"Make your family proud."
Hello everyone!
Listen, not having Disney+ or anything Disney-related over here (yet) comes with a step price, okay?
Plus I haven't gone into cinemas to watch a Disney movie since forever ago, and I doubt I'm going to do it again any time soon, either.
So anyway, I'm late, yes yes, we all know this, I usually am, but, here we are!
And we bring the review just the same.
Now fair warning, however: this will be a rant review. I did not like this movie. In fact, I hate it with a passion, which is something new when it comes to Disney releases. So if you're looking for some warm, cuddly, fuzzy feeling, please don't read this and then complain that you didn't get it.
There won't be any. However, let's start with the actual review first, shall we? Encanto, up next.
Our story centers around one Mirabel, a member of the Madrigal family who live in this little nook of the world that's cut off from the rest of it by tall mountains, and each family member has a special sort of talent/gift to help the community within. Said community ran from their village in Colombia when it was attacked, and unfortunately, Mirabel's grandfather sacrificed himself to ensure their safety.
In return for his sacrifice, the Madrigals were given the gift of a magical candle (in the shape of the wedding candle of Abuela and her husband) that then bestowed the magical gifts on each child born to the family at the age of five.
Each child, that is, until Mirabel.
For some reason, Mirabel is NOT given a gift, and as a result is emotionally shunned and pushed to the side, practically bullied, all her life. While she convinces herself it's all okay - just being part of the magical family is special enough! - no one actually lets her forget that she's the loser who didn't have a special door appear to her cater-made room in the house that took lessons from the castle in Beauty and the Beast.
Heck, she's still stuck in the NURSERY, of all places!
Anyway, her youngest cousin Antonio is about to receive his gift, and everyone is worried because last time (with Mirabel) didn't go right, to the point where her Abuela actually has the audacity to tell her to step aside, but thank GOD for Antonio who makes sure to have her walk with him to the door (don't worry, HE gets his gift).
The problem begins when Mirabel notices cracks appearing in the house, yet no one will believe her. So she does some sleuthing on her own by asking her cousin, who hears everything, if she's heard anything concerning this, which then leads her to her sister, who's super strong, and in the end to the tower of the one uncle nobody talks about and hasn't been seen in years: Bruno.
Now, the deal with Bruno: his gift were visions, but you can tell right away the visions ONLY work when they're good visions and what people want to hear - which, it's not how visions work, nor indeed how LIFE works, but as soon as things don't go peoples' way, Bruno becomes the bad guy, so in the end, he just disappears.
Mirabel finds a broken vision in his tower which features her and the house breaking behind her, which unfortunately the cousin who hears everything also hears, and as she's been trained since the age of five to always tell everything she hears (you groom them as spies early, don't you, Abuela), this pops out of her mouth during the engagement dinner of a handsome village man and Mirabel's other sister, who's basically been perfect from the age of five (no joke, her gift is literally making things grow since she's so on point).
This, naturally, ruins the engagement, and Abuela is FURIOUS with Mirabel because, get this, MIRABEL is somehow making other family members lose their gifts, and she really needs to stop, per her grandmother, since she's a nuisance.
Mirabel does not, she finds Bruno - who never left, but has been living in the walls of the house ever since - and begs him to use his gift one more time for a new vision. He does, and it shows Mirabel and her perfect sister hugging it out, which doesn't make sense at first BUT once she goes to talk to her, and the perfect one makes it all about her (because life is super hard when you have to be perfect all the time, you know), the gift makes a cactus grow.
This is so unexpected and shocking that Mirabel encourages her sister for more of these "imperfections" and as they share this moment, the magic strengthens and the cracks disappear, indicating the problem has never been Mirabel, but the fact that this family clings to their talents so damn hard and tries to keep everything to perfection, allowing their relationships to suffer.
Naturally, Abuela sees the girls frolicking, as girls should do, and loses her goddamn mind because Mirabel is literally Satan's child or something to her, and Mirabel yells furiously that it's all her grandmother's fault for expecting too much of everybody - and the house cracks and collapses with the magic snuffing out. And oh, yeah, the mountains also crack, opening up to the world again.
Mirabel runs off to the river where her grandfather died, to cry it out in peace while her family frantically searches for her (too little, too late, guys), but it's Abuela who finds her and explains how she was left alone with triplets to raise and the gift of magic seemed like a godsend, so she's been clinging to it this whole time.
The two reconcile, the villagers show up to help rebuild the house, and Mirabel actually ends up restoring its magic when she fits the new door handle into it, and all's well that end's well since Bruno (who emerged to defend Mirabel before his autocratic mother) also returns home with them, and everyone lives happily ever after, even the villager who wanted to propose to the perfect sister, since he's actually in love with the cousin who hears everything, and she with him.
The end!
Ugh.
Listen, I have seen pretty much almost every Disney movie at this point (animated and cartoon that is) and let me tell you, I have never hated any as much as I hated Encanto. This is literally a story of how you're not special unless you're SPECIAL with some sort of epic talent (beauty, strength, hearing, healing, etc.), and if you're not, then your entire family basically has carte blanche to look down their noses at you and pretend you don't exist.
There are several moments throughout the movie that really, really struck this point home for me, like how nobody even remembers that Mirabel isn't in the family picture for Antonio's gift-party, how supposedly she ruins everything, being told to "step aside" (aka just disappear already, let's pretend you don't exist), or my personal favourite, when Mirabel's parents are arguing that THEY were looking out for their DAUGHTER, Abuela has the audacity to respond SHE is looking out for THE FAMILY.
Okay, bitch. I see you. You DO NOT consider Mirabel family no matter how much you want to wrap it up in kind words, and this is what gives it away (finally, not that other stuff doesn't earlier on).
PLUS the other kids! Or, gifted family members. There's a theory going round that the one who hears everything is actually the villain of the story for ratting Mirabel out, but think about it: she didn't learn it on her own. ABUELA taught her to always tell her what she hears, literally making her the best spy ever, she doesn't even realize she's doing anything wrong because she CAN'T.
I can't with this movie. In today's world of mental health and bullying, Disney has the audacity to say "Oh it's perfectly fine to be shunned all your life if the person shunning you then says a simple 'I'm sorry', then you hug it out and live happily!" Especially since one member was actually even ostracized - the family literally kicked Bruno out because he didn't fit their view of perfection.
No. This is not how it works. In reality, Mirabel should have gone low or no contact with her family FOREVER ago, and it would suit them right for losing their stupid gifts because all of them, with very rare exceptions, are horrible and awful human beings with very little common decency.
I have no words for this audacity. And people love this?!? How? Do you not SEE the problems??? I cried a couple of times watching it, because of the horrendous treatment Mirabel goes through and yet STILL has a smile on her face and loves her good for nothing family.
No. Skip this. Boycott this. Burn this like a witch from Salem. I am never rewatching this. We don't talk about Bruno, huh? Well, WE DON'T TALK ABOUT ENCANTO!
xx
*images and video not mine
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