Encanto Review!

 Alright! Today I'm reviewing the 60th animated film from Walt Disney Studios, Encanto, a Columbian-inspired musical about House Madrigal, where everyone has magic abilities except for our quirky young protagonist Mirabel. 

And, as far as the Disney revival area goes, it's pretty great. The story is short (It has twenty minutes of credits for all you folks nervous about the 1h 50min runtime on Disney+) and the message, all about family bonding and how great you are, is appreciated after "My parents are dead and I'm a loner" stories like Raya and the Last Dragon and Frozen II. 

It's the first movie about a family since, I dunno, Big Hero 6 in 2014? It's nice to have a good message about how great family is, even if accepting yourself isn't exactingly treading new territory. And it's not often I find myself thinking "This movie has a good message," but Encanto definitely had that going for it. 

And the music, courtesy Lin-Manuel Miranda, is surprisingly good (My expectations were low after Vivo). While the movie only has, what, seven songs sung by the characters? Most of them are fairly standard and agreeable, but two of them - Surface Pressure and We Don't Talk About Bruno - absolutely slap. Here the lyrics and choreography and beat are all spectacular. They have been playing on loop for quite some time in my household. 

The rest? No. But those two? Nonstop. And, even if I do wish the Hercules picture used the character designs from the 1997 film, that's a minor grievance (But seriously! Why not? Disney's never shied away from those types of references). 

The only real complaint I have about basically all the songs is that as soon as the song starts, the setting is irrelevant. Neat stage pictures and lovely choreography happen, but after nearly every song goes straight to creative mode it gets repetitive and you begin to long for the days when they utilized the setting like the aforementioned Hercules.

Another thing Encanto did really well was the actual family. The character designs are all fantastic and each is unique enough to avoid another Meet the Robinsons situation where too many characters blend together to the detriment of the film. The powers on display also have a great variety and tie to the character, even if I'm confused as to how being perfect and shapeshifting benefits the community. 

In terms of pacing, the movie is paced very well... until the end. The ending is very sudden. Just a bit more turmoil and breaking the family more, a tiny bit more heat, would have made the whole experience a bit more impactful. I don't think it needed a villain per se, but it definitely feels the absence of one. Where a Disney Renaissance movie would have had a big finale against Gaston or Hades or what have you, Encanto just kind of... resolves itself. They hug it out in a subversion that's expected. 

Man, I miss villains. Like, evil villains. Bonafide villainy instead of these sympathetic characters and villains who turn good at the last second (Raya, Moana) or vice versa (Zootopia, Frozen, Big Hero 6). Sometimes a character who's just pure evil is more interesting. Mother Gothel and Dr. Facilier were miles above the likes of Bellweather and Callaghan and whatever the evil cloud from Raya was called. Encanto joins a recent trend of not even having a villain (Ralph Breaks the Internet, Luca, Soul). 

And yeah, not having a villain can be fine. But when you're working with magic or other fantastic elements (And it's not a character-driven story of friendship like Luca), then you really feel it. 

My biggest issue with the movie was probably the marketing, however. It did little to distinguish itself from the likes of Moana and Raya and the Last Dragon. On the surface, it's yet another Disney movie where the same basic story, songs, big bulky comedic characters, and similar-looking protagonists and animation are all given headlines because they are influenced by a new culture, be it Polynesia, Southeast Asia, or Columbia. 

And while it's risky to say that because you can cut me off right there and claim I'm racist, I feel like I have a point. When the only headlines about the movie are "This November a new culture is given the Disney spotlight" and the trailer feels like a spiritual Coco sequel, it's hard to know if Encanto is anything but a Moana remake but set in Columbia. 

But regardless of the message and animation and selling point being derivative of previous Disney films, I still really enjoyed Encanto. The songs are catchy enough and the characters are undoubtedly a ton of fun. This is a movie I wouldn't mind having a ton of Disney+ spin-offs for. 

Overall, I give Encanto an 8/10. "Vibrant animation and cleverly written songs make Encanto a fun, if somewhat congenerous, family-friendly adventure."

What a fun bunch.