The newest movie that’s all the craze, Encanto, released in late November, and was released to Disney+ on Christmas Eve. The movie is about a loveable girl, Mirabel, and her journey to find her miracle. Her family, the Madrigals, live in hidden mountains in Columbia, and they all have magic powers, or miracles. For example, her two older sisters have the ability to conjure flowers and control plant life while the other has super strength. 

The story takes place in Columbia, which is portrayed beautifully throughout the story. The visuals of the Columbian countryside are colorful and vibrant throughout the plot, and help to move through the story. The town they live in, called Encanto, is wondrous and charmed, and the Madrigals live in a magical house, which is rather captivating. The house, or “Casita”, manages to play its own character with its own personality throughout the film.

Along with the amazing story line, it also has a great soundtrack, one of the songs, “Surface Pressure” even becoming a global hit.  Lin Manuel Miranda helped write eight songs for Encanto, he has in the past helped write many of the songs in Disney’s Moana, and all of the songs are catchy thanks to him. 

Stephanie Beatriz plays Mirabel, Beatriz is most famous for her character Detective Rosa Diaz from Brooklyn 99. The movie has a noted cast, with people like John Leguizamo, he plays Bruno, he is also well known for being Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age movies, and Colombian singer Maluma, who plays the attractive boyfriend. 

Some stand out moments from the movie was when Isabela was discovering something new about herself. Her powers consist of being able to control plant life and call upon flowers, she sings a song, “What Else Can I Do?”, where she talks about her struggles. Visually, during this scene, it is beautiful, she creates a whole new world inside her room and discovers what new and imperfect things she can create with her powers. 

Like many Disney movies, there are easter eggs throughout the whole movie, even in the poster. The character Bruno is the “black sheep” of the family, he leaves the family because he feels he is a disgrace to the family, but if you pay attention to the movie you can see many cloaked figures with big glowing eyes in the background, and even in the movie poster, that’s Bruno. Even in the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, Dolores, whose power is being able to hear from over a mile away, says that “I can always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling”. 

Overall the movie is spectacular, the visuals, catchy soundtrack, and lovable characters. It’s perfect for family movie night and sure to be loved by everyone, you can watch it now on Disney+.