#ALSO THE ENTIRE ISABELA AND MIRABEL SCENE

[jacarandaaaas]

What you hate about each Encanto character and what you love about each Encanto character?

oh this is such a fun ask! a hard question as I love all the madrigals and the fact they’re so flawed makes them more fun to follow!

alma: i love her commitment, how she vowed to protect all these people even sacrificing her own needs to provide for others, how she promised these people a place of refudge and was always there to provide.

dislike: An obvious one here but I dislike how controlling alma can be, how her need for perfection can blind her and lead her to disregarding her own families feelings as well as her own! Her generally dismissing a lot of the problems of her family like telling pepa to control her emotions or not realizing how hurtful her comments are to mirabel.

pepa: i love how emotional she is! when pepa loves she loves with her entire heart she pours her all into every interaction and she wears her heart on her sleeve! she’s so compassionate! pepa truly is an open book and I love her for it!

dislike: i would probably say how she can get irrational very quickly and cause situations to elevate fast! Although I really can’t blame her for this based on the circumstances!

julieta: i always describe julieta as warm and i feel like no other word can capture her comforting nature and gentleness. I just love her warmth and her soothing energy!

dislike: I would say how she tends to coddle mirabel a lot. I know it comes from a place of love but you can see it doesn’t help mirabel and only makes her feel more insecure because julieta doesn’t understand her.

bruno: for bruno I would say I love how selfless he is. It’s a big thing to sacrifice your own sanity like that for someone else and it’s touching how much he truly cares about mirabel to want to protect her like that.

dislike: i would have to say how he’s timid a lot of the time. It’s sad to see him become so resigned and almost accept his fate and stay in the walls possibly forever. He had no fight left in him.

felix: I adore how felix is just the epitome of life of the party! he’s so uplifting and I love how he never gives out to pepa for her emotions. He’s the best at cheering people up and a sunshine in everyone’s lives!

dislike: about felix? that’s hard to say I feel like we don’t see enough of him for me to really base my answer on anything so I’m just gonna say how he told pepa about the vision at dinner😭 dude that was the worst idea!!

agustín: i love how supportive he is! He continuously supports julieta he runs after luisa when she’s upset and he promises mirabel he would hide the vision to protect her! the fact both he and julieta tried to go after her when she ran for the candle too! He also fiercely stands up for mirabel in such an iconic way and he doesn’t back down!

dislike: I would have to say how he can often hammer in the fact he is also unexceptional to try relate to mirabel but it makes the situation worse.

isabela: I love how loyal isa is. She was doing everything for the sake of the family and was willing to sign her entire life away just to keep them happy. Her loyalty knows no limits and I just feel it’s such a defining trait for her.

dislike: probably how smug she can be at times a key example being the apologize scene! it is funny but it’s also infuriating how smug she was making mirabel apologize for something she didn’t even do. Also how she tells mirabel to shut up and her general rude remarks to her!

dolores: for dolores I would say I love how attentive she is! small scene but how she immediately notices alma needs help and goes to offer her support! She notices the small details even without her super hearing! Like how she points out how mariano talks loud even though she hears everyone’s voice his always stuck out to her <3

dislike: probably how she blurts stuff out without thinking it through! like we know she was trying to be helpful when she told the kids mirabel doesn’t have a gift but she didn’t consider how mirabel would feel about that.

luisa: I love how kind luisa is! she was always willing to lend a hand to the people who need her even when they absolutely could deal with a lot of issues themselves! She’s also very sensitive and soft and I love when she allows herself to be vulnerable!

dislike: this might be unexpected but for dislike i would have to say how she kept ignoring mirabel when she wanted to talk. I understand she was stressed and mirabels being irritating but she could atleast look at her, mirabels already ignored a lot already and all she wanted was to talk to her sister about an issue.

camilo: like how mirabel says in the opening song I love how camilo won’t stop until he makes people smile! whether it be through his humor or his compassion I get the impression he would always be there for people. the scene where he comforts pepa is such a key example of this!

dislike: he can be a bit too blunt at times where it’s definitely not called for! he also has a tendency to exaggerate the truth for dramatic effect!

mirabel: have always said this and always will mirabels core trait is her empathy! Her ability to see others perspectives and empathize with them is so important! I always think of the “I need you” scene as a key example of this. She put aside her own feelings and focused on supporting antonio making sure he’s ok! how when she learns of the other madrigals struggles she tries her best to help them or comfort them! empathy is such a strong defining trait for her!

dislike: when it comes to mirabels negative traits I would have to say her stubbornness is the most prominent. the entire scene in isabelas room is proof of this she would have rathered let that house collapse than apologize or even listen to isabelas struggles the fact she was supportive and empathic to everyone’s issues but isas (at first) she was too stubborn to put aside her issues with isa! but also her recklessness and impulsiveness tie into this as well.

antonio: I love everything about him he’s so sweet and caring and I love how he returns the support mirabel gave to him! he always believed in her and was her biggest supporter and best friend! also how offered his plushie to comfort bruno when he was nervous! antonio is just such a caring kid!

dislike: nothing literally nothing how can u dislike this baby?

[howtodisappearcompletelyand]

kicking my legs like the focus of The Metaphor Of All This Is Most Important throughout things & that like nobody's powers are solely "what would be an epic power" rather than "what's the way someone's personality / tendencies / interests / strengths might be made into this Exceptional, Distinctive Thing That They Do that 'serves a purpose'" & like it's so neat the way the idea of Seeing The Future is made to work a certain way such that other characters & the plot can interact with it more readily than it all being inside bruno's head; that (at least in what we see, no issue with having the best of both worlds & hc'ing that he can have visions Only He sees / that occur spontaneously) not only can other people see them if present but the "you're seeing exactly what i am," i.e. he has to Look At It as this external visual phenomenon too & could miss something just by it being outside his field of vision lol....but also the way that of course this means like, Like Mirabel in all those ways they're so so similar & that's entirely relevant, he's also having to Observe & Interpret through his own perspective, from literal vantage point to personal interpretation of the info

(oh & also like emphatically that i interpret that his vision re: mirabel wasn't actually open ended or showing two Possibilities, it was just Different for being That jam packed lol & everything he ever sees Will happen, it was just like yes mirabel will be connected to the house being unbroken, breaking, whole again, yes mirabel will Embrace Her & it's abuela but also, & more immediately, isabela lol, had to be Both)

also it's so fun like The Sands Of Time being made into this way the visions Display for him (and just are very fun & dramatic. bruno's theatricality....his real gift is Acting Aheheh like screamm & that is so Good & what it says that nobody brought it up about him ever like iiii'm) & that even then beyond that there can be this plot point of mirabel able to Find A Vision b/c they Also form into tl;dr tablets made out of the magic affected sand which, in being a tl;dr are all the more Open Ended in Interpretation, which feels entirely relevant to Themes & everything lol....that there's all this Green Glowiness that's "ominous" but it's like nah that's just how it is? whaddaya gonna do? it's just green & glowy? (again relevant to themes like....what's the problem w/things about bruno's being disabled being associated with his Bad Vibes lol. it's just green. that's just how it is) & the design too to have Just His Irises glow is sooo good & cool & excellent it's all such a slay. & that everything Looks Neat while also like allowing for the way bruno's gift works to weave into the plot rather than like, oh he can just have one about whatever you want to see whenever, but the only way they're conveyed is what He Alone can directly see & interpret & tell you about himself....ugh just all super impressive

but actually what i was thinking of here was The Ritual to have visions....like first of all having there be that ritual & the Sand & the need for a Big Open Space helps Getting A Vision be a plot point more involved than "just find him & ask him" as the Sole requirement, without a reason to already bring another family member into it, already venture outside the walls Once (although idk like again the Metaphor of just operating "behind the scenes" in some hidden & unfancy way is more important than the Practical Details but like, i can imagine maybe Temporarily hiding away in the walls was something he even already did before disappearing; that maybe he'd kind of built up having Stuff hidden back there before he did too; that also maybe yeah sometimes he did sneak out of the walls or even out of the house entirely, but Maybe He Didn't, you can really get creative making things work. but also like seems like it'd be difficult to keep candles & matches on hand without sneaking out. But Also i don't think it's that important unless you Want to work that kind of question into a plotline) where was i in all this....The Ritual. it's also neat how Different it is, to have any kind of "extra" process & materials in using his gift. like that the one other similar case is julieta not being able to Heal With Food without the food, which presumably she always has a hand in making....that again the Metaphor matters, & the granular practical details Can matter to a story if you write it to be so lol, not really having to get into it in encanto's canon plot

anyway & it's very Magical in the way it works with the materials & ritual beforehand & like similarly to doing it in a Vision Cave & the hallway of Visuals that seem to include like "instructions" on how to do the ritual? i can remember it seems to show bruno with a flame in one Panel & with the green tablet in another, & there sure is the question of like "if he has to do this ritual to even use this gift, how did he figure out how to do it?" like & i'm inferring that one potential explanation to read into there is "see, the walls told him" like another thing to Observe & Interpret....& then i was really interested like Ah, & that bruno's gift in particular has this "extra" ritual attached to it, not even Just "oh i need sand to see visions" maybe similar to julieta needing ingredients & cooking tools lol, she doesn't seem to have anything Special beyond her involvement then that is like "okay, using my gift Now" or anything, while then of course that bruno has like Patterns / Rituals that he has to do before / in order to do [xyz], like that he apparently couldn't verbally respond to mirabel while doing that particular pattern of rituals / until after he was done with sections of them that allow him to Move Through That Space. & so My Interpretation becomes like, connecting the ritual to use his gift with whatever other rituals he created that could be considered ocd, like well makes a fuckton of sense with him being especially someone with Lack Of Control, his entire gift would make him aware of the inability to Control The Future, once he sees it It's Happening Babey even if there's nonzero self fulfilling aspect (though evidently it's never wholly / exclusively that), plus of course just like. argh. the parallels of people pushing the narrative like "you Can control xyz" when not getting what they want, bruno as the Messenger of undesired futures basically Caused them, bruno as the exister of disabled is Causing that, just do things right and Become As You Ought To Be....the direct & indirect & intended & unintended feedback over [umm this isn't what people like or want or value] making a feedback loop in fact lol of feeling all that pressure in having no control but internalizing that well i guess you Should, try harder, might be a theme in this story across the board but that ofc the noticeably disabled (& potentially queer) family member Family Weirdo ends up especially "the problem" & thus scapegoated, like mirabel

