Encanto is the 60th film made from Walt Disney Animation Studios, from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs all the way through 101 Dalmatians, Beautify and the Beast, the Lion King, Frozen, and Zootopia. It is quite the legacy. Sure there is a Chicken Little or an Atlantis the Lost Empire in there from time to time but it remains the best animated track record of any studio ever so there is a lot to live up to. As I watched Encanto I had quite a bit of mixed feelings, some of it impressing me greatly while other parts of it losing me. As I've reflected on it more, it does feel like a bit of a mess that includes some gloriousness and some weakness that keep it from reaching some of the heights of the studio's work.
The idea is an interesting one. We are introduced to a magical family, they all have a special "gift" or power which they use for the benefit of their village; all except one. Mirabel has no special abilities. The film spends a lot of time introducing us to her family and showing off all their powers and spending time with the amiable Mirabel and highlighting her not doing anything magical, but boy is she a special human being. The film kinda hits us over the head to make sure we get it, again and again.
And then the family's magic is somehow threatened. They have a candle that symbolizes their magic or is the source of it or something, and they have a magical house which lives and breathes and helps them and the candle starts fading while the house begins cracking. None of this is explained but Mirabel none the less goes on a quest to discover a a solution including at one point "finding a vision" (whatever the heck that means) and singing the kinds of story driving songs that these kinds of musicals tend to have.
But here is the rub. The story screams dues ex machina in that it never truly establishes what the problem is or how the potential solutions may effect it so it can just have her do whatever is convenient in the moment to fit what they want to put up on screen. None of it feels purposeful or organic so the film's story begins to drag. Despite the visual beauty of the film the story never grabs you. And in the end the story oscilates between two poles, an attempt at exploring generational trauma, which is interesting, and a rather cliched family-means-everything sort of message that just feels forced. The latter undercuts a lot of the former in ways that disappointed me. When the family overcomes their plight it all just feels inevitable, like there was no real chance of failure, because real stakes were never established.
I did appreciate quite a bit about the film though. It is stunning to watch. The animators pulled out all the stops to make a visual cornucopia for us to enjoy. And I do like the idea of telling a story that doesn't feel cookie cutter, like we know where it is going to go. I was always wondering what was going to happen next which helped hold some interest despite the film taking short cuts and easy answers each step of the way to transition from one scene to the next. I appreciated that unlike most films (with the first Cars film being one of the notable exceptions) there are no bad guys in this film. Encanto's main struggle to overcome is within the main characters and not due to some dastardly villain. I find stories like that so satisfying. But again I'm not sure the writers convinced me there was that much of a struggle to begin with.
I also appreciated that the songs were complex and rich, both lyrically and melodically. There weren't just catchy little ditties or smarmy pop ballads. They were essential for communicating information, developing characters, and moving the story forward. However with all that being said, they weren't catchy little ditties (other than We Don't Talk About Bruno which has gone on to become a huge phenomenon mostly because it is so catchy) meaning often the failed to truly grab your ear worm by the tail and make you sing the songs on the way out the door. The best musicals do both but there is no Let It Go that will live in your memory for years to come.
So overall Encanto is a mixed bag. It did somethings I truly appreciated but also often frustrated me with its lack of cohesiveness. Maybe it will take me multiple viewings to truly appreciate but for now I don't feel overly motivated to give that a try.
Encanto
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Lequizamo, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, Maluma, Alan Tudyk
Directors: Jared Bush, Byron Howard
Writers: Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush
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