With “Encanto” Disney brings the “Coco” formula to Colombia: Is it worth seeing?

“Charm”Is, worth the redundancy, a charming film from its colors, animation and soundtrack; which includes original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The also sixtieth film of Walt Disney Animation Studios it is also an adventure and a tribute to Colombia. But more universal is the theme of the film, which mixes the drama of immigration with intergenerational traumas, intra-family relationships and the eternal search of the human being to find his place in the world. Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard – the minds behind “Zootopia”-And his co-director Charise Castro Smith balance all those plots into a story that is more than competent and, more importantly, truly entertaining.

Based on the literary tradition of magical realism popularized by Gabriel García Márquez, the story of “Encanto” centers on Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), a 15-year-old girl who is a member of the most important family in her village: the Madrigales. The town, located in a remote place in the Colombian mountains, was founded by refugees who escaped violence and who were saved by a magical power that they called their ‘miracle’ and that today is represented by the flame of a candle. that never goes out.

Since then, each of the members of the Madrigal family has presented supernatural abilities such as super strength, climate control or healing at the age of five, which they have used for the good of the community, becoming pillars of it. However, this position has been threatened by the gradual disappearance of magic, with Mirabel herself – the only Madrigal without special power in her generation – seemingly at the center of the disaster.

There is much to love in “Encanto”. The animation is fluid, the action entertaining, the comedy gets it right more times than it misses, the settings have a festive coloring that is a delight to behold, and the musical sequences are imaginative and captivating, as expected from Lin-Manuel’s work. Miranda.

Two numbers in particular stand out: the first is “Surface Pressure”, a song in reggaeton tone where Luisa (Jessica Darrow), Mirabel’s older sister and possessor of super strength, talks about the pressure that her gift puts on her in front of others. The other is “Dos oruguitas”, a song sung by Sebastián Yatra that tells a love story and summarizes the central conflict of the film.

In many ways, “Encanto” breaks with the tradition of the Disney formula. The protagonist not only has her two parents alive and present, but also lives with her large extended family. – creatively called ‘Casita’ – which serves as a home for the Madrigal. And, most importantly,.

It is this status that serves as the main driver for Mirabel during the film, who despite living surrounded by a loving family cannot help but feel inadequate, not helped by the clumsy treatment of her relatives. Thus, seeking to justify his place as part of the Madrigal, he sets out on a journey to find the reason for the weakening of the ‘miracle’.

On the other side of the coin is the matriarch of the family, Abuela Alma (María Cecilia Botero), who vaguely fulfills the role of antagonist by wanting to hide the magical problems of the family and maintain – with the iron hand of a Latin matriarch- the image of the Madrigal and the stability of the community. In that aspect,

This conflict between Mirabel and Abuela Alma serves as the core of the film and does so in a clever and interesting way, demonstrating the consequences of intergenerational trauma in a manner similar to that of “Coco”, another ‘House of the Mouse’ film ( in this case Pixar) that explores a Latin culture like the Mexican one.

Despite being a film focused on the concept of family, ironically “Encanto” sometimes neglects the rest of the members of the Madrigal clan. As an inevitable consequence of time constraints and their extensive cast, a real shame because most of them are so friendly that you want to spend more time with them.

The only exception is Bruno Madrigal (John Leguizamo), Mirabel’s uncle, who steals all the attention since his appearance in the second half of the film. Socially atrophied by the stigma caused by his ability to see the future and the pressures of Abuela Alma, he exiled himself from his home, resigning himself to helping his family from the shadows, a sad mirror of the future that could hold the protagonist herself.

Complex characters like Bruno, Mirabel, and Grandma Alma lead to my biggest disappointment with “Encanto”: that despite the changes it makes to Disney’s formula, it ultimately ends up attached to crucial elements of it. In particular, . Let this not be interpreted as a call for the increased frequency of unjustified tragic situations in children’s tapes – no one wants to revive the debate over the death of Optimus Prime in “Transformers” (1986) and the quality of a movie is not measured in tears shed by his audience, despite what some believe – but the speed with which such a complex problem is solved gives the impression that it is an underestimation of what audiences can accept, no matter how young they are .

Small narrative problems aside, “Encanto” is a film that will appeal to children, adults and fans of the work of Lin-Manuel Miranda. For my part, I know that I will have several of his songs on my playlist for the next few months.

Original title: “Charm”.

Gender: Musical, animation, comedy.

Country and year: United States, 2021.

Director: Byron Howard, Jared Bush, Charise Castro Smith.

Actors: Stephanie Beatriz, John Leguizamo, María Cecilia Botero, Diane Guerrero, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Wilmer Valderrama.

Premiere: November 25 in Peru, November 24 in the US

Available: Cinemas

Qualification: ★★★★ ☆ (4 out of 5 stars possible)