My thoughts on Encanto, in comparison the itâs predecessors. Itâs a long post! Possible spoilers ahead, youâve been warned!
Encanto: A Masterpiece that Let Things Happen
Disneyâs more recent movies have had this problem where they either try establish character growth by saying it out loud instead of just conveying it through a scene, or just flat out not acknowledging the growth and expecting the audience to believe it ever happened at all.
But not Encanto. It knew how to place its characters into situations that didnât feel forced, it didnât feel the need to explain to its younger viewers why something was happening, and it knew the importance or character dynamics because it has a whopping 12 character cast. It knew the exact amount of backstory to provide, while also not cramming it all at the beginning and sprinkling it through the climax as well. I also love how Encanto managed to establish all of its charactersâ presence wnd relevance within the story. Itâs refreshing to see the story progress from someone elseâs perspective, and how the main characterâs decisions have different effects on different characters. Itâs something Iâm looking forward to from future Disney movies.
For example, Moana was mostly about Moana, with a bit of Maui character development sprinkled throughout. But we never got to see any scenes that really established or cemented someone elseâs relevance to the story. We never got to see Gramma Tala witnessing the moment Moana was chosen by the ocean and instead we were just supposed to believe she was somewhere in the trees watching, all because she said she was there. We never got to see her parentsâ concern for her and how they felt about her leaving right after her grandmotherâs passing, with no guarantee that the island could even be saved; how guilty her father would feel if he lost Moana just like he lost his best friend; or whether or not their faith in her ever wavered during her absence. We also never established Mauiâs change of heart to come back and risk breaking his hook permanently to help Moana after he originally left her, and weâre left to assume whether or not he made that realization on his own. Moana was central to this movie, but almost too much which I personally feel was one of its weak points. Had we seen any of those moments, it wouldâve given the movie a much bigger sense of importance and appreciation for its non-titular characters, instead of leaving the audience to believe any of these scenarios happened. Show us something.
Frozen 2 also had this same weak point, but not to the same extent as Moana did. It had a lot of problems but Iâm not even gonna go there⌠As a sequel, its main cast already had established personalities and relationships, but it gave so much focus to Anna and Elsaâs internal struggles that Kristoff and Olafâs relevance to the plot fell flat, and all the new characters introduced werenât given any reason for the audience to care about their presence. Weâre just left to believe that Elsa has always held her motherâs scarf when she gets upset, and that Olaf has been reading a lot, and that Anna was ever ready to become Queen of Arendelle, all because these things were said out loud instead of being conveyed visually. We never saw the moment where it clicked in Olafâs brain that growing up doesnât always provide clear answers, and we wonât always be ready for the things that happen to us. We never got to see the moment Kristoff realized that he didnât need a gimmick or a grand gesture to propose to Anna, and he just suddenly knew the next time we saw him. And yet the songs they sang were made for us to believe that there was a learning curve there, but there wasnât? Those songs were an acknowledgment of their vulnerabilities, but were never built onto to show character growth afterwards. Weâre just supposed to believe that the growth happened. Show, donât tell.
In Raya and the Last Dragon, we see less of this problem than in Frozen 2. As a story about divided nations, not all of the characterâs stories needed to intersect with one another, but the overarching theme of found family attempts to make up for the lack of character depth. Each character makes an impact on the story, but itâs just that the storyâs execution is poorer than it shouldâve been. It was never established why that specific day was chosen for the lands to reunite, nor was it given any significance. It was just a random Tuesday. Why not make it the 500th anniversary of the disappearance of the dragons? They spent far too much time making fun of Rayaâs jackfruit jerky when it couldâve been spent establishing Sisuâs low self-esteem. Her character was first introduced as a self-depricating dragon, but she was never actually self-depricating? It was also never clarified why Sisu associates trust with the presence of a gift, but it wouldâve been a wonderful detail to fully seal her character as âthe little dragon that couldâ. I refuse to believe that Sisu believes that the gem was the gift itself, because her approach to gift giving isnât the same as her siblings trusting her. We also never got to see Raya acknowledge the turmoil she must have felt leaving her people behind and what she felt during her six years on the road. We could have gotten a montage of her living in each of the 5 lands trying to camouflage herself as a member of their clans, and all the people that must have helped her out along the way. Among other things that were briefly mentioned but eventually glossed over: Tongâs importance in his village, Bounâs sister tousling his hair upon reuniting, how baby Noi was separated from her mother, and why Namaari suddenly cared to protect Raya and take Sisu herself? Weâre just lead to believe that Namaari suddenly cares about Rayaâs safety so she wouldnât have to worry about Virana causing any harm. Also, the fact that these nations were in conflict for centuries, but all of that was resolved and healed within a day. Anyway if you couldnât tell I have a lot to nitpick about RatLD but my point is that it spent a lot less time establishing character relevance than it needed to. Show us something.
But with Encanto, every character was established enough for the audience to understand their presence, and they all felt important whether their overall roles were significant or not. And thatâs the entire message of the movie, everyone has something to offer within the bigger picture. We didnât hear anyone say âI think Antonio is nervous for his gift ceremonyâ because they just showed it actually happening. Kids donât always tell people when they feel anxious, and will sometimes hide like Antonio did. They never relied on Mirabel to talk about how mean Isabela could be, because there were times it was happening right in front of our faces. Itâs all in her demeanour, her expressions, and the way she carried herself through the first two thirds of the movie. They didnât need to say it out loud that Abuela was conflicted towards Mirabel, because it was showed through all of her interactions with her. We never needed to hear that Mirabelâs parents would defend her from Abuela, because we actually saw them doing it. We didnât need Dolores to tell Mirabel about her suspicions about Bruno in the walls because Mirabel found out on her own.
Things in this movie just happened without being verbally hinted towards beforehand or being brushed over and expected to believe took place afterward.
Letting things just happen without acknowledging them beforehand but still expanding on them afterward not only feels more natural, but itâs a good way to build tension without losing any of the momentum. Encanto managed to consistently build tension up until the climax, and thatâs what made the whole movie so amazing to me. It also managed to be a Disney movie I canât nitpick things from because you can feel the amount of effort that was put into the story we got. Encanto has set the bar high! This is something Iâll continue to expect from future Disney movies, because Iâm not looking forward to any more movies that have to spell things out for their kid viewers.