tangents out here....anyway so that's me then thinking about like, the idea like "what if bruno doesn't Need the ritual" like but what if that's considered in the same context as you would "bruno didn't Need to finish holding his breath & knocking before Responding To Mirabel as he moves along the wall hallway" like, what does that "need" mean there. if he'd be stuck / unable to move along that path without debilitating distress if he didn't do these rituals? why not say that then yeah he "needed" to do them. uno reverse like nobody "needs" to make him stop it, even in a "for his own good" sentiment like i wouldn't agree with that but also You wouldn't drop dead either then would you lol. maybe bruno can make spackle without Needing to be jorge but like, in what way is that really meaningful; if being (&/or acting as) hernando helps him secretly be helping fix casita, if having Weird Hobbies & Weird Rat Friends (shoutout to affinity with animals / being good at socializing with them even without that or acting being made your gift lol. more neurodivergerrrr things....) &c &c helps him live alone in mostly survival mode but also trying to thrive / enjoy things how he can, in what way is it important to be like oh he didn't Need to do this. or that even the idea he didn't "need" to leave like, you can Decide that b/c this isn't real lol but that If He Felt That He Did, boom there's enough of a problem right there, what does it matter if anyone else is like "well, surely you didn't" like

anyway so that is to say just applying the same idea to his gift ritual basically like, presumably even if someone else had the sand & big open space & did the ritual & Tried to see the future, they couldn't, only bruno can, with his Individual Idiosyncratic Gift. & it makes sense if like, bruno already being Othered even by 5 yrs old & in this sort of extra chaotic existence to a degree lol (& like what 5 yr old ever is experiencing a world of Being In Control in the first place) could have that tendency to create his own rules & rituals & patterns for Doing Things The Right Way to seek any further measure of control, makes sense if this would Manifest in his personalized gift involving a ritual. like how i imagine his Seeing The Future is tied to who he personally is too, being in a position / having the perspective to just Observe & Interpret & Express certain things in a way others aren't, same as mirabel was even without that being her gift, kind of a reverse on bruno being good with animals without that being his gift but it being antonio's (or arguably his real gift being acting, vs camilo perhaps having the theatrical / acting tendencies put into into his official Gift lol) like. that yeah maybe if the ingredients of sand + space + bruno were there, Theoretically he could deliberately have a vision, but like. that if the ritual is interpreted as like oh it's Just for focus, grounding, &c it's like hmm well could still say he Needs to do it & the vision Can't be done without it b/c it's like, how could Bruno do it if he Needs to be grounded & focused or w/e other mental effect (since ofc we can see other ppl's emotions can affect their gifts, in addition to the entire The Magic Depends On The Family Depends On Their Emotions / Relationships angle) but doesn't have / execute a ritual for that. To Me i am thinking of it in terms of how his other rituals would be framed as Disabling even if it's like, well, if they make him more Able to do [xyz] actually? at all, &/or without suffering or hurting that would be prohibitive going forward & ever doing it again? akin to like "ah bruno didn't Need to hop over cracks to cross that section of floor" like yeah he wouldn't have Instantly Died. yeah Someone Else would've just walked across with no particular method to it. but if Nobody Else is doing these visions, if it's not really very meaningful to be like "what can bruno Live Without while doing this"....if he merely(tm) needs the ritual for Grounding or what have you, & if this is equivalent to his being disabled & how rituals help him move through his life & do whatever other things, then like sure isn't it more relevant to say he Needs it vs "this means he Doesn't Really need it." i'm thinking of it in terms of like, in turn not Needing to whittle down his other rituals even if they're "weird," no Need to be like oh he Needs to give up his rats now / stop treating them like friends simply b/c he doesn't Need them, like, what is this binary lol. not out here in full everything life & death world, is another pertinent point....plus again like "that ritual is Depicted in that hallway" & also that like, does the sand becoming glass Need that fire? does it Need it b/c there Needs to be that ritual b/c this is bruno's gift & b/c bruno has these other rituals? sure.

all not to say like oh don't think anyone could/would/should play around w/the ideas of the parameters & Rules of his gift, or this interpretation, or anything else. just sure immediately thinking of it in terms of Rules & Rituals bruno has in any other aspects of his life & this also being easily seen as "ugh do you Have to do that (the person presumes No)" & that the "ideal" way of doing things would involve being Peak Normal. & the limits of how relevant it is to be like "oh [person] is only this way b/c of their experiences" like yeah many such cases, Zero cases of "wow, this person has had No experiences. thus they are their pure & ideal self", meanwhile like his ass autistic & queer & Theatrical & so on & this isn't going away, being a family Weirdo is just gonna be part of the way that he is. again thank god that yknow even as it's like, needing a bit of turnaround from mirabel being like "i too feel this is totally out of control so all i can do is try to shift this onto the preexisting scapegoat, it's bruno's vision" to being like oh shit it's bruno himself, & finding him bemusing & weird & like yeah don't think isolation (or ramped up survival mode) ever really makes anyone more of what is considered "normal," but doing what you gotta do, Need to do some might say, & to what Harm especially if not doing it would've hurt more? the Harm of "i'm gonna bully the shit out of them for it :(" not an acceptable answer lol

anyway love that afterwards like mirabel can still a whole 5 sec later be like yeah you're weird but obvi you're cool. & antonio not even being fazed by the [you're weird] part like rather than that This Is The Way That He Is. touching on it in the end like Jorge Is Here & everyone is thumbs up & smiling genuinely & going about their business like thank god lol we did not leave off on some kind of promise that bruno is Becoming More Normal / forcing him to in whatever ways, such as exerting pressure or shame or what have you, is underway....bit antithetical to [you see the consequences of how he was treated] if he has to Fix Himself to be accepted now lol versus everyone's Weirdness & Vulnerability Needing to be welcomed & protected rather than pushed away. & the necessary shift for him being like, same as how mirable Needed to meet bruno & talk to him & see what the family had already done to its last scapegoat & have that context to understand like, yeah, i'm doing this For Everyone, not just abuela or the miracle or me, which makes it more doable even (in addition to having this fellow scapegoat's understanding & full support, bruno being so Optimistic about mirabel's involvement) while bruno likewise is like oh i couldn't do this for Just Myself, but if i'm protecting my scapegoat niece i'm sprinting & tackling my mom b/c when it came to just me i was afraid of her rejection but when it came to acting on mirabel's behalf i'm raring to go & Taking It On & what a great little detail too that He didn't feel he Needed abuela's approval then. we've all been there (the scapegoating / Seeing The Worst / blame going so far it goes in the other direction. in my evil bitch era [angrily pressing buttons on the microwave] or being such a wretched sicko you'll tell off your mom & invite her to hate you 5ever so this kid doesn't experience that b/c like what else is new for you? if you'll be hated either way may as well consider other things in your agency, in for a dime in for a dollar, & so on)

just going on & on but like also Many Thoughts bruno is such a character what a gift. that the peak relevance of the crucial role of Scapegoat being the distillation of that "is it successfully a refuge / protection if vulnerability is rejected rather than actually made safer?" matter & being able to See problems others can't, See them ahead of time literally or more figuratively lol, be willing to Say them even when others don't wanna hear it, b/c they feel they're keeping their head above water even if you don't & are liable to thus point things out or rock the boat like Something's Wrong, Something Has To Be Done, Something Has To Change, in all the various ways that can be expressed....that it's like, so clear on Yeah disability (& queerness) means someone's probably all the less adequately supported, meaning they're seen as "a problem" / "a disruption" or w/e else, meaning they're scapegoated &/or ostracized, while ofc what would support them would improve things for everyone, even if also a change to theoretically benefit Just Them would be reason enough, but that's still in theory lol like more access / support / options is more of that For Any/Everyone....again that they don't "assure" us bruno will Become More Normal Now, that this Meeting & Mutual Understanding Of The Scapegoats is this fundamentally crucial turning point for Everything, certainly first & the most for those scapegoats themselves, Needing each other's support & understanding even if it's "ideally" seen as like ohh mirabel &/or bruno should've managed to figure out & resolve things All On Their Own. right back the ritual thing like, did they Need to?? they both Needed those changes / new info & contexts & motivations, & what does it matter to Want to whittle it down, No rituals, No support from others

& i'm just sooo. it's so great that bruno is so important & the movie holds you at gunpoint like no you Do gotta love him lol, you Need to. or that if you don't appreciate him / consider him important then you probably just don't really respond to the movie much lol given the Cruciality & the perspective of [the main character is being scapegoated as well & is very similar to bruno] like augh thinking of how even as mirabel like obviously as mirabel gives bruno a bit of a push & has that perspective & experiences to do so, it's not like "bruno is too much of a PUSSY but mirabel isn't & that's why bruno didn't break & reform the miracle" lol like. that They're The Same & just need each other still; mirabel was removing herself from the Family Goings On & even behind a wall during antonio's ceremony (& afterwards, Going Unnoticed & removing herself from things, before sort of "having a vision" (i'm presuming casita like was kind of putting on a show there just for mirabel to Convey Info to just her)) & couldn't emerge for her own sake, but only b/c antonio needed her while in the same place she was in & knowing she understands; so too can bruno emerge from hiding not for his own sake but uh oh mirabel's in the same position & needs & is asking for his help b/c she knows he understands. that, oh you know, in the end after mirabel's Best Efforts including full honesty direct confrontation failed, she too was like well i guess i gotta leave after only hurting my family....that even together they can only do so much, the family can't operate differently if the other members aren't like "oh shit yeah okay" & operate differently in turn, no real hypothetical Perfect Way To Do Things that will guarantee that others will do things differently either, relevant too to getting basic respect as a disabled person or anyone else Othered / made more vulnerable/unsupported

