“A young Colombian girl has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.” -IMDB
Maybe it’s because I’m a non-child without children, but I don’t seem to be hearing as much about Disney movies as I used to. I feel like there is not as much fanfare as there once was around their releases. Or it might be because they are releases so much more in a single year than they did baaaack in myyyy daaay. Anyway, all of this to say that I went into Encanto without knowing much about it, aside from the music being done by THE LMM.
Honestly, anything with Disney + LMM would probably get nothing less than a seven out of ten Claire Bears from me. Moana is arguably a perfect movie. Their collaborations are meant to be. Combine beautiful animation, incredible music, and lovingly created characters and storylines, and these movies are always going to be decent, at least. However, I felt that, as with quite a few of Disney’s recent ventures, it wasn’t the most memorable to me. Again, this may just be due to the quantity of movies and shows that Disney has been putting out recently, but I find it harder for any one Disney movie to stand out to me anymore. I thoroughly enjoyed Onward, Raya and the Last Dragon, and a number of others that have come out in recent years, but I have not watched them a second time. Let me clarify…
Encanto follows the Madrigal family, whose matriarch faced horrible tragedy and, in her moment of most desperate need, was given a candle that endowed her family (and their home) with magical abilities in order to thrive and help their community. However, the hero of our story, Mirabel, was not given any magical abilities and subsequently becomes the black sheep of the family. Simultaneously, the family’s magical candle and home begin to falter. As Mirabel investigates, we learn that the fracturing of the family home may have more to do with the family itself than they realize…
It truly is a wonderful story and a beautiful film. However, it felt incredibly quick and I didn’t feel as attached to the story as I might have been if it wasn’t so fast-paced. As a member of my family pointed out, this might be because of the music. LMM’s is a genius, we all know that. And I LOVE his music; however, there are times when they are sooo story-driven, that we don’t get a chorus and it makes the pace of the song feel breakneck. I do feel like the movie could have used one or two songs that were just catchy, and not as focused on moving the plot along.
Overall, these are minor flaws in a movie that is definitely very well done. Disney’s main problem is that it constantly has to top itself. So while Encanto may not be Moana, it is still a worthwhile film all the same.
Rating: 7 out 10 Claire Bears
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If you like this movie, you should also watch: Moana, Sing 2, Ron’s Gone Wrong
Streaming: Disney+
With: Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo
Directed By: Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Charise Castro Smith
Let Me Clarify 