Disney’s Encanto - November 2021

[BluBonnet]

[BluBonnet]

Originally Posted by SimonP

Disappointingly, no Dolby Cinema screenings at my nearest one (UK)

Oh well, cheapo ticket booked at my local cinema for next Wednesday, can't wait.

What's going to be playing at your nearest Dolby instead?

[Farerb]

I got a chance to listen to the soundtrack and I didn't care for it. I guess if you were a fan of In the Heights or Vivo, you'd like it, though I'd say that both of these had better songs. Inside Your Heart was much better than Dos Oruguitas. I don't know, maybe in the context of the movie they will be better, but so far

[Show spoiler]I can understand critics who said that the songs feel more like fillers

.

[ps3bd_owner]

Originally Posted by Farerb

New clips:
Encanto Movie Clip - You Didn't Get A Gift? (2021) Disney - YouTube
Encanto Movie Clip - This Is Called Helping (2021) Disney - YouTube
Encanto Movie Clip - Nothing Is Wrong! (2021) Disney - YouTube

I'm looking forward to this, but watching those clips didn't really do much for me.

This'll be Disney's 60th film so it's kind of a big deal.

[Bob X]

Originally Posted by Farerb

I got a chance to listen to the soundtrack and I didn't care for it. I guess if you were a fan of In the Heights or Vivo, you'd like it, though I'd say that both of these had better songs. Inside Your Heart was much better than Dos Oruguitas. I don't know, maybe in the context of the movie they will be better, but so far

[Show spoiler]I can understand critics who said that the songs feel more like fillers

.

Having seen the movie (critic here), I know what you mean. I really enjoyed the film, but was underwhelmed by most of the songs. However - remembering that I felt the same way about Hamilton at first (which I am now addicted to), and knowing how much thought Lin-Manuel Miranda pours into his music, I gave them a few more chances, now that the soundtrack is out.

And what do you know, the songs have grown on me A LOT. There are tons of little easter eggs and repeating themes across songs that have real emotional impact, so I think the music really rewards repeated listenening. Much more than his songs for Moana, IMO.

[Farerb]

Actually Moana's soundtrack is my favorite from the new Era of films, probably my favorite since Hercules, I love it because the songs grow in emotion as the characters do and it feels like the story is integrated in them instead of stopping the film to sing a song (most recent example is Lost in the Woods from Frozen II). it also sounds more "Disney" and less "LMM" (probably because two other people worked on the songs as well). I did like Hamilton's songs and I might soften to the songs in this film, I do like Waiting on a Miracle, my issue with that song has more to do with Stephanie Beatriz' performance.
I guess this is the most contemporary Disney soundtrack and it's something that I need to get used to, especially as someone who grew up with the Renaissance films.

[Show spoiler]I did notice that characters have their own theme, though since there are only seven songs, it's really only noticeable in the final song. Isabela's theme is probably the most distinct (probably because she's in the most songs after Mirabel).

[Ernest Rister]

Originally Posted by avs commenter

I dont understand the logic in having such a small window for such a big release

Merry Christmas present and a subscriber push for Disney+.

[Rizor]

I hadn't heard anything about this movie until I saw a display for it in the movie theater lobbya few weeks back. Was looking to book some tickets to movies this week and saw this available in Dolby at the theater near my work. Just got back and thought it was very good! I don't have any specific thoughts, just that it was an overall entertaining and moving experience. I thought the first song was a bit repetitive but the rest were good.

Actually, come to think of it:

[Show spoiler]Maybe the family would be better off if they were all normal?

[BluCollector13]

Saw this tonight after catching "Bruised". There's a lot to appreciate about "Encanto". From a storytelling perspective, it's actually wise enough to avoid a certain third act trope a lot of modern Disney films, both animated and live action, have suffered from over the last decade, opting instead to focus on the layered issues of family and the good and bad in all of us.

Speaking of the third act

[Show spoiler]I was already liking it a lot, but when it got to the big moment between Mirabel and Abuela segueing into the "Dos Oruguitas", that utterly sledgehammered the hell out of my emotions and left me a weeping mess for the last twenty minutes. My mom's side of the family isn't Colombian (we're Mexican-Irish) but it reminded me so much of what my grandmother did for our family, the toll my grandfather's passing took on her and the closeness of our family (and also the outsiders), only without magical powers

.