finally think i'm running a bit out of Writing These Words steam lol, truly my main point was "what does it mean to speculate he doesn't 'need' the ritual in the context of this disabled character & comparing it to his Other rituals" but there's so much to say like waugh what a movie & what a character fr like well also obviously i love him like utterly delighted. what especial addendums did i think of Just Now....oh for one thing like the autistic moment of like a few First Time Reactions having the same "wow rude / why would ou say that" response of bewilderment to "you're very sweaty" like Shut Up i immediately understand. it's not a nonsequitur, it's not an insult, it's matter of fact Relevant Info being shared, he's barely taller than mirabel & subsisting on little food & holding her up with one hand & if she's Very Sweaty, that is a pertinent problem re: holding her up lol, sure it's a bit Spontaneous to share this but so what. sue him. anyway that already watching it myself i was like oh he's autistic Of Course, & could break down some reasons but truly tl;dr b/c one understands them perfectly right off the bat lol / thee recognition....also theee genderrr in his surely personality & experience related Shrounded Style, god i wish that were me, i always wish it were me [not being seen at all], ever since i was a child i knew even if there was a house i theoretically belonged to i would want to move about secret passages undetected (true)

also it's kind of fun how much it's like hmm can't really gauge this super easily like queer Coding? b/c for one thing it's like, what is the supposed normative standard for what would be liably categorized "cishet man"....all around like, being a bit theatrical / emotionally expressive & such is just kind of an Across The Board thing to a degree, though certainly arguably ramped up for bruno. naturally the That's Probably Not Normative is him being unmarried / no kids when forty (& beyond, but like, the living in the walls a Would Be hindrance there. but idk maybe he had secret relationships. cinderellaing it out here, every night i have to leave & return somewhere with my rats) so you know. also like yeah he's queer b/c a) utter relevance to the Themes & his situation & b) he deserves it & c) we deserve it & d) why not. uh oh "bruno doesn't Need to be queer" lmaooo like what if it's just the way that he is. what if you could force people into doing the normative things but you don't Need to actually & it's better for everyone that you don't....

whew waugh & like great character to be able to Point To like tfw scapegoating, tfw outcast from a group such as a family (including if you left it b/c you thought / felt you Had To, perhaps b/c otherwise what unbearable) (what if it was "merely" "unbearable" for bruno to try to operate wholly without his rituals or rules Ever....), tfw the different ways Clearly A Disabled Character manifest, tfw the theatricality, tfw what a Range he has as a character, [withdrawn, avoidant, nervous] while also ["obtrusive," bold, spontaneous] Big Personality vs Big Trauma representation, hang on tfw not just the rats affinity but the coatis that immediately took to him too lol, tfw tfw aaahh just Scream at the like obviously deliberate "being the Weirdo involves this being a disabled family member" like argh & that this person is this Observer & Truth Teller & his experiences with that parallel to mirabel's role & experiences even as she can't literally see What Will Happen, even as bruno also still has to Observe & Interpret too rather than like having the revelation of The Correct Insight or anything. whew just like thank fuck too that the experience of this movie is is so emphatically like yes this is bruno & we will all be killing for him. for the autistic ocd Family Weirdo. where like how much does it matter if you go "bruno Must think of these roles as personas he Acts & not people he is" or "bruno Must be cishet & now that he's accepted he can get more Normal re: gender/sexuality as well as disability"....also the little possible clues ahead of time about True Things about bruno even before meeting him, seeing his silhouette being shorter than julieta & pepa's, probably not 7ft tall, that that family tree in casita has the like Heart design in the branches around the triplets, not like his sisters directly expressed that they Did/Do Not Love Him or anything lol but you know. oh also that there's just so direct an example of "bruno being disabled is completely relevant to how he & his gift are interpreted, though other aspects of him / his gift are relevant to how his being disabled is interpreted too" in that like he didn't do anything to Ruin pepa's wedding save have his intention & meaning not just completely misinterpreted but then the presumption of "b/c we don't understand what he meant it must have been Fucking With Us On Purpose" a la people like "why would anyone say anything like that" about his first dialogue being to inform mirabel she's very sweaty, I Don't Get It, so it must be that he's causing chaos / being insulting out of sicko / otherwise Wrong/Bad motivation. whereas like no i get it he's talking about issues re: him holding her up. Autistic autistic autistic, Decided what you meant & there's no chance to correct this & it's this huge deal & you were trying to do something completely different & like, supportive & considerate & nice & like augh kill me. many such cases of i think about it like ah yes extremely relate....& then it's just like such a surprise like oh what do you mean this funny little guy queer disabled outcast Weirdo is a crucial character who the material clearly utterly sympathizes with (not that it doesn't all the characters. also i like all the characters wheeee) but like You have to sympathize & understand too & everyone loves this little guy yaaaay. so bizarre like oh what do you mean the Relatable Fun Weirdo isn't a peripheral running joke of no importance if not dismissiveness / disdain???

again Whew & reminding myself "you can make other untagged long text posts" in case i even think of other things i want to throw down. many thoughts, never any one true comprehensive post of them all

[instantfoxdonut]

WARNING: This is my opinion of the movie Encanto and some of the larger issues of the film that I've noticed.

Now I know Encanto came out a few years ago BUT there is SO MUCH that bugs me about it that I can't stop thinking about the bigger flaws of the film-

First of all, the movie starts off with the typical fantasy magical intro- not a bad idea- it sticks very close to what is called "The Disney Formula".

The movie seems to have some potential at the start but as I noticed through my multiple watches of the film- the story just falls apart at the seams.

Our main protagonist is Mirabel and not long into the movie while she is singing about her family and their magical gifts, once she is questioned by a child about her gift, she doesn't answer the question. Did no one notice how SHE avoids the question and continues singing about the rest of her family?

This scene showed us that mirabel clearly DID NOT want to talk about her lack of a gift to the point that she refused to really mention herself in the song. This showed how she didn't feel like she belonged in the family and how she seemed to stick out like a sore thumb throughout the whole film.

Then there was the scene where mirabel was trying to help set up for Antonio's gift celebration and her Abuela just looks at her with this cold look and tells her to stand off to the side and do NOTHING.

That is one of the first glimpses that we see mirabel's abuela INTENTIONALLY shove her off to the side.

And don't even get me STARTED on the scene where mirabel was so excited to receive her gift and she didn't get it. People really overlook how abuela's face changes to utterly disappointment when looking at her. Like it's HER FAULT.

As the movie progresses, we see how abuela keeps the rest of the family on some sort of leash like Luisa, Isabela, and Peppa. Peppa wasn't allowed to express her negative feelings because of her gift making it almost impossible to without causing a weather situation. We see this at the dinner scene where she tells Peppa to control herself. This shows how Peppa isn't able to express her emotions as much as she wants to and is forced to shove them down.

Luisa is molded into an image of where she is the strongest of the family and Isabela is heavily influenced to be perfect which obviously inst the case. Throughout the whole surface pressure Luisa is clearly overwhelmed by her responsibilities, her gift, and by the fear of letting others down. Especially her family. She tries to shove it down and act as if it isn't effecting her as much as it is but she eventually cracks and tells mirabel how worried and overwhelmed she is. We can tell that part of that pressure is influenced by abuela as she has a huge influence on the entire family. Not to mention Isabela was pressured not only to be the picture perfect girl with no flaws and insecurities but also arranges a marriage for her with a man she doesn't know. She's basically selling her off and judging from how she behaves she clearly doesn't want to go through with the arranged marriage but she also doesn't want to go against her abuela and family so once again she tries to cover up her feelings. This explains of why she acts so uptight throughout the first half of the film until she lashes out at mirabel in her room.

Once again, abuela molded Isabela into something she didn't want to be as she says she doesn't want to be perfect and wants live her own life without having to worry about disappointing the family just like Luisa.

Its also PAINFULLY obvious that abuela was the reason Bruno went into hiding in the first place because she shamed him for his gift and was responsible for the rest of the family refusing to even mention his name.

She shamed him for something that he couldn't change and acted like it was HIS FAULT.

The worst part is that once mirabel ACTUALLY gets Isabela to feel comfortable for ONCE in her life in YEARS, abuela yells at mirabel and tells her that SHE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CRACKS. Mirabel for probably the first time in her life stands up to abuela and tells her off for everything she's done and that it is HER FAULT INSTEAD. and I quote from the movie "I LOVE this family! We all LOVE this family! You're the one that doesn't care!". As mirabel stated in the argument scene. And the fact after ALL OF THAT HAPPENED- MIRABEL STILLS FORGIVES HER DEAPITE EVERYTHING SHE PUT HER THROUGH.

I don't understand why it is now a trend that if the person says they're sorry, they are forgiven for all of the abuse, neglect, and manipulation they've done and it's just SWEPT UNDER THE RUG LIKE IT NEVER. EVEN. HAPPENED. That's the case with Encanto. It justifies the abuse that abuela showed towards mirabel and the entire family.

Now before you say "But abuela lost her husband and had to raise her 3 kids all by herself and was in a bad mental place and-" that's not an excuse. It doesn't help that alot of people in the world think that any form of that treatment is okay because it's from a family member or because they said sorry. Just because someone said sorry doesn't mean they will always mean it. When she apologized, that only made me angrier when watching the film and the family moves on, hardly even discussing what even happened or what she did and carried on with their lives. After watching Encanto I was obviously disappointed with the ending and the writing of mirabel. They wrote her to go crawling back to her abuela AS SOON as she apologized.

And then everyone just- GETS OVER IT??? It makes no sense to me and judging by people ranting reddit some people share my opinion on the movie.

The point that people miss is that abuela CHOSE to do this to her family and FORCE them into these molds just because of losing her husband and then that being used as an EXCUSE for everything she has done. I can't even watch the movie anymore due to how it ends and from how all of the problems are just put to the side.

I really think Encanto could have been something but it missed it's potential.

And I'm also speaking this from my OWN EXPERIENCES so YES I will be biased in some ways. I had a similar dynamic going on with some of my distant family and they treated me pretty similar to how mirabel was. Especially by one of my elders that acted just like how abuela acted towards mirabel. I no longer talk to my distant family and I avoid them as much as I can because you shouldn't force yourself to deal with people that don't truly care for you. It's not fair to yourself nor is it fair to the ones who ACTUALLY care for you. And it's not healthy either. That is NOT what family is.

