By ABBY GROFF
Staff Writer
This past weekend I went to see Lin Manuel-Miranda’s latest musical hit, Encanto. The film is about the Madrigal family, where each descendant is granted a special gift due to their connection with magic. Unfortunately for the main character, Mirabel, she isn’t given any power. When the Madrigal family’s magic begins to deteriorate, resulting in the house’s destruction, it is up to Mirabel to find a way to preserve it. For months I was looking forward to seeing this, and so were thousands of others. Disney is known to put out great movies and we all know this; however, Encanto ended up being very underwhelming.
There were several problems I had with the film: A lot of the magic mentioned above was left unexplained throughout the entire movie, the plot was predictable, and many of the musical numbers felt forced. Mirabel discovers that her Tio Bruno was turned away from the Madrigals because his gift spread fear amongst the village. He was able to see the future, causing him to be seen as a bad omen for everyone around. Bruno had a vision consisting of Mirabel’s involvement in the destruction of the magic and, wanting to protect her from also being shunned, went into hiding. In the end, after the house has already fallen apart, Mirabel disappointedly runs away. She is later found by her Abuelita, and comes back to help repair the house. Suddenly the magic is back again? To me, it made zero sense. The story had so much potential and ended up feeling like a rushed project, which is a shame as this is Disney’s first film with Colombian representation. It was never even explained why Mirabel was lacking a gift, just that she was a part of some prophecy. Another confusing aspect of the plotline was Mirabel needing to earn forgiveness from her sister, Isabela. Only after a split second that Isabela accidentally creates a cactus rather than a perfect flower (as she is viewed by the village) she gains a new perspective on her life and immediately forgives Mirabel for any previous wrongdoings. The entirety of the 90-minute film felt like 20 minutes for this exact reason.
Despite having a weak story, there were some great parts as well. Of course, Encanto’s visuals were stunning. Disney manages to improve their quality with each new release. It was colorful, engaging, and a pleasure to look at for every second. The songs also helped in keeping me awake. They were catchy and fun, but clearly targeted for children, so who am I to judge too harshly. I expected nothing less from Lin Manuel-Miranda.