Encanto
Fun and at times engaging, if relatively overplayed and heavy handed, children’s fare.
Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) is a young Colombian girl, who lives in a big home in an idyllic village with her family, the Madrigals. The family is remarkable because they are each, in their own way, magical - even the house - all stemming from a tragedy in Abuela Alma’s earlier life. However, when Mirabel reached the age at which her magic gift should have been bestowed, she came up short. Now, as her cousin gets his power and Mirabel has to contend with being the only unremarkable one in the family, she also discovers that the magic itself is failing. Despite her lack of powers, she has to work out how to save the magic, the family, and the village.
Coming from Disney, and being one of their first big animated releases back in theatres since the outbreak of the pandemic, Encanto is a beautifully rendered, and fun, movie that should keep your kids interested throughout.
Visually, this is often exciting and engaging. Having the house as a living character certainly aids in the delivery of new, unique and whimsical moments, and there are a number of fun sequences throughout - the massive, mystical sand room, a flowery song, and an animalistic extravaganza all stand out.
From a character perspective, Bruno (John Leguizamo) is a lot of fun as the wayward, long-lost uncle of Mirabel, and Mirabel herself is great. The rest of the characters make varying degrees of impact, but in general the assembled characters feel a lot like the film itself; just a bit forgettable.
The music, all composed by Lin Manuel-Miranda, suffers the same problems, with one or two of the songs making a half-impact, and the rest largely fading into insecurity. Similarly, while the plot itself refreshes in some ways, particularly with Mirabel’s journey being confined largely to the house as opposed to the tried and true journey out of town/away from home, everything feels a little too small, and a little too done before to truly make its mark.
This is a fun film, without a doubt, and the kids in the audience were engaged throughout. But it won’t be a long-term classic, which is a shame.