And before you say "abuela didn't ABUSE mirabel" or "you're exaggerating the movie", here are some definitions for abuse.

To put to a wrong or improper use

A corrupt practice or custom

Language that condemns or vilifies usually unjustly, intemperately, and angrily

Neglect: the state or fact of being uncared for.

I feel like I've made my point now with the definitions. And if you search it up it will tell you that abuela "criticizes and ignores her gift-less granddaughter because she is at a loss and disappointed her".

The movie just REALLY strikes some chords with me because of this ending and how they decided to portray this dynamic. Whether you want to accept it or not, abuela DID abuse and neglect mirabel ever since she was a CHILD.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[theguywithnonickname]

Here's my personal two cents:

Yes, people have asked for more platonic relationship driven stories and well… we got them. We got plenty of them. People wanted more of those stories because the renaissance era disney was lacking them and now that need has been satisfied. But "more platonic stories" doesn't mean "no romance ever again". There's nothing inherently wrong with having romance in the story, the point has just been that it's not the only type of relationship that's worth telling stories about. What we need is variety. But Disney likes to overcorrect and so, we haven't had a proper romance in years. And, well, some people are starting to miss it. Those classic Disney romances have their charm and it would be a shame to lose them forever. It doesn't have to be all romance all the time again (that would get boring fast), but it would be nice to mix it up a little.

It's not without reason that it was this movie specifically that sparked the discussion in the first place. I'm very much in the camp of the people who were really looking forward to this movie and then ended up disappointed. Opinions vary, I know some people do like this movie and I'm happy for them, but a lot of viewers (myself included) found it kinda bland and lacking. I don't want to go into a full review here, but it was definitely missing something. One of the general faults of the movie is that Asha's character arc isn't very well developed and neither are her relationships with the secondary cast.

So then, at some point, some people discovered the scrapped ideas and among them, there was the Starboy. I think that clicked with a lot of people because this character was exactly what the story was missing. An embodiment of the theme of wishes, hopes and idealism that could serve as a foil to Asha. There is the Star in the movie, but it fills out a role of a sidekick/comic relief without really any personality other than 'cute'. When comparing that and a shapeshifting Peter Pan-esque figure… well you can see which one most people ended up preferring.

Now, I don't think Starboy was ever planned to be specifically a love interest to Asha (I don't recall that being mentioned in any of the scrapped stuff I've seen, but I don't own the artbook, so I may have missed it), but he definitely seemed like a good fit for one. I think the story would've been improved massively if the Star had been a proper character with a proper bond with Asha. And that bond could've very well been romantic without impacting the story in any negative way. In fact, having a romance could've been a nice tribute to the disney movies of the past, and this movie has very much been marketed as a celebration of the company's history. There was potential there and the people who have been missing those classic disney romances were drawn to it.

We haven't seen this sort of thing happen before with the previous movies, since I'd argue they are perfectly good as they are. I haven't seen people talk about Mirabel or Moana not having love interests, because their stories don't have that gap to fill. Mirabel has her entire family to interact with, with her relationships to Luisa, Bruno, Isabela and most importantly Alma driving the story and her character development (as well as having her influence their character development). Moana has her friendship with Maui to help her grow and help him grow as well. Asha has… her Grandad who feels like should fill out that important role for her, but is largely missing throughout the movie, while Asha goes off on her own? Her mom who barely has a role? Her friend group who also kinda fade into the background to provide commentary in some scenes with only about two of them individually doing anything of substance?

So… with the other heroines I mentioned, adding romance would've just muddled their stories, as it'd be an unnecessary component. With Asha, adding a romantic partner could've possibly strengthened her character arc by providing her with a deutragonist to play off off. This has worked before in movies like Tangled or Princess and the Frog and I think it could've worked here if played right.

So, that's what I think are the two main reasons. I'm sure there are some people of the 'anti-woke' crowd who are making this ciritism, but from what I've seen they are in the minority. Most of the people I've encountered while lurking in the Wish Rewrite community have been perfectly nice and open minded.

tl;dr: It was never about romance being bad, it was about oversaturation of it. Now that the trends have shifted so much that one can safely say there's wide array of non-romantic stories people are starting to miss the romance, as they never wanted it gone entirely; Wish was the movie to spark this discussion because unlike its predecessors many people found it was missing something and turned towards scrapped ideas to fill out the gaps and found potential for a sweet love story there

Can someone explain something to me about Wish (2023)?

So, for years, I feel like Disney fans have been asking for more platonically-driven stories, fewer romances, and praised Frozen and Moana for either putting romance in the background or getting rid of it altogether.

Yet, in the case of Wish, from a distance it seems like the fanbase is more frustrated they didn't go with a romantic storyline for the main character when they had originally considered going this route.

Keeping in mind that I haven't seen the movie yet, can someone explain this to me? Why the pivot on romance for the main characters? Is this just anti-wokism, or something else? Like, what changed?

[itsheartbeat13]

Something I don’t think enough people recognize when it comes to making shows more diverse, there is so much going on behind the scene that you literally can’t “just add them.” 

Alex Hirsch had to wait until the end of Gravity Falls to show that Sheriff Blubs and Deputy Durland were in love so that way the show didn’t get prematurely cancelled. And even still, that was censored in other countries. 

________

The Owl House has a bisexual afro Latina protagonist that falls in love with a white lesbian. They kiss several times on screen and say “my awesome girlfriend.” It also has Disney’s first nonbinary character (Raine Whispers), their bisexual love interest (Eda Clawthorne), and an aro/ace woman (Lilith Clawthorne). However, because like five people said that TOH wasn’t the “Disney brand” the show is prematurely cancelled. So even with everything that TOH did, it only won battle but lost the war. 

________

The art crew for Encanto had to fight to make Luisa buff. And when they were finally able to make her buff, Disney didn’t make as much Luisa merchandise because they thought little girls would want Mirabel or Isabela’s since they’re more “feminine.” (I think the same thing happened with Namaari when RATLD came out but I’m not sure. So don’t quote me on that.)

*Also, Luisa out preformed. So that’s a win. 

________

Bubblegum and Marceline couldn’t kiss until the series finale of Adventure Time because it would’ve been cancelled. So throughout the entire series, the crew always just had to imply undertones about their past. Since HBO produced Obsidian, they were able to kiss on screen.

________

Korra and Asami’s relationship had to tempt down so that way Nick could continue airing the show and they weren’t allowed to kiss until the comics. 

________

Turning Red got so much unwarranted criticism because not only did Mei’s mom say “pads” but she showed them on screen. (I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, if that made you uncomfortable, that’s a sign that we need to do this more and not less.)

________

Some countries marked She Ra as 18+ because Catra and Adora kissed on screen. (Once again, I’m not sure if this completely true but Nate Stevenson had to fight to actually show them kissing on screen instead of a fade to white.)

________

Steven Universe is the gayest show I’ve ever seen in my life which was both good and bad. It was good for obvious reasons. Example being that it was the first show that introduced to me nonbinary people in a way that wasn’t “haha, look, she uses they/them pronouns. She’s so funny and quirky.” 

And it’s bad because it put a target on it’s back. SU has been censored so much that it’s honestly a miracle that we got an ending. And in most of the countries that censored SU, they usually portray Ruby as a man. So I can’t imagine how bad the censors were when the wedding happened and Ruby wore a dress and Sapphire wore a suit. 

________

Also, you have to remember the outdated idea that gay/trans topics are “too mature” for kids to handle (there’s an episode of Adam Ruins Everything that talks about this). So it’s easier for shows with an older audience (like Arcane) to have queer/trans rep.

Not to mention, if you ever go on Insider’s website to look at the queer/trans characters in cartoons [here], most of the characters are revealed to be queer only online and not in the actual show.

________

All of this BS because God forbid that kids find out that other people exist. 

Representation is important but please, just be aware of the actually struggles that go on that you don’t see and be thankful that this is where we are now because even though it might seem like it at times remember that this is actual progress. We need to keep pushing studios to do more. I’m sure that there’s millions of untold stories that would be made if not for this prejudice. 

[maflopala]

Things I notice the second time watching Encanto:

1. Does abuela accuse Mirabel of being drunk when she announces the cracks at the party but then they’re gone when everyone else checks? “The magic is strong, and so are the drink!”

2. At the breakfast table does abuela pull the white flower that pops up in Isabelas hair because it doesn’t match the pink so isn’t “perfect”

3. In Luisa’s song there’s a pattern on the background right after the “Drip drip drip” part my eyes only caught the gold the first time so I didn’t notice the pattern was actually little Luisa’s holding weights.

4. Also Luisa’s song. When she punches the iceberg and skids on the ice with Mirabel it reminds me of Frozen 2 and makes me see the similarities between Luisa and Elsa.

5. Also also in Luisa’s song I first thought that when they fell into the machine it was grinding some fruits but after that I learned that coffee beans are that color when they’re first picked which I think is a nice homage to Colombia.

6. What if Bruno’s tower added more and more stairs and obstacles for people to come to the vision cave because that’s how much Bruno didn’t want to be approached by people who will then be angry at him. And it was still like that when Mirabel went in because that’s how depressed he was the last time he was in their?

7. Felix and Agustin are kings.

8. Everyone always connects Mirabels glasses to Bruno’s green cloak but Agustin also has green glasses and he joined the sibling hug during Bruno singing so what if Bruno and Agustin were really close friends before Bruno left.

9. The scene where Mirabel is sad and covered in soot is so visually beautiful like a painting.

10. Where TF did Bruno get a horse we have only seen donkeys in this entire town.

[cheeseanonioncrisps]

Maybe I'm stupid for not noticing this sooner, but I was watching some Encanto clips on Youtube and it suddenly hit me— even without her powers, Luisa is still incredibly strong.

Like, it's easy to overlook because from the age of five onwards she basically never experienced the sensation of struggling to lift something apart from the weight of her family's expectations, so every scene where she tries without her powers she's miserable and freaking out about how 'weak' she is.

