Family is a near-universal theme, almost everyone has some form of familial bond with someone else. But these bonds have never come without their trials. I may be an only child, unlike Isabela Madrigal, but I can relate to those struggles of having your family want you to be perfect. In fact, I can relate to parts of all the Madrigal’s journeys as “Encanto” progresses. 

This movie’s popularity has exploded since its release onto Disney+, and for good reason, its plot, songs and animation make it definitely worth watching.

When it comes to Disney, some of their most popular movies have always been associated with grand journeys or destiny. But my favorite parts of their movies have been the emotional cores. Encanto zooms in on this and makes a smaller-scale family movie. This may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but instead of big action or twist villains. I got to see a family healing from the effects of intergenerational trauma, this is all I need for a satisfying movie.

If you’re on Tiktok, YouTube or any kind of social media platform you’ve probably heard “We don’t talk about Bruno.” This is one of the many songs in the “Encanto” soundtrack and they are all beautiful. They’ve become earworms throughout the last few months and will surely stick with me, similarly to the songs from “Hamilton” which are also written by Lin Manuel-Miranda. These songs add a lot to the film and its quality, “Surface Pressure” and “What else can I do” are incredibly relatable, “We don’t talk about Bruno” is popular for a reason and “Dos Origuitas” makes me cry every time. I expect to see some of these songs on my Spotify Wrapped the next time around. 

Anyone who watches this movie will probably find a sibling, cousin or parent who they relate to. This really shows the quality of the characters, despite not all of the family having much screen time you still feel their personalities and issues shine through. This is why I wish a sequel to this was made as a tv show, I wish I had more of these characters and this family. 

The animation is stunning, this is par-for-course in terms of modern Disney movies, but the way everything was animated still stunned me. I’ve watched various animation process videos on how they animated “Encanto” but I still have no clue how they managed to make something so beautiful. 

“Encanto” is an amazing, beautiful movie from the story to music to the animation. I highly recommend checking it out in theaters or on Disney+.