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The buzz around Disney’s latest animated feature, Encanto, has only grown louder in the days since it hit streaming after a very short theatrical window in late November, so Tasha and Genevieve have belatedly hit The Lobby (virtually, as usual) to discuss exactly how and why this film made us cry so much, and which of its songs earwormed us the hardest. Beyond that, we also dig into the various ways in which Encanto tweaks and twists familiar Disney musical tropes, its elegant incorporation of Colombian culture, and which of the family Madrigal’s special powers are most appealing.

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Sean McGivern

Hello, parent here. I have only seen Encanto once - at home, with our 3.5-year-old watching too and distracting us and himself - so I can't comment too much on the depth of this film, but I really enjoyed the discussion. I did want to say that there was a lot of absolutist language in the first part of this episode - you _need_ to follow this song to understand what's going on - which I think is true for adults who may only watch the film once, but not so much for children. (I don't think you were saying it was true that literally everyone had to follow every single word of the song to get the broad strokes of the film, to be clear.) Again, speaking for the younger end of the spectrum: 1. Children won't understand everything that happens in a feature film the first time they watch it even without dense songs sung against overwhelming visual spectacle. 2. If they're watching on streaming, they'll probably watch it more than once! I think big part of the art of making children's films is that layering: the idea that whether you follow 20% of the plot, or 60%, or 100%, you'll still get something out of it.

Jason B.

Just saw this and loved it as well (although I thought the climax felt a bit rushed and didn't quite live up to what came before. I guess I might agree with Genevieve that the beginning of the film was never outdone by what followed). Regarding how gorgeous the animation was, I was surprised neither of you mentioned the hair!! Much like the skirt movements you did reference, I couldn't stop focusing on how amazingly realized the various hair styles were in terms of how they moved and reflected light. Mirabell's curls were the highlight but everyone's looked like something I'd never seen done so well before.

Josh Hammond

I really liked the points you raised about there being no "villain" in this movie, but I wonder if it's part of a larger Disney trend. For example, as you pointed out, in Frozen one of the co-leads could have been the villain in a previous incarnation of this story; likewise for the actual villain being the "prince" or, at best, a foppish distraction. Also, Moana doesn't so much have a villain as a problem to be solved. But that also got me thinking about your comment about Mirabel's power, or lack thereof. The first time through I didn't see it, but since I also have a young daughter and have now seen bits and pieces of this about 30 times, I noticed that at the end the "new" front doorknob of the casita has an "M" on it, whereas the old doorknob was just plain. Now this M might be for ""Madrigal," but it could also be for Mirabel and thus match both the other door knobs (which I think have the character's initial on them) and suggest that the illustration on the front door is more hers than the whole family's. My read was that her power was rebuilding the family into something stronger. While this isn't a super power like the others', it is kind of line with where Disney seems to be going. Frozen ends with an expression of family love, Moana features a character whose power seems to be making selfish/evil characters better versions of themselves - Mirabel fits the mold. I also wonder if this is a deliberate choice to feature less "super" powers. After all, few kids can create ice or have mermaid tails, but all of them can try to be positive influences on their families, friends, or the people around them. I know I'm going long, but I also thought that the trio of Mirabel, Luisa, and Isabella was Disney's version of the My Little Pony structure of giving different kids different characters to identify with. Since, as you pointed out, none of them are "bad," then kids can pick the one that speaks to them and still feel that the movie is "about" (at least in part) their character. In other words, they're all the heroes of their own stories, even if their powers aren't very super.