But if you look at it objectively:

Like, yeah, she's struggling and straining and all, but she's also moving a fucking piano from one room to another entirely by herself. Like, that's not normally a one person job.

Equally, here:

This is a huge slab of rock. And yeah, she requires Mirabel's help to get it upright, but she gets it most of the way there on her own, and Mirabel is fifteen and pushing from a side corner, so her support was probably more moral than physical anyway.

And here:

Now she's working with both Mirabel and Isabela's help, but Mirabel seems to be in charge of holding it steady rather than pulling it upright, and Isabela is not particularly muscular and looks to be bearing less of the weight, so there is no way that Luisa is not doing most of the work in lifting this massive fucking load-bearing column.

Once again, while Luisa clearly appreciates having her sisters help her, it's probably less that she can't lift stuff without her powers— I mean, don't go asking her to throw donkeys in the air or move a church without them, but she's still perfectly capable of heavy lifting— and more that she needs the confidence that comes with knowing that she's not the only one bearing the weight.

Another interesting thing is that the fact that Luisa's muscles persist even after losing her powers implies that even when she had them, she must have been feeling at least some of the weight of the things she lifted.

Like, muscles build with effort. Her powers obviously give her a boost, but if they just made everything weightless then she wouldn't have anything like the physique she's ended up with (in fact, she'd probably have been incredibly scrawny from not putting her muscles to use since she was five years old).

When she complains about being treated like a workhorse, it's not just the time and the stress of responsibility that she's got to be unhappy about. Muscles grow when they get damaged through exercise (which is why you might feel sore after a workout) and then repair themselves stronger than before. That's where the phrase 'no pain, no gain' comes from.

In order to have the kind of muscles that she has, Luisa has to have been experiencing at least some physical discomfort from using her power. Physical discomfort that probably didn't get acknowledged, because nobody would have been expecting her to feel it, and she most likely wouldn't have wanted to mention it too much, given her fear of being seen as weak.

Which means that one of the biggest benefits of having her sisters help her lift stuff, even if she's still doing most of the actual work, is that Luisa now has somebody there to acknowledge that the work she's doing is difficult. That it's not nothing to be told you have to lift a church, round up some donkeys and divert a river all on your own without even five minutes to take a break.

When the three of them finally lift that pillar, and Isabela turns to her admiringly and says "you're so strong!"— how many times before that do you think Luisa has been earnestly praised by members of her family for the work she does?

[pale-horse-writing]

Saw Encanto yesterday and had A Lot Of Feelings around how it portrays generational trauma and familial expectations so-

- Isabela outright being called a golden child during The Family Madrigal and that foreshadowing of her arc ultimately being about how being a ‘favored’ child in an unhealthy family dynamic comes with its own issues and the pressure to be exactly what your parents/grandparents/guardians expect (ngl sort of wondered if someone on staff knew about the whole golden child/scapegoat dynamic with that line)

- Luisa’s imagery in Surface Pressure not only focusing on her being forced to handle impossible burdens but SPECIFICALLY highlighting that she’s protecting Mirabel from them (putting herself between Mirabel and Cerberus, holding onto a cliff while also trying to pull up Mirabel, holding the weight of the family home so Mirabel isn’t crushed under it-)

- The fact that in the dinner scene (and in general tbh), it’s always Alma focusing on how Isabela’s marriage to Mariano will be so good for the family. It also casts a new light on that moment with Isabela reacting with shock/embarrassment when Dolores confirms that he wants multiple children and is going to propose that night imo- it’s sudden and it’s a whole new set of expectations she has to fulfill.

- [Also side note- looking at Isabela’s lines in We Don’t Talk About Bruno is WAY more interesting considering the end of the movie/her developments with her powers and the fact that she never wanted to be the perfect soft daughter.]

He told me that the life of my dreams Would be promised, and someday be mine He told me that my power would grow

Like the grapes that thrive on the vine

- Alma’s constant declaration is that they won’t lose this home- not the family, but the home. Considering the fact that she was literally driven out of her home, lost everything and then had to watch her husband get killed in front of her, it’s a nice reflection of her trauma imo and forwards the themes of her inadvertently prioritizing the home/the village/the way things are over the emotional health of her family.

- THE ENTIRE SHOT OF ALMA WALKING PAST HER FAMILY MEMBERS AND THEIR DOORS AND HOW THEY REACT TO HER

- The fact that everyone’s doors shine at the end and that their names/portraits/the imagery around their gifts aren’t on the doors anymore because defining themselves by their gifts has harmed all of them to some degree-

- The fact that not a single member of the Madrigal family before Bruno bothers to tilt the vision and so they don’t see that the future’s in flux/the symbolism of how they’ve been raised, especially in the case around Bruno, to presume the worst-

[ghost-in-between]

things in encanto that make me choke up and get emotional/sad

(see also: happy version)

"i wish you had a door"

mirabel's little "mhm" after abuela tells her to leave the decorating to someone else, she looks like she knows if she speaks she's going to cry but won't allow herself to, so she just makes that humming noise

abuela's face falling when she sees mirabel walking with antonio and her relieved sigh when his ceremony works (and antonio clinging to mirabel on the stairs)

mirabel singing "open your eyes" to abuela and the "am i too late for a miracle"

"ay, pedro..."

luisa's first chorus (and the entire song after)

agustín and julieta standing up for mirabel to abuela after the vision is revealed

bruno's drawn plate...

"i knew how it would look, because i'm bruno and everyone always assumes the worst"

"bruno LOVES this family"

pepa's "no no no!" as the cracks start reaching towards the candle

the way camilo looks at his hand and then at isabela after they just lost their gifts

julieta shouting "mirabel, leave it!" while casita is collapsing and trying to run after her

casita's parting wave

pepa in the background telling antonio not to cry

all of "dos oruguitas", especially alma's silent scream and the candle 'exploding'

bruno in front of his door as alma walks past in the 'flashback' and mirabel's expression as her door fades

mirabel's little speech about fixing things together and saying "because of you" repeatedly in parallel to the scene of their fight

"he sent me you"

the butterflies in time with the swelling of the chorus of "dos oruguitas", feeling like pedro is smiling at them

just abuela staring at bruno for the first time in 10 years

the way bruno anxiously peeks around the broken parts of casita

julieta's gasp at seeing bruno and the triplets hugging

"we made this one for you"

antonio walking with her like she did for him

"i see... me. all of me."

[erin-gilberts]

Things I noticed about Encanto on second watch:

1) Pepa gives a surprised little "i MaDe a rAiNbOw! :D" at the end of Mirabel's first song

2) The little boy has SO much anxiety it's REALLY sad on second watch, but the combination of wonder, awe, anticipation, and fear when he realizes what his gift is is one of the most beautifully animated scenes I have ever seen.

3) The Madrigals don't exclude Mirabel from the family photo - I mean, granted, no one says "let's wait for Mirabel," either, but Mirabel *herself* doesn't even move toward them when Abuela calls out for everyone, which suggests to me she doesn't consider herself a real part of the family at least as much as anyone actively excludes her.

4) Isabela's proposal / marriage may have been somewhat arranged, but I genuinely think she and Mariano were dating of their own accord beforehand because Camilo refers to him as her boyfriend. I don't get the sense that Mariano was "picked" for her without her input in the way some in the fandom do. Relationships in your early 20s often involve contending with the question of whether what you feel for someone you like well enough is love or not! The seriousness of the commitment when marriage is on the table is causing Isabela to reassess whether or not she loves Mariano, and she's realizing she doesn't. You date plenty of people who are fine but not exciting in your 20s.

5) Dolores almost certainly has control over her room / how soundproofed it is just like the others do, so I doubt she hears anything against her will - meaning, when she listened to Luisa's eye twitching all night, she was kinda just being nosy and probably was curious about what it meant.

6) Luisa and Mirabel have the best sibling relationship in the entire film. Count how many times in Luisa's song she is specifically saving her baby sister from something - not her entire family, not Casita, Mirabel. Luisa also takes a moment to fix Mirabel's glasses after they jump off of the ship. She has so much affection for her little sister and she would do anything to protect her.

7) Bruno must have some kind of personal code of ethics that prevents him from fudging the truth about his visions to have told 11-year-old or younger Dolores that the man of her dreams would be just out of reach.

8) "Welcome to the family Madrigal, there's so many stairs in casa Madrigal. You would think there would be another way to get so high cause we're magic but NO. Magical how many stairs fit in here!" - Stephanie Beatriz's funniest delivery of any line by far

9) Felix is a heart eyes idiot in love and Mirabel totally should have asked her own parents about Bruno instead of her crazyass aunt and uncle. Julieta seems like she would have responded the most normally of everyone.

10) How on earth did Alma know she was pregnant with triplets c. 1900?

11) It's really clear on second watch how much Alma has intense survivor's guilt. She's convinced herself she has to constantly prove she and her family deserve their second chance at life and happiness, when really - the miracle was a gift born in love, and Pedro would have never wanted her to feel it was something she had to earn or deserve. She's locked herself in this mindset that she has to make Pedro's death mean something, because if she can't make it mean something significant and important, then it was just awful and horrible because life is cruel and random. "The miracle is you" isn't even referring to Mirabel specifically, necessarily - the miracle is the fact that Alma's children were able to grow up, to have children of their own, free from the fear that defined Alma's early life.

12) "Don't eat those >:(" in his teeny tiny little voice oh my god

[madrigaljail]

K gonna do my responses to things I have a response to/opinion on under a read more because long post is long and I feel like having (silly) opinions so let's go!

- I don’t think camilo is an asshole who’s heartless and I hate content that portrays him as such

- pepa is not a bad parent because of one 5 second scene where camilo comforts her

BOTH! OF! THESE! Like I love sassy twerp Camilo and imperfect Pepa but there's more to them than that and they are not thee things! This is why I'm selective about my engagement with fandom XD

- julietas trauma is undermined a lot of the time and compared to her daughters

AND her siblings. As a kid she likely saw and heard about thing no child ever should - much like Bruno - and had the responsibility to make it all better. That has to haunt her, along with being parentified and having the perfectionism foisted on her (my headcanon). She's complex!

