Encanto Film Review

Despite being called as the next franchise for Disney almost three years ago now they really haven't done anything all that important with the Encanto franchise. As the only thing really of note that they've done is release a prequel novel and done a live concert which they then released on Disney+ and that's really it even now the stars of the film have no clue on if they'll even be a sequel in the first place and if any Disney film deserves a sequel it's this one as this is a really good film and so then join me as I review the film that proves that you don't need to have a villain in it in order for it to be good with the film in question being called simply just "Encanto" enjoy.

The plot of this film is when she discovers that her families house is falling apart and that there magic is fading the powerless Mirabel must do whatever she can to save her family before it's far to late. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual plot that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good as the films plot is one that's not only really creative and original as there really hasn't been a plot like this either before or since this film first came out and while the films plot isn't the strongest one out one could argue that that's also the point of the film as the whole film is spent with this one character trying to fix this one issue and that's it and that really isn't the best of plots to build your film around but while that could be seen as being weakness for the film it's also one of the films biggest strengths as well as by having a weaker plot it does allow for the characters to be all the more charming because of it whereas if the films plot was more stronger it would mean that we would have to get a lot less of these smaller character moments inorder to make room for the plot and while yes this film could have had a stronger plot and those smaller character moments in it and still work that would mean cutting out alot of the films songs in the process as that's something that is also key to help make this film as good as it is as well with the plot of this film also being really rather entertaining and as well as being really rather engaging as well in my freaking opinions anyways / at least.

Starring in this film is Stephanie Beatriz as Mirabel Madrigal and María Cecilia Botero as "Abuela" Alma Madrigal. Also starring in this film is Mauro Castillo as Félix Madrigal , Jessica Darrow as Luisa Madrigal , Angie Cepeda as Julieta Madrigal , Carolina Gaitán as Pepa Madrigal , Diane Guerrero as Isabela Madrigal , Wilmer Valderrama as Agustín Madrigal , Rhenzy Feliz as Camilo Madrigal , Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Antonio Madrigal , Adassa as Dolores Madrigal , Maluma as Mariano Guzman and John Leguizamo as Bruno Madrigal.

Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual acting that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with all of this films actors turning in some really good performances with them all really getting their characters down perfectly so much so that it's hard to picture anyone else voicing these characters as this films actors are just that good and these characters are just well cast in this film and while yes there are some weaker performances like for example Wilmer Valderrama as Agustín Madrigal and Mauro Castillo as Félix Madrigal as there just Ok in this film the rest of this films are really good with the films best actor being Stephanie Beatriz who is oddly likable in this film as if you've seen her in Brooklyn Nine Nine you'll know that she plays a completely different type of character on that show then she does in this film and therefor it would have been reasonable for people to assume that the Mirabel character was going to be very poorly acted and yet she shows us just how good of an actor that she is by being this really likable character who is funny and charming and caring all at the same time with the acting that's in this film really being helped by the fact that this films script is just so good that all this films actors have to do is just say the lines as they are written and a good performance will come out of them naturally which is something that really does help to raise the overall quality of the acting that's in this very film.

Doing the animation for this film is the legends and the greats that are currently over at Walt Disney Animation Studios. Now then interms of what I personally thought / felt about the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt that the actual animation that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good with this films animation even for for a Walt Disney film being shockingly high quality with the film making great use of it's very vibrant colors and rich backgrounds all of which really do help this films world feel alot more alive and real with this being something that is oddly lost in more recent animated Disney films and yet here it's something that helps to make the films animation feel more alive with this really being helped by the fact that all of this films characters have some really fluid movements to them all of which do feel right for there characters with even Mirabel having some really zany and fast movements to her which is something that was a nice little touch as she is an out there type of character but in saying that tho none of the other characters in the film are animated all that differently and therefor there's none of there personality shining through in the films animation something which would have helped the film out quite alot like for example how cool would it have been if Luisa was given movements that were more two the point and not very relaxing to see thus emphasizing the fact that she's always on edge of if Isabela had movements that might seem practiced only for it to change near the end of the film thus bringing out the fact that the character is always practicing her poses to look perfect even tho she's really not that perfect of a person it's small things like that that would have helped to make this films animation be even more better then what it is in the first as right now whilst the films animation is really rock solid it is still missing those extra touches that a company like Disney really could have afforded to put into the film.  

One of the things that sets film apart from alot of many other Disney animated films is the fact that alot of the main characters have magical powers. Which is something that was a really fin addition as it does mean that we get to tell some really creative stories with those characters and have some really fun visuals with them as well and to the films credit the film does do the best that it could have done with the powers chosen however what would have made the film stand out all the more is the act that it doesn't really show us how not having a power or gifts as there called in the film effects Mirabel as she only gets one song to say how she truly feels about being the only one not having a gift and that's it when it would have been perfect to show us how the family treats her at the start of the film when compared to the end of the end of the film as even when Alma straight up blames Mirabel for the family starting to loose there gifts she never says how she felt about Mirabel not getting gift affected her with us barely getting to see how it effects Mirabel with this being odd as that's apart of the emotional core of the film and yet it's not done as well as it could have been as that's something that does have the potential to be milked for so much drama and yet the makers of this film did nothing with it which is something that does make it feel pointless as the film would play out the exact same way if Mirabel did have powers and yet when the film does chose to focus on her not having powers that's when we get some great insight into who she is as a character as even tho Mirabel presents herself as being this bubbly carefree type of person who will do anything for her family we also get to find out that secretly all she wants is to fit in and be like them and not be seen as the outsider that the family currently sees her as.

