Blog Entry Week 5 – Encanto (Part 1)~

 

Encanto Review Part 1

 

    We meet again dear reader, and today I’m back again with another topic to fancy about; a media review! So, why not start with one of my absolute favourite movies; Encanto. Released in late 2021, it quickly became a hot topic, and with it grew many fandoms and theories (as expected). If you haven’t watched it yet, what are you even doing? Go and watch it this instant or you will regret reading this entire blog post full of spoilers uwu. This part will include my take on Encanto’s summary and the some of the characters, basically the grandchildren.

    Right off the bat, we are starting with the summary or synopsis of the move. Encanto roughly translates to ‘Enchantment’, and so other words used in conjunction such as mystical and magical come to mind. After watching this movie multiple times, I firmly believe that Encanto was set in the 1950s, with Abuela’s experience of losing her husband and her home, as well as the generational gap between Abuela, her children and her grandchildren. A multigenerational family living together in their ‘Casita’, their magical house, from which its very foundation is a thick, bright, burning candle that never goes out, or does it? Every immediate family member except the spouses that marry into the family have a ‘gift’ a magical ability, everyone except Mirabel Madrigal. Watching that scene still breaks my heart, to be at such a tender young age, and being talked about and looked at weirdly, with people questioning one’s family, and one’s relations. That is too much any person should handle, what more of a child?

On to the characters and their dynamics~

~Grandchildren~

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💫 Mirabel Madrigal 💟

    Mirabel is undoubtedly the protagonist of this enchanting tale. We see almost everything from her Point of View (POV). She is extremely outspoken, brave, courageous, and quite athletic actually, as can be seen from all the running, dancing and singing she does. She ultimately solves whatever crisis that lands on their family, as pointed out in Bruno’s vision. The youngest daughter of Julieta and Agustín, Mirabel is the only Madrigal without magical power. Despite standing out from the rest of the family, she is the key to restoring the magic and rebuilding the Casita when the miracle is threatened. Mirabel is an estimated 15 years old in Encanto, just a bit younger than her cousin, Camilo. Some theories seem to suggest that Mirabel was not bestowed a gift as she is to take over Abuela’s place as the matriarch of the family.

	🌵 Isabella Madrigal 🌸

 So perfect and effortlessly beautiful is how Isabella is painted as. She is the ‘Madonna’ of her town, and her gift of controlling the existence, growth and bloom of flowers and plants alike continue to aid in her “Mother Nature” vibe, or at least that’s how the rest of the community seems to perceive her. However, her outward character traits are extremely distinct, and what I mean is she is the extra addition to Mean Girls clique. Although she’s always so arrogant to Mirabel, they make up in the end with Isabella finally finding her own voice, instead of the voice given to her by her family. She has a song titled “What Else Can I Do?” that signifies freedom. As the eldest Madrigal grandchild, perfection in every way is how she has been conditioned to. Her power to grow flowers and plants takes a turn towards the end of Encanto when she finally learns to accept her true, imperfect self, especially when she starts growing different types of cacti and succulents. During the movie’s events, she is 21 years old.

🏆 Luisa Madrigal 💪

The beauty and the brawn come hand in hand with Luisa, as the literal and figurative strength of the family. She is tasked with everything and anything heavy. To the point where she is so overworked that she fears what the family would think of her if she breaks apart. Most of Luisa’s struggles are portrayed in her song titled “Surface Pressure”. For the entire duration, she is constantly saving Mirabel from danger. She is also the one to gradually lose her gift first, which seems symbolic as her gift of immense strength coincides with the strength of the family’s foundation seems to gradually crumble over time. With her super-strength, Luisa is the village’s resident runner, lifting bridges, adjusting houses, and doing chores without breaking a sweat. As a quintessential middle child, the sister keeps a physically and emotionally resilient facade in order to please her family. However, it is extremely evident that she has anxieties about not being able to live up to her family’s expectations. Luisa is 19 years old in Encanto.

👂 Dolores Madrigal 👥

 A fan favourite for sure, despite having less screen time than our beloved Mirabel, and most notably known for her part in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” as well as her one-liners and quaint sounds. She has the gift of ‘super-hearing’, and Mirabel describes it simply as “can hear a pin drop from a mile away”. Dolores, the eldest and only daughter of Pepa and Félix, is also an estimated 21 years old, just a couple of months younger than Isabella. Dolores, who has superhuman hearing, is quieter and more reserved. While being the same age as Isabella who is the golden child, this pushes her to live in the shadow of her perfect cousin. At the end of Encanto, however, Dolores pursues her happiness, as she confesses to Mariano and decides her own fate.

 

🎭 Camilo Madrigal 👏

    The one character who probably has the most fanarts by the fandom, Camilo’s gift is so quirky and we’re all here for it! Being a shapeshifter makes him so resilient and the go-to person for any sort of help. Camilo is Dolores’ younger brother, and his power allows him to entertain his family, and at times, get him what he wants by tricking people. A “theatre kid” trying on different identities, Camilo is also 15 years old, barely older than Mirabel. Therefore, this may be why it is a shock for the Madrigals that Mirabel failed to get a gift right after Camilo got his.

 

🐯 Antonio Madrigal 🐦

Our little Antonio is so cute, period. Seriously, so adorable. His obsession with animals is what foreshadows his gift during the gift ceremony that takes place early on in the movie. The youngest among the Madrigals, Antonio is only 5 years old during the events of Encanto. The focus of the film’s first half, his ceremony is the first since that of Mirabel, whose power twist was revealed at the beginning of the film. So, there is pressure on Antonio to not disappoint his family. Fortunately, he is granted the ability to talk to animals, which proves helpful in unearthing the secrets of his family’s magic.

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I will be covering more on Characters, Plot Elements, Scenes and more in the next parts of the Encanto Review Series. So, until then stay tuned~