- comparing the characters trauma is weird

It's the oppression olympics all over again, I thought we were pat that.

- i don’t think isabela is crazy violent post movie and would hate to be seen that way

TBH I don't think she changes all that much; circumstances around her change and she has a lot more freedom and is more ready to speak her mind/behave how she likes, but the Senorita Perfecta act was not 100%...well, an act. She's a bit more chaotic but isn't going to suddenly be more dangerous than she already inherently was.

- I don’t like the take that bruno avoided the kids pre movie I actually think he would spend more time with them than the adults

Thiiiiiiis one I'm iffy on, partly because Jared said he'd been withdrawing for a long time before going into the walls but also because...idk, him having more connections makes him leaving worse (which I guess is the point). My main objections are fics which make like he was closer to her than her parents were because that's Gus and Juli slander and I personally won't stand for it XD

My personal view is he started retreating around the time Luisa was born and maybe connected more with the older girls and was maybe more in contact with them as time went on but Camilo and Mirabel he was much, much more hands-off. He didn't want to taint them, he wanted them to have a chance.

- I hate parentified mirabel. she’s 15 let her have fun she does not need to babysit people who are all older than her

If y'all can be "lol it's fine he's 15" with Camilo you HAVE to do the same with Mirabel, otherwise you need to examine a few things. she's a kid she'd allowed to be a kid please god let her have interests beyond ~becoming a part of the family~ the movie takes place over the mot STRESSFUL days of the Madrigals' lives I promise it was not like this all the time it was just a catalyst in this essay I will-

- isabela is smarter than she’s given credit for

Isabela can read a room better than anyone and thanks to years of practice can come up with the perfect thing to say to either smooth over or blow up a situation. She's a theater kid. She's clever. She's very quick-witted. She loves science. She was assigned Darwin in school (ok that's my headcanon).

- luisa is the most feminine out of the sisters but y’all discredit that because she has muscles even tho the movie has an entire song about how she wants to be seen as more than that.

I go back and forth on this; I feel like the song is implying she wishes she could just chill, ad yeah maybe for her that's unicorns and fluffiness, but I feel like she's also proud of her strength and physique. I know the two are not mutually exclusive but I feel like there's a middle ground and that's where I live.

- dolores can be fun

Dolores is a goddamn chaos troll just like both of her parent and ALSO a theater kid - they're all theater kid change my mind (you can't) and yes she can be silly and ridiculous.

- camilo is watered down to being just “crazy” but y’all ignore how caring and considerate he is too just cause he’s a teenage boy

He's a kooky mixed up kid but ultimately he's a Madrigal and a good boy. I'm extremely old and very cis so he didn't ring any bells for me but I'm not gonna reduce anyone in this family to a cliche.

- let mirabel say fuck

Heck, let her smoke (thanks @missilestorms )! I firmly believe everyone (except Antonio probably) was smoking in this moving when the camera was off them. I'm kidding. Don't smoke, kids, you Nana Seda doesn't because it's stinky and gross, but if this movie came out in the 80s or 90s....

Anyway, yeah, Mirabel can totally swear, she learned it from one of her friends.

- this one isn’t even a hot take anymore but none of the characters are perfect and that includes Bruno

I think I am the only person to have used the "Bruno Madrigal Needs A Slap/Bruno Madrigal Gets A Slap" tag combo but I stand by it. Bro is a dumbass (affectionate/derogatory)

- I think it takes a lot of time for isabela to fully embrace imperfection as we saw after wecid how fast she reverted back

Yeah, like I said above I don't think she's 100% Amazonian wild woman, there's shades of the facade she built in the person she is. It takes time for her to break from it fully, and longer to accept the parts of her that ARE perfect and pretty and effortless.

- isabela and mirabels relationship is mutually strained

1000%, mutual jealousy and mutual longing, and it's gonna take a while to heal that too. It can't be solved with a huuuuug.

- mirabel was just as ignorant as everyone else and I’m tired of y’all acting like she knew the whole time when she didn’t

Literally none of this was going to happen if not for the gift ceremony + proposal combo. People really, really downplay how stressy the timeframe of the movie was and treat it like this was how every day in Casita was like and while things were not perfect (lol) we saw it at its most extreme. It needed that catalyst for the plot to happen.

- pepa never hated bruno and y’all didn’t understand wdtab

Th wedding situation, for a while, was the FUNNIEST awkward family anecdote which was retold and reenacted every Christmas and on the wedding anniversary until Bruno went away. Then it was just painful. (Also it was all Felix's idea but that's again my headcanon)

- dolores never intended on ruining isabelas proposal she just heard a prophecy that everyone’s lives were gonna be ruined and was terrified

Justice for DOLORES goddamn this fandom is insane. Yes the proposal scene for me is the funniest in the movie but come on.

- mirabel has friends

And I need to develop them more, I've got this whole intricate circle of friends and enemies and acquaintances for the triplets; I need to come up with the kids of these people to interact with the grandkid.

- luisa is a grown woman who is capable of doing things for herself

And she's very level-headed and competent about it! Stilla nnoyed Jared didn't make her birthday May 1 (International Worker's Day), she'd have been an AMAZING Taurus.

- I think camilo was the most distant when bruno came back but after a while they became really close

They're itchy for a while but eventually game recognizes game.

- i don’t think pedro is given enough respect

LMAO a few days ago I tried making up a "Guzmans got the miracle' AU but it turned into a "Pedro Lives" AU and he just did a Mirabel speed-run of fixing the first generations' trauma in this essay I will-

I’m bored so here’s user jacarandaaaas hot takes rapid fire round

- I don’t think camilo is an asshole who’s heartless and I hate content that portrays him as such

- pepa is not a bad parent because of one 5 second scene where camilo comforts her

- julietas trauma is undermined a lot of the time and compared to her daughters

- comparing the characters trauma is weird

- i don’t think isabela is crazy violent post movie and would hate to be seen that way

- luisa is an introvert

- I don’t like the take that bruno avoided the kids pre movie I actually think he would spend more time with them than the adults

- I hate parentified mirabel. she’s 15 let her have fun she does not need to babysit people who are all older than her

- on another note yall undermine mirabel too much just because she has trauma but so does every other character. mirabel is not the only one who is traumatized and her trauma doesn’t make her any less capable than anyone else.

- isabela is smarter than she’s given credit for

- luisa is the most feminine out of the sisters but y’all discredit that because she has muscles even tho the movie has an entire song about how she wants to be seen as more than that.

- dolores can be fun

- camilo is watered down to being just “crazy” but y’all ignore how caring and considerate he is too just cause he’s a teenage boy

- let mirabel say fuck

- this one isn’t even a hot take anymore but none of the characters are perfect and that includes Bruno

- talking about bruno I hate when he’s shown to be completely incompetent at everything

- same with mirabel

- I think it takes a lot of time for isabela to fully embrace imperfection as we saw after wecid how fast she reverted back

- alma is not evil or villainous at all but people have a right to be upset at how she acted (the movie makes this a point she does say mean things) her actions are understandable not inexcusable

- going from one toxic dynamic to a different toxic dynamic doesn’t make it any less toxic (codependency)

- isabela and mirabels relationship is mutually strained

- luisa wasn’t a good sister just because she ignored mirabel instead of belittling her

- mirabel was just as ignorant as everyone else and I’m tired of y’all acting like she knew the whole time when she didn’t

- pepa never hated bruno and y’all didn’t understand wdtab

- LET MIRABEL BE FUN AND SILLY

- antonio wouldn’t abandon mirabel for his animals he already loved animals premovie anyways

- isabela is a huge softie and I hate how overlooked that aspect of her is

- luisa never hated isabela

- dolores never intended on ruining isabelas proposal she just heard a prophecy that everyone’s lives were gonna be ruined and was terrified

- mirabel has friends

- luisa is a grown woman who is capable of doing things for herself

- I think camilo was the most distant when bruno came back but after a while they became really close

- mirabel is brunos fav i mean come on she literally saved his life

- i don’t think pedro is given enough respect

uh yeah that’s all I have for now lmao

[hafanforever]

Love Is an Open Door

Ah ha ha! Clever pun title for an analysis on this scene from Encanto, don’t you all think? 😆🤣

But seriously, I wanted to say that this is one of my favorite moments in the whole movie because it’s when Mirabel has finally earned the pride of her entire family, just as she always wanted.

Earlier in the film, things in the Madrigal family become tense, as everyone is unsure whether Mirabel is directly tied to the fading of the magic. Family members including Alma, Pepa, and Isabela accuse Mirabel of recent misfortunes after she indirectly ruins Mariano’s proposal to Isabela. Prior to this, Pepa and several others learn that Bruno’s last vision was of Mirabel seemingly being the reason the house was cracking apart (part of why Pepa makes her accusation). When Alma hears about the vision, she interprets as meaning that Mirabel is indeed responsible for the cracks appearing and Luisa’s strength fading (which happened after Mirabel told Luisa she felt she was carrying too much responsibility).

However, when the casita finally splits apart and starts to fall, Mirabel takes it upon herself to save the candle. After her family have been pushed outside, they notice Mirabel still inside, in a precarious situation while trying to get to the candle. They don’t tell to hurry and get it; rather, they tell her to leave it and get out of the house before it falls to the ground.

The Madrigals’ only concern in that moment is Mirabel.

After the house is finally destroyed and Mirabel runs away due to feeling responsible for everything, despite the loss of their home, everyone searches for her, showing they care so much more about her and her safety.

Though Mirabel was never given a magical gift, all of the Madrigals come to see that she is a gift in her own way, as the heart of their family. As an optimist, Mirabel is the one who has kept them together and been there for them individually through their rough times. She helped Antonio overcome his nerves before he got his gift. She helped Luisa be more open about her deep-rooted insecurities. She helped Isabela learn to be more honest with her feelings and unlock a greater potential of her gift. But most importantly, while it seemed harsh for her to have said it at first, Mirabel helped her grandmother realize that Alma’s perfectionism and control over the family was causing the tension, leading to Alma comprehending that she acted this way because she was just fearful of losing them all just like she had lost Pedro years ago.

