The lineage of Disney castles goes all the way back to Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs — but there’s never been one like La Casa Madrigal in Encanto. The canonical 60th animated feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios (the actual numbering is far more complex) takes Zootropolis directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard — here with co-director Charise Castro Smith — and teams them up with Moana songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda for a blast of colour, energy and South American rhythms; all of which permeate through the Madrigal house. It’s a beautiful, imaginative canvas (stairs that transform into slides, TARDIS-like rooms) on which to tell a personal family story, eschewing the expansive fantasy kingdoms of Frozen and Raya And The Last Dragon for a more intimate adventure that never feels small.
The latest addition to the Disney-heroine canon is Mirabel Madrigal (a spirited Stephanie Beatriz) who fits neatly alongside Moana, Anna and Raya — sweet, sardonic, and ready to chase down her destiny. Except, Mirabel’s purpose is unclear. Everyone else in her family has been granted magic powers (from typical X-Men fare like weather control to more idiosyncratic abilities: Mirabel’s mother makes food that literally heals you when eaten) by the same mysterious force that erected their enchanted home. But when the time came for Mirabel to receive her ‘gift’, she got nothing, forced to swallow her disappointment while her family flourished around her.
Lin-Manuel Miranda's songs once again display his abundant talent for magical melodies and wondrous wordplay
Instead of a quest narrative that sends Mirabel out into the world, Encanto is a mystery which sends her further into the hidden secrets of her own home. Can she work out the part she’ll play in the Madrigal destiny, reconnect with clairvoyant black sheep Bruno (John Leguizamo), and discover why she’s seeing cracks in the casa walls that nobody else can see? Mirabel’s journey plays out with nuance, confronting Abuela’s (María Cecilia Botero) tragic past and need for tradition at the expense of progress, while facing up to the strained relationships with her empowered sisters — super-strong Luisa (Jessica Darrow, a standout) and ever-perfect Isabela (Diane Guerrero) — that require repair. The characters are well drawn — though the lack of a sidekick like Maui or Olaf feels like a missed opportunity.
It all plays out to a set of Lin-Manuel Miranda songs — think the hip-hop/pop of In The Heights meets Moana’s lush island vibes — that once again display his abundant talent for magical melodies and wondrous wordplay. Hyperactive ditty ‘The Family Madrigal’ offers a toe-tapping introduction to Mirabel’s extended clan; her defiant ache in ‘Waiting On A Miracle’ is classic “I want...” song terrain; and Isabela’s expressive anthem ‘What Else Can I Do?’ is a vibrant, upbeat twist on the ‘Let It Go’ formula. Whether they become as iconic as Miranda’s last clutch of Disney hits remains to be seen — but they’re in the same ballpark.
As the film brings it all home with an emotional finale that, as per recent Disney, favours rebalance over good-versus-evil brawls, you have another modern-day fairy tale that’s — appropriately enough — enchanting.
