The animated Disney movie Encanto is a fantasy movie that tells the story of the Madrigals that live in a magical corner of Columbia. Each of the Madrigals has his or her own power, except for Mirabel. This movie has an amazing soundtrack as well as beautiful color palettes that reflect the characters’ unique personalities, but the colors and soundtrack aren’t the only reasons why I love this movie. It tackles a big theme of intergenerational trauma. 

The root of this trauma started when Abuela had to flee her village and lost her husband. Abuela had three babies that she ended up raising on her own. Then she was gifted with the “miracle candle.” Abuela is scared that because Mirabel has no power something is wrong with the magic that gave them their home. This causes Abuela to ostracize Mirabel. She tries very hard to get approval from Abuela but she can’t live up to her high expectations. Mirabel ends up feeling left out of her family which is portrayed in the song “Waiting on a Miracle.” 

Mirabel isn’t the only one getting left out though. Bruno has the gift of seeing into the future so when something bad will happen he is able to warn his family. Instead of the family listening to him,he is shunned away because they think that Bruno causes these bad occurrences. In the song, “We Don’t Talk about Bruno” We are shown how everyone feels about him and how they don’t talk about him because of his gift. This causes Bruno to hide away in the walls of the magical home and watch telenovelas of rats by himself since he can’t please anyone. 

Everyone else in the family is also feeling pressured to make Abuela happy which is shown  throughout the soundtrack. In “Surface Pressure,” we learn how Luisa feels about having to be the strongest in the family. On the outside she portrays herself as someone who can take all this weight but under the surface she is worried she can’t handle all the pressure that is put on her. 

In Isabella’s song “What Else Can I Do?” we are shown how she doesn’t want to be perfect all the time. In this song she starts making plants that aren’t “perfect” and she says that she hides behind a smile. She feels she has to be perfect and pretty all the time because that is what is expected from her.  

Mirabel soon helps Abuela realize what effect she is having on the family as well as telling the rest of the Madrigal family that they are more than just their powers. In the song “All of You,” the family finally comes to realize that they can have better relationships with each other. Abuela also realizes that she needs to stop being so hard on her grandchildren. Bruno also gets an “apology” from the whole family for treating him how they did. 

Not only did Mirabel have an impact on her family she also had an impact on the movie’s viewers. Amanda Hogan, a student at GHS, says that “Mirabel made her feel like she shouldn’t be pressured to make everyone happy all the time.” She also said  “My favorite part of the movie is the soundtrack since it reflects each of the characters.”  On a movie rating scale I would give this movie five out of five stars.