Review of Encanto (2021) by Bartleby_Thecat — 09 Jan 2022

For me, Encanto was a mixed bag. It was aesthetically beautiful, especially in regards to color. I liked the songs (although I had to play several of the songs with subtitles so I could understand the lyrics).

However, overall, I cannot say I enjoyed Encanto. I did not like the Abuela character. She treats Mirabel like a second rate family member because Mirabel does not have a special gift. Mirabel is not featured in the family picture, and she is encouraged to stay out of the way of the preparations for the party.

It's not as if anyone in the family "earned" their gifts. The gifts were just bestowed. Bruno is also ostracized because he saw a bad vision for the family. There are some other instances in which the characters with gifts hold themselves higher than the characters without.

I know it's supposed to be a playful animated film, so it may not be appropriate to over-analyze it. However, I could not help my resentment of some of the characters, and that kept me from making an emotional connection to the film.