Trying not to spoil Encanto

 Our family watched Encanto. Okay, let’s talk about while minimizing the spoilers.

I really want to avoid discussing the plot but Encanto is about a magical family in Columbia and their magical house with the protagonist being the one daughter who doesn’t have a magical power. The film discusses the nature of family and community.

Honestly, I think it is the best film to come out of Disney’s animation studio since Moana. (We all like Frozen II but it has some pacing and script issues)

The scale of the movie is smaller than a lot of Disney movies. The stakes are literally on a family level. With that said, said stakes are very important to the characters and that importance is successfully conveyed to us, the audience. It’s a more intimate story than trying to save the world or a kingdom but it also more relatable.

I know some folks who don’t like Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music but I think it definitely works in Encanto. It’s a fun soundtrack. There might not be a ‘Let It Go’ in it but that was a once in a generation lightning bolt.

And, of course, the animation is amazing. That’s kind of been the point of Disney since Snow White et al but the point still stands.

Basically, as a parent and a consumer of cartoon musicals, I’m glad Encanto exists.