Mirabel’s optimism helping her family is also portrayed in the beginning of "All of You”, in which she tells them that, while they lost their home, things will still be okay as long as they stick together as the family they are. After assuring them that they are truly more than just what their individual gifts have made them, Alma apologizes for being so hard on everyone, then assures her children and their children that they are the real miracles because of who they are, not because of what their magical gifts make them.

When construction of the new casita is finished, Alma sings that one more thing is left before they can celebrate, and when Mirabel asks what that is, Bruno sings a doorknob is needed. Immediately afterwards, Antonio presents one to Mirabel saying “We made this one for you.” The knob has an “M” inscribed in it, perhaps to initialize the family’s surname “Madrigal”, but I think it’s meant to stand for “Mirabel” (which could work both ways, since her full name is an alliteration 😉).

Once she hears those words and the knob is placed in her hands, Mirabel looks up and sees her entire family gathered in front of her. That and the way they look at her show that they not anticipate her putting on the knob, but that they all agreed that she deserves to do the honors.

Now some may be thinking that the Madrigals have chosen Mirabel as the one to put the doorknob in place just because she never got her own door as a young child, but I think it’s far more than that. Mirabel’s relatives have chosen her as the one to put the knob on the new door because they have all come to realize how much they cherish and believe in her. Having witnessed how much she truly loves them all through her bravery and selflessness of risking her life to save the candle and the miracle as the casita crumbled apart, they feel that she earned the privilege to do this.

When Mirabel begins walking up to the door, Antonio walks with her, as a callback to when she walked with him to his new door during his ceremony. As she walks, the individual groups of her relatives (e.g.; her maternal aunt and the latter’s family, her sisters, her parents, and her maternal uncle) all praise her for the good she has done for within the family.

Pepa, Félix, Dolores, and Camilo sing in agreement about how she is the star among them all who burns so brightly because of how she helped them be optimistic in the face of dire negativity and made them understand that they’ll be okay as long as they have each other. Even Camilo, the one who loves to tease others with his ability, gives his approval that Mirabel deserves this by nodding his head.

Isabela and Luisa commend their little sister for her bravery, and the warm smile Isabela wears while singing shows she has repaired her relationship with Mirabel enough that she truly believes her youngest sister deserves this.

Agustin and Julieta tell their youngest daughter to see herself in turn, meaning that she should see herself as special just as they all do, regardless of her never having had a gift (which echoes Julieta’s earlier words of wishing her daughter would see herself the way she does).

Tying in to the Madrigals seeing Mirabel as the heart of their family, Bruno then tells her that SHE is the real gift, and thus she deserves to let them in.

And finally, Mirabel comes up to Alma, who tells her to open her eyes, an obvious reference to the moment she said these very words to young Mirabel at the beginning of the movie (reversing the earlier said words by her saying them in English first, then repeating them in Spanish). By this, Alma tells Mirabel to understand that she is truly an amazing person as the whole family sees her.

When Alma asks Mirabel what she sees, Mirabel, who looks at her reflection in the doorknob, and with tears in her eyes, replies that she sees herself, and all of herself. By this, she means that, after ten years of feeling like she was "lesser" than everyone else in her family and trying so hard to live up to the Madrigal name, Mirabel has finally learned to love herself and sees how special and important she is within her family. 😊😭

Turning around afterwards, Mirabel takes one last look at her family, who all continue to look at her with beaming smiles of admiration and pride on their faces, before walking up to the door to put the knob in its place.

Once she does, the work is finally complete and the magic returns in the new sentient casita.

Now how is that for “love is an open door”? 😆🤣

[all-the-heart-you-cannot-see]

Just me rambling about Encanto again

So, something that i think is missing from many people's takes about Encanto and Generational trauma is that...it goes across generations, and multiple generations are guilty of inflicting it. Rewatching the movie it amazed me even more how much the fandom has turned Abuela into a caricature (jeje) villain instead of the complex character she is meant to be, and how realizing every characters role in the trauma being passed on gives the fact that Abuela was forgiven so quickly more sense.

Something that really struck me is how we never see the family members with magical powers use them for their own personal gain, i think the closest we get is Camilo pretending to be Dolores to get double portions and we see how that is immediately stopped by Felix, and even then, the first time we see Camilo he is using his power to help a mother get some rest from her newborn.

But even little 5 year old Antonio gets powers and the first thing he does the very next morning is use them to keep Abuela's seat warm.

So i think one of the things that Abuela made clear was very important for her while the triplets and eventually their children were growing up is to be of service for everyone around them, after all they had a village to take care of, to the point where i think everyone developed the "i'm pretty sure im worthless if i can't be of service" mentality Luisa sings about.

What is in paper a great way of raising your children ``use your abilities to help others who need it" became so extreme that their entire lives became serving others.

From this stems Pepa's anxiety about her powers, if she cant control her emotions, her powers get out of control and can harm instead of help.This is also the reason Bruno gets progressively separated from the family. He sees the future, and people's futures can be both good and bad, so it became a 50/50 on whether or not his gift was "useful" for the people of the town.

Coming back to the scene the morning after Antonio's ceremony, Alma tells him they are going to find something useful to do with his gift...she tells this to a five year old kid, who shouldn't at all be concerned with the problems of other people and how to solve them, and NO ONE bats an eye, Pepa and Felix, grown ass 50 year olds, don't tell abuela that their 5 year old son is perhaps too young to be given so much responsibility.

Julieta and Agustín do a great job with Mirabel, telling her she doesn't have to prove anything to anyone and defending her from Alma when she puts her down but...they don't extend the same courtesy to their other children and i think it's because they have helped reinforced this idea in them.

Luisa struggles with her powers for at least 70% of the runtime, and before that we know she was mentally struggling with all her responsibilities and when she talks about it she doesn't say "I don't want Abuela to be dissapointed" she expresses how everybody would be disappointed. It takes her collapsing in front of everybody at Isabella's proposal for her parents to notice there is something wrong with her.

We also don't get a scene with any of them talking to Isabela about the proposal, and again, when she talks about marrying Mariano she talks about the family, not just Abuela in particular, because again, is not just her passing on the trauma.

Hell, even Isabella constantly bullying Mirabel because she felt her sister not having a gift meant she had even more pressure to be perfect.Every member is guilty- to a different degree, obviously- until Mirabel comes around and finally breaks the cycle.

I would've loved at the end when Abuela and Bruno were apologizing for Julieta and Pepa to apologize to their respective children as well, cause it would've made so much sense why they decided to welcome her back.

It's because Alma wasn't the only one to make mistakes, she wasn't the only one responsible for the family's hurting, all of them were, in one way or another.

[justanisabelakinnie]

Theory Time!

Isabela is closer to the warm-colored family! 

Don’t believe me? Well, to start, she is the only cool-colored family member(aside from Mirabel, of course) to sing in We Don’t Talk About Bruno, a song sung otherwise entirely by the warm-colored family. 

She also is shown to be very close to Pepa, much moreso than to her own mother(I’ll get back to that later.), multiple times in the movie: 

Of course, it makes sense for her to be close to Pepa: water and rain nourishes plants and makes them grow! But it’s worth noticing that aside from background dialogue, Pepa doesn’t talk to Dolores even once, while Mirabel is at least shown talking to both Julieta and Pepa. Isabela also doesn’t talk to Julieta at all throughout the movie as far as I’m concerned. 

And of course, during the lunch scene in which Alma discusses Isabela’s engagement to Mariano, who does she sit with? 

The warm-colored siblings, right between Dolores and Camilo(with Antonio being on the other side of Dolores, though it’s not shown in the gif, so technically she is sitting on the side of the Afrolatine kids, whereas Mirabel would be sitting next to Luisa if Alma hadn’t forced her to move)! Even interacting with them the way siblings would, with both of them playing pranks on her and her responding to the latter in kind. 

But the question is...why? Why does Isabela appear to be so much closer to Pepa’s side of the family than to her own? I have a few hypothetical reasons for this. 

The first is that, due to her pressure to be a perfect, graceful flower(in Mariano’s words), and the older sister of the only Madrigal who didn’t get a gift, her parents didn’t take as much time and energy in looking after her and seeing if she was all right than they did Mirabel. They were more concerned about making Mirabel feel better about not having a gift than they were Isa being perfect because from their point of view, perfect doesn’t need fixing. Isa didn’t have any problems from their point of view and they figured she had everything under control. So she gravitated towards the warm side of the family since they actually paid attention to her outside of being perfect. 

The second(and this partly ties into the first) is that the warm-colored family is the side that actually sees who she is beyond her perfect persona. We know already that Isabela and Dolores are primas-hermanas, and were joined at the hip since they were kids. Who’s to say that Dolores wasn’t the only one that Isa could confide in about the pressure to be perfect, and that she was the only one Isa could be herself around for a while? As for Pepa, they most likely spend a lot of time together, seeing as how they dance together, she hands Pepa the flowers, and they even do the same dance at different points in the movie! Most likely it was Pepa who taught Isabela how to dance as a form of tia-sobrina bonding. As for Camilo, he pesters her like a little brother would an older sister, something he never does to Dolores and probably couldn’t because of her sensitive ears. It’s likely that he does this because he sees past Isabela’s perfect facade, and also because he can’t play those pranks on Dolores so he does it to Isabela instead. 

(They also both race for the candle together and look at each other worriedly when they fail, neither of them paying Mirabel any mind, it’s as if they were looking out for each other the way a brother and sister would:) 

Remember when I said that she is sitting with the warm-colored siblings at the lunch table? At the dinner table, when she is about to be proposed to and thus must keep up her perfection facade, she’s not sitting next to them at all. She is sitting with Mirabel and Agustin, who are on the cool-colored side of the family: 

Gifts may also be a part of this. Notably, unlike her mother and sister, Isabela has a gift that would fit in better amongst the warm-colored family, one that relates to nature in some way: her gift involves growing plants and flowers, Pepa’s gift is controlling the weather with her emotions, and Antonio talks to animals, which is a part of nature. The three are like a natural cycle. Pepa’s rain could make Isabela’s flowers grow and Isa could use those plants to feed Antonio’s herbivore friends. It’s possible that she gets along with Antonio too the way she does Pepa and Dolores, and sees him somewhat like a little brother rather than a cousin. 