As was stated at the very start of this review this film does technically not have a villain or at least a villain in the more traditional sense of the word. As it very well could be argued that the film does have a villain in the form of Alma herself as even tho she is a deeply loving and caring grandmother something which we do see come into play quite alot in the film we also see that her tight grip is pulling the family apart more then it is holding them together with them all trying to be perfect not because they want to but rather it's because it's something that they feel like that they have to do in order to appease her and while she is unknowingly doing this as she does believe that the only way to keep he candle that gave them these gifts burning is to keep on working she's doing all of that at the expense of all of her kids and grandkids true happiness with both Julieta and Mirabel calling her out on this as Julieta says that Alma has always been extra hard on Mirabel then the rest of the family and Mirabel says that she will never be good enough for Alma as Alma always demands perfection from the family something which does kind of make Alma the films villain but it's not in a villain in the more traditional sense as Alma isn't evil she's just scared as she was scared of loosing her family and loved ones much like she lost her husband when they got attacked when Alma and her babies were trying to find a place to live and therefor her reason for wanting them to remain as these perfect people is honestly justified and the fact that she learns from her mistakes does make more of a caring character then one that is straight up evil.

This film is of course a musical film with the films songs being written by Lin-Manuel Miranda with all of the films songs being really good. Which is kind of the thing that you expect by Lin-Manuel Miranda as he only does know how to write good songs so much so that his talents were missed when it came to the songs in Moana 2 with all of this films being not only really well written in their own right but also perfectly fitting the character that there written for and while there are some pointless songs in this film like for example "Dos Oruguitas" which is a beautiful song but it also adds nothing to the film as a whole with the best song in the whole entire film being a tie between "Surface Pressure" , "The Family Madrigal" , "What Else Can I Do?" and "All Of You" as all of those songs are not only really fun songs but alot of them do have some really fun and creative visuals that help to make the songs standout with the only thing that lets the songs down quite alot is the fact that they do have a song quite alot of songs happen quite fast after the previous one which is a it to fast and can be quite tiring but when the songs are sung as well as the songs in this one are it does make sense that the films songs happen this fast as the film does have some shockingly good singers in it and while "We Don't Talk About Bruno" became the films breakout song it is perhaps the most over hyped song in the film as while it does have some really fun and creative visuals from a writing standpoint it just feels kind of bland as the characters are just saying things that could have been said in a line of dialog and not something that needed an entire song dedicated to it.

Now then this film has / had an exact grand total running time of exactly one hour and forty two minuets and seven seconds. Which to be fair to this film is perfectly solid running time for this film to have as this film does have the right amount of plot there to really cover that amount of running time in the first place and to the films credit it really does use it's running time wisely as the film does take the time to fully develop it's plot as alot of what makes the film fully developed isn't in the big moments of the plot but rather it's in the smaller moments like Isabela and Mirabel hugging when they bond as sisters something which does pay off a plot that's started in the song "The Family Madrigal" where Mirabel stated that Isabela lives a perfect live only for it turn out not to be true which is a nice way to get across pieces of plot and yet when the film does get to the more bigger moments they feel all the more earned due to the more smaller moments working as well as they do with the film even taking the time to fully develop alot of it's characters as while alot the family don't get alot of time to shine that was always going to be the case and yet the family members that do get character development feels earned due to the fact that the film does have these more smaller moments that give the characters the time to fully show off what there like as characters and while it could be argued that the film would be better off if it lost those smaller moments to further strengthen it's plot that would do more harm then good as it's those character moments that help the film be as fun as it is but I really will admit that this film really does have some really good pacing to it tho.

So now then as this is a comedy that really does mean that I have t actually talk about the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film well then in all honesty I in all honesty personally thought / felt tat the actual comedy that's actually featured / presented to us in this very film was in all honesty really good. With the films comedy being alot more better then what it really had any right to be as by all rights this films comedy should have been really bad and yet for one reason or another this film did turn out to be alot more funnier then more of the recent Disney films as alot of what makes the film funny is not only due to the films jokes but it's also due to the films animation as that is something that does elevate the films humor as we get to see the characters have these really wild and exaugurated expressions and have these really over the top movements that make what could have been a really bad joke seem even more funnier with the best joke in the film not even being something that's said in the film rather it's the character of Dolores as she openly admits in the ending song that she knew that Bruno was alive all the time and yet she said nothing to the rest of the family which is a funny thing due to the fact that it makes you wonder why she didn't just tell the family that he was alive in the first place with even Camilo's expression making the line even more funnier as he gives an expressions that pretty much just says the exact same thing with that being a good example of just how good that this films comedy really could be and while we do get jokes with the donkey's taking a step back before Luisa starts singing "Surface Pressure" and while Mirabel just trying to get a hug out of Isabela during "What Else Can I Do" are also really good example of this films comedy as well it's that little joke with Dolores that is better then all of them because of the act that it fits her character that makes it work so much in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. 

Overall this film is one that really does hold up all of these years later and it's one that really does deserve alot more love and attention then what it gets due to the fact that the film does have some really good animation and really good songs which are still good to this very day in my freaking opinions anyways / at least. Now then i've talked about all of the good and as well as all of the bad things that are in this very film in this very review and such that really does mean that this very film really does earn itself a grand old score of exactly an 8.5 out of 10 from me.

Now then as for where I personally got all pf the images that I personally used in this very review well then boys and girls and as well as ladies and gentlemen I personally got all of the images hat I personally used in this very review from IMP Awards . Com and Google Images. With my personally preferred website to use to get images really from this very film being the really great Google Images this is really because of the fact that really all of the images that I really indeed got and really used from Google Images are all really high quality really with all of the images that really are all and of course really currently up and on the really great and the really solid Google Images really are all being really fairly high in quality and as well as them all really being fairly high in definition.