families do ALL the time. The truth hurts so we avoid it by protecting others from it to keep everything in order thinking that we’re doing what’s best for the family when really, you’re causing more harm than good. When Maribel looked through a peephole in Bruno’s room and saw that he watches his family and they eat without him, and he eats alone in his room, my heart broke for him. Even with the way he was treated Bruno was in good spirits and loved his family.

Louisa surface pressure

Louisa was my favorite character in the movie. She had to fix and carry the weight of the word on her shoulders all while trying to stop herself from having a mental breakdown. She felt weak when she noticed the magic of the house was getting destroyed. How many moms or people, in general, can relate to feeling like a failure when they can’t meet the expectations that family or work have on them? I mean what a good song to describe how we feel. As a mom and a wife, I think like this, and I think am I doing enough, or am I a bad person for wanting a break from time to time?

Peppa was constantly anxious, and she had no trouble expressing her frustration to Abuela. She was another person that we can relate to because sometimes we mentally have to picture our thought process and Peppa would say the clear sky’s when she was stressed as a way to self soothe her emotions. Don’t deny how you feel. We get so in denial of our feelings in order to feel normal that its mentally draining acceptance is the first step to treatment of anxiety. Accept that it’s happening and find ways to manage it. We may first fear judgment from our family, I know I did.

Antonio was awesome because representation matters. This film is so full of diversity and beauty, and it brings me so much joy. While watching it I thought finally, Latinos are represented in a way that we really are. We are all different colors, shapes, and sizes. Typically, in animation, you see Latinos all looking tan with black hair. But Encanto incorporated our culture and our image perfectly. Antonio was able to speak and understand animals and he was so adorable. He looks so much like a little cousin in my family with those adorable curls and lovable personality.

Do we all have a Delores in the family? The family member who hears all and knows all then goes and shares the information with everyone. We call that a bonchicheta it means gossiper.

Isabella felt the pressure to be perfect and marry someone she didn’t want to. Abula was creating an image in her mind of continuing the family gifts and growing the family without stopping to think about how they feel. I saw Abuela as selfish, but then at the end of the movie, she explains why she did it and apologized for it. She rekindled her relationship with her son Bruno and realized that Maribel was sent to her by her husband in order to save the miracle.

It is said that the house is a reincarnation of Abuela’s husband which I don’t realize until the end of the movie.

My family and I have watched this movie so many times that we know the songs word for word. Lin Manuel Miranda is a musical genius and I’m definitely looking forward to seeing and hearing more of his work.

When Abuela said I was given a second chance. I felt her words because that is what I say about my family. When things didn’t work out at first, I felt like God gave me a second chance when my life started to change for the better. Aside from the miracles, this movie made me believe in the power of love between families and how our pride prevents us from simple interaction with loved ones. We wait and say well I’m not calling or texting anyone. Remember just like Bruno people are fighting emotional battles you know nothing about. Be kind and express yourself to them because you don’t know how you will make them feel.

Thank you for reading 😊 share your thoughts below.

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