All of this is just my opinion, of course, but it’s not too off the mark. I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to imagine that Isabela feels closer to the warm-colored family than to her own side, as tragic as that might be. Lots of scenes show her interacting with Pepa or relating to Pepa the way a mother and daughter do, and she is shown interacting with Dolores and Camilo the way siblings would. So perhaps she does feel a stronger connection to the warm-colored family after all. 

But that’s just a theory...AN ISABELA THEORY!!! 

Let me know what you think in the comments below! 

[nael-opale]

If you like long analytic rants, here I go

☛ Everything I love about The Ultimate Vision scene :

The way Bruno says "you can't hurry the future" like it's an evidence, with a little laugh in his voice

How he stops and chuckles awkwardly when he arrives in front of the unphased capybara...then decides to include him in the ritual, because why the hell not ? The beast ain't gonna move and he will not fight against a capybara.

Bruno's rant about people thinking he is creepy and a goldfish killer...he heard that song about him, right ?

Mirabel reassuring her uncle 😭✨ I love how she tucks her hair behind her ear while saying "family weirdos", making it clear that she is talking from experience

Bruno staring at her in disbelief... This man is NOT used to encouragements and it shows.

Antonio handing him the jaguar plushie 💖 Bruno looking at him with confused puppy eyes VS Antonio being super confident when he explains "for the nerves" (which I realize now, he is also talking from experience...the plushie helped him feel better before his very stressful gift ceremony)

Bruno's soft smile, looking down at the handmade plushie... In that moment, you just know he his thinking that he has been blessed with the best niblings EVER

The entire preparation ritual... The music starts and it's just so mysterious and beautiful. Just like the audience, Mirabel does not know what he is doing or why, but she is very attentive to his every move. I saw people theorize here that this exact ritual is not mandatory for the visions to happen, but that it helps him to concentrate. I love the idea, because you can really see him shift from his unsure usual attitude, having to convince himself that "[he] can do it" by repeating it out loud, to a more focused and confident demeanor.

The door to his room lighting up... We saw that the light flickers when people can't use their gifts, it seems like it stops shining when people don't use their gifts at all for a long time. But no one in the family died since Pedro, which begs the question : what happens to the door if someone dies ? Did his family think Bruno was dead when they saw the door without a glow, because no one stopped using his gift willingly before him ?

The way he says "you might wanna hang on" while cracking his knuckles It is probably the most assured he has ever sounded the entire time he was on screen. He knows what he is doing, at least so far. I have a theory about that : I don't think it is necessary for them to hold hands for the vision ritual to work, they let go a few times while they do it, and it does not stop anything. I think Bruno offers to do that because he knows his visions can be impressive, especially the green glowing eyes and the sandstorm... I think the last thing he wants is scaring his niece. He takes her hands so gently... Maybe it's comforting for him too ? Dammit, I'm emotional now...

Whatever this was...

It was hot. Something was awaken in me. Glowing green eyes and locks twirling against a dark sky sure is a sight. And I love that it's not him being a villain, he still looks so soft...

The moment of doubt Bruno went through where he wanted to stop everything... It just breaks my heart. I cannot express it better than @littleghostythings in this post so please, read it !

Yellow butterflies. Great theme, great metaphor, great visuals, great reference... Gotta love the butterflies !

Mirabel helping her uncle up and keeping his hand in hers while walking through the sandstorm... He can only do this with her help. That's powerful.

Bruno being confused about wether it is a fight or a hug ! 😂 My poor boy is not used to positive visions and he hasn't been hugged in 10 years... Also the way he says "you fight her !" with his fists up : I think your inner telenovela writer is showing Bruno ! Mirabel's frustration is also very funny to me : I think it mirrors the way he yells at her later, when she is caught up in her rant about Isabela. Bruno is clearly very sensitive to that because he looks distraught for a moment when she yells at him, and when he does it himself, he quickly apologizes several times...

Bruno being so happy that he had a happy vision for once ! He looks so enthusiastic when he shouts "an embrace !"

Bruno protecting himself from falling sand with the glass plate VS Unphased capybara accepting his fate with no reaction like a boss

Bruno's reaction being like : "Yeah - you have to hug your sister, that's great, I wish I could hug my sisters ! :D" *Mirabel is not amused* " ...nevermind. :( " *instant defeat* No wonder poor Bruno doesn't want to use his gift : everytime ! They turn on him EVERYTIME !

☛ In conclusion : well, when I said everything... It's everything. I basically described the whole scene with comments !

I love this scene because it highlights the resemblance between Mirabel and Bruno and the great relationship they have as a result. They relate. They understand and encourage each other. They're so supportive and I think it's neat. They both...desperately needed that. Having each other's support was genuinely helpful, unlike the accidentally condescending words of reassurance Julieta gave her daughter... Their words were enough to give each other comfort and power. That's what helped them find the courage to stand up to Alma. Together, they got stronger.

That's what family is all about. ╱╲╱╳╲╱╲╱╲╱╳╲╱╲

Thanks to @vilmublue for uploading 8 minutes of Bruno Madrigal, it helped me a lot to observe everything

Screenshot from this video / a post by @jayzmultifand0m

[furiousgoldfish]

More thoughts on Encanto:

The character of Mirabel is so parentified she was the only one doing any parental work throughout the entire movie; she was the only one to give care and support to her siblings (Antonio, Louisa,  Isabela) and she was the only one to seek out Bruno, while all of the adults also threw their personal issues at her (Pepa, Abuela) and some blamed her for it all

I love Mirabel's mother, and her love and support for Mirabel, but she modeled a role of a public service for Mirabel, and from this Mirabel learned that it's the only admirable and valuable role she could have; to the point where she was suffering for not being powerful enough to be a public service, and instead became a private service

I love Bruno but I wish his character was depicted more consistently, when we first meet him he's showing a lot of anxiety, withdrawal, guilt, shame, and he starts following the lucky rituals (lucky songs, knocking on wood, stepping onto the right places) which I have learned to associate with OCD, but, he doesn't repeat them obsessively or a fixed number of times, so I'm forced to conclude he doesn't have it, it's just general anxious behaviour. Then, he starts presenting different personalities complete with names who help him function, and for a wild moment I'm believing I'm staring at a disney character with a dissociative disorder, until a second later, he says he was acting, it was a joke! It felt a lot like baiting and they had me both times

Later as he presents to the family his anxious and withdrawal behaviour disappears and he is able to communicate with all of the family members easily

'We don't talk about Bruno' hits differently once you're aware Bruno is listening thru the walls

Nobody apologizes to Bruno for scapegoating him, forcing him to disappear, pretending he didn't exist, holding projected grudges for years. Instead, he apologizes to them. And it's all good, somehow. Bruno's suffering goes unacknowledged.

Abuela's trauma doesn't serve as a good explanation for the control and fear she brought upon the family; if you look at Isabela after she discovered her new power and her grandmother is angry, Isabela shows fear, shame, regret. She withdraws from fun, from growth, developoment, joy, because she's scared of her grandmother. This implies Abuela has punished her before for not being perfect enough, she's clearly scared and is ready to give up anything not to anger her grandmother anymore. How can this be rationalized by past trauma? It can't.

Bruno lived inside of a wall because of how scared he was of Abuela. Even though he was doing what she told him to do. This cannot be justified.

The scene in which Mirabel stands up to grandmother was perfect, but I don't think  that's where the house should have fallen apart; it's the act of slowly pressuring the family into breaking that created the rift between everyone, not the act of calling it out, the call out should have served to uncover that the family was broken all along

The resolution of Abuela's act is wildly unrealistic, in no scenario does a person abusing their power go 'Oh, so I guess I've been forcing this family into dysfunction and fear all these years, my bad, I'll be good now' and it doesn't have any further consequences, it's magical thinking and I've never seen it play out this way

I broke down when I realized what the message of the movie was:  Mirabel was what everyone needed to go on, and yes she was but it implies the children and the youngest of the family are there to fix the family's psychological and emotional issues. It implies that is their purpose within the family and they exist to resolve the elder's trauma. This isn't right. The youngest are there to be taken care of. The elders can take their trauma elsewhere, and provide care for the youngest, instead of parentifying them into their personal emotional crutch

Everyone losing their powers and being able to cope immediately bothered me, there should have been a period of denial, anger, grief, loss of identity, loss of self worth, a journey to find out who they are without their powers, some should have experienced relief at no longer being a public service, all of them lost their roles in society and would have to find new ones

It would also make them way more reluctant to go back to using these powers, they'd now be aware that the powers can be lost, and can take a big chunk of their identity with them

This movie was a testament that not even having magical powers can save you in a dysfunctional family

I got upset when at the end Mirabel still didn't get a gift, but afterwards realized that the way she touched the doorknob and the magic spread thru it, was the parallel to what Abuela did before with the candle; Mirabel is the new magic holder, and the house recognized her as the head of the family, she replaced Abuela

Which means there are two possible reasons why she couldn't get her gift originally; first is that Abuela held onto it and didn't want to give it away, meaning she was the reason Mirabel never got a gift and agonized over trying to find a role in the family for so long

The second theory is that Mirabel was already stronger in magic than Abuela and has rejected the gift because she already had a more powerful magic inside of her

I like that it was acknowledged that Mirabel is the more competent and reliable head of the family and was doing better work to lead the family in the right direction than Abuela did, but I still dislike her role, because you know she's only getting all the responsibilities without any privileges, she's now the caretaker of everyone, but nobody is going to start to respect her or care for her needs

Overall I loved the movie and that it opened so many topics to discuss, 'Surface Pressure' was raw and painful and I've already seen thousands of people resonate with it, the message against perfectionism was also strong, and it warns you not to trust smear campaigns. One part of me is so glad this is all out in public, another one sad because this means so many kids are now traumatized, it has became monetizable to feature family trauma in popular children's media