A warm, visually inventive family fantasy with catchy songs and a surprisingly sharp focus on generational pressure, identity, and the burden of being the “fixer” in a family. It’s especially rewarding if you like emotional animated musicals that balance spectacle with sincere character work.
Encanto
Where to watch: Buy
Movie · Animation · Comedy
Wed · 1h 42m
Director: Byron Howard, Jared Bush
Starring: Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo
Overview
The tale of an extraordinary family, the Madrigals, who live hidden in the mountains of Colombia, in a magical house, in a vibrant town, in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. The magic of the Encanto has blessed every child in the family—every child except one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that the magic surrounding the Encanto is in danger, Mirabel decides that she, the only ordinary Madrigal, might just be her exceptional family's last hope.
Director
Byron Howard, Jared Bush
Cast
Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo
Curator Review
Verdict
A warm, visually inventive family fantasy with catchy songs and a surprisingly sharp focus on generational pressure, identity, and the burden of being the “fixer” in a family. It’s especially rewarding if you like emotional animated musicals that balance spectacle with sincere character work.
Best for
families and kids who like musical animation
viewers who enjoy heartfelt stories about family dynamics
fans of colorful fantasy worlds and expressive production design
audiences looking for an accessible story about trauma and self-worth
Skip if
you dislike musical numbers driving the story
you want a plot that stays simple and low-key
you prefer animation with a more satirical or adult tone
you are looking for a purely action-driven fantasy
Overview
Encanto is one of those mainstream animated films that earns its emotions honestly. Beneath the bright colors and fast jokes, it’s really about family roles, inherited pressure, and the way love can become conditional when everyone is trying to hold a fragile system together. That gives the movie more bite than its candy-colored surface suggests.
Worth noting
The songs are built to do real narrative work, and the strongest ones sharpen character rather than just decorate the film. The animation also does a lot of heavy lifting: the house, the powers, and the town all feel like extensions of the family’s emotional state. Even when the movie leans into broad comedy, it keeps returning to the idea that being “ordinary” can be its own kind of strength.
Bottom line
It’s not the most subtle Disney musical, and some viewers may find the pacing busy or the resolution a little neat. But as a piece of family entertainment with a genuine emotional core, it lands well. The result is lively, sincere, and memorable, with enough craft and feeling to justify the attention it received.
Top Letterboxd reviews
jonathan fujii (3★) · 17941 likes
They really said silencio Bruno
Chris Feil (4★) · 17133 likes
It’s about a family cracking under the pressure of heterosexual expectations and how hard it is to be the only gay person in a family except your one weird uncle, so of course I really enjoyed this
john (3★) · 14144 likes
proof that old people are annoying
Dane McDonald (4★) · 11399 likes
I, too, like to explore generational trauma through song.
Emma 🔆 (4★) · 6735 likes
It isn’t right that there are so few films with capybaras. With their quiet beauty and grace, expressive eyes and hypnotic personalities, there is no reason for their appearances in media and merchandise to be so sparse. I will not stand by quietly anymore. The capybara revolution must begin
Themes
family dynamics, generational trauma, self-worth, identity, burden of expectations, healing, sisterhood, magical realism
Topics
animated musical, family fantasy, magical realism, generational trauma, coming-of-age, bright visual design, heartfelt, Latin American setting, ensemble cast, feel-good drama