Why change a recipe when it has been proven? Sometimes it is enough to subtly modify a few ingredients in order to spice up the sauce and not risk losing it. In the genre, Disney is a past master. This is the case ofEncanto, animated feature film by Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith featuring the first Disney heroine in glasses – who knows, the next one might be wearing brooches – where the creators of Zootopia and the screenwriter of The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez cheerfully mix leftovers of Frozen, of Moana and of Coco.
To get it all done, Lin-Manuel Miranda was called in, who signed eight catchy new songs inspired by Colombian music and reggaeton.
Born into a family with multiple magical powers, Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz in the original English version) has no gifts, like her father Agustin (Wilmer Valderrama) and her uncle Felix (Mauro Castillo) ). Indeed, the magic comes from the side of the maternal grandmother, the severe Abuela Alma Madrigal (Maria Cecilia Botero), who passed it on to her triplets, Bruno (John Leguizamo), who predicts the future, Pepa (Carolina Gaitan), whose moods influence the weather, and Julieta (Angie Cepeda), mother of Mirabel, whose good meals cure all ailments.
Yet when Casita, the family home whose stairs move at the mercy of the Madrigal clan, threatens to collapse, Mirabel seems to be the only one who can save her family. Even her older sisters, Luisa (Jessica Darrow), of Herculean strength, and Isabela (Diane Guerrero), perfection incarnate, cannot help her. Like all the other Madrigals, these latter are in danger of losing their magical powers. Just like Anna (Frozen), Moana and Miguel (Coco) before her, Mirabel will have to unearth the dark family past in order to discover her true nature.
Then we dance
Failing to offer a breathless learning narrative riddled with unexpected twists and solid subplots, Encanto features musical scenes that warm the heart and make you tingle. On the frenzied rhythms of songs, in English and Spanish, genius for Hamilton, the Madrigals and the villagers perform merengue, salsa and other Colombian dances.
In addition to these irresistible scenes with fluid movements, settings that are both enchanting and picturesque, as well as lush vegetation, whose vibrant pinks and shimmering oranges give the whole a festive and warm allure. Without forgetting these hundreds of yellow butterflies, a nice nod to Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece, A hundred years of loneliness.
Nothing has been overlooked in the details of this stunningly aesthetic animated film. Everything is so finely illustrated that the mess of Mirabel’s curls, the cotton texture of her clothes, the wool fibers and the embroidery stitches adorning her blouse seem tangible.
Musically and visually speaking, the magic happens. However, when the end credits roll, we have to admit that apart from its exotic charm, Encanto leaves little room for novelty or originality. In addition, the authors neglect an older audience by having omitted the second degree. Worse still, they have not been able to take advantage of each character, whose powers serve more to punctuate the whole with funny moments than to serve the main story. However, we congratulate them for making an ordinary and complex teenager into an endearing and exceptional heroine.