Review: Disney’s ‘Encanto’ Has Latine Representation We’ve All Been Waiting For

by Lorraine Olaya

This story was originally published on New York University’s Washington Square News.

Say what you will about Disney, Lin-Manuel Miranda or musicals — there is finally a movie representing me, a Colombian woman, so you know I had to see it. 

I don’t even know where to start. “Encanto” has everything I could’ve wanted — top-notch animation, vibrant colors, realistic representation, heart-tugging and upbeat music, expert attention to detail and love for Colombian culture. 

Disney princess Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz) — yes, I’m referring to her as a Disney princess since Latinas have been long overdue for a real one — is a tough and authentic heroine. The story follows her magical family, the Madrigals, who all received various enchanted gifts or abilities after Abuela Alma (María Cecilia Botero) fled her home and lost her husband due to political violence. Mirabel, the only family member without a gift, is left with the task of saving her family’s fading magic. Mirabel’s devotion to her family and determination to prove that she is just as special as them is a predictable way to drive the plot and reach that Disney happy ending. However, the movie’s themes and specific representation of magical realism — a literary genre popularized by Colombian writer Gabriel García Marquez  — pushes “Encanto” in a new direction. 

Read the rest of the story at Washington Square News.