[Farerb]

Do you think it will be nominated?

[BluCollector13]

Originally Posted by Farerb

Do you think it will be nominated?

I wouldn't be surprised if it was the winner, considering how Academy voters almost always tend to go with Disney or Disney/Pixar films. But from what I heard from acquaintances who already saw it, "Flee" shouldn't be discounted as a challenger, especially since it'll most likely be nominated in three categories: Animated, Documentary and International Feature.

[CyberpunkCentral]

I keep thinking this is a Pixar film, probably because it looks very similar to Coco.

[MifuneFan]

Just came back from seeing this. I thought it was very good. Loved the Colombian Jungle setting, and distinct cultural touches that differentiated it nicely from something like Coco. I saw it in Dolby Cinema, and the colors were dazzling. Just really vibrant. Definitely see it that way if you can. The songs were a bit of a mixed bag for me. I'm not a huge musical person to begin with, but I found the early songs to be somewhat annoying, and not catchy at all. It isn't till the one about Bruno that I started to enjoy them more, but I still don't feel like it has anything that are that memorable. Nothing that stands out to the point of being a hit on the radio for instance. Most are almost spoken-word songs that are used for exposition, and I rather they just get on with the story than try and force a mediocre song into the movie. Again, not huge on musicals, so fans of those, and particularly Lin-Manuel Miranda's work, will probably feel differently.

The story itself was pretty good, but I don't feel I connected with it on any real emotional level. Aside from Bruno, most of the the characters just feel very shallow, and undeveloped. There is one heartbreaking flashback scene with the grandmother that was the emotional high-point of the film to me. Overall, I still enjoyed it due to the festive atmosphere, bits of humor, and the Spanish music, but it's not as great as I'd hoped.

3.5/5

[samlop10]

Not as good as Coco (probably the closest this is similar to, although with a very different story and characters) but still a very solid family film nonetheless. The presentation was stunning in the Dolby Cinema, with the visuals and cinematography making the best out of the capabilities of the technology. Very, very rich colors. It’s pretty emotionally resonant but it won’t wreck you quite like Coco, and other animated films, have done so in the past. It’s a worthy trip to the cinema and it is nice to see more animated films exploring Latin culture like this (and again, Coco) does. A really good family pleaser all around.

[BluBonnet]

I think this is actually one of Disney's worst movies ever.

Found this one to be a disaster from beginning to end, with a muddled "message" that goes not one bit further than people needing to appreciate one another, apparently. The music had a genuine Colombian flavor to my ears, and yet the songs are completely forgettable.

I'd expected this could at last partly recapture the spirit of magical realism from the works of Colombia's best-known author, a sort of One Hundred Years of Solitude for family audiences, but if that's what they tried to do, the effort falls completely flat. It's pedestrian at best, and the "magic" grows stale fast.

The movie is preceded by an animated short that is easily more entertaining and charming than the feature itself.

[avs commenter]

It’s alright. Not top tier Disney by any means. Again, lacking a good villain.

[Spencer_Kain92]

Is there a short in front of it?

[brooks101189]

[Show spoiler]Abuela Alma was a better character than Abuelita in Coco. That character was such a hate sink that it really dampened that film for me. She showed NO remorse for what she did, at least Triton in Little Mermaid was like "What Have I Done" when he destroyed Ariel's collection.

[Farerb]

Originally Posted by Spencer_Kain92

Is there a short in front of it?

Yes.

[Farerb]

The film was underwhelming and disappointing to me. Everything felt flimsy and superficial, I honestly don't understand how the director of Tangled and Zootopia came up with a film like this.

Not everything is bad, so I'll start with the good - I liked that the film didn't have an exposition dump like Raya and the Last Dragon did, it didn't weigh down the flow of the narrative. I thought Mirabel was very likeable and there were several moments that were very emotional and might make people cry - I think the good reviews are mainly because of these moments,

[Show spoiler]mainly Mirabel's ceremony and the "Dos Oruguitas" sequence

.

However, these moments don't really make up for everything else.

[Show spoiler]I thought the characters were extremely superficial and the relationship Mirabel has with them were underdeveloped, especially with her sisters

.

[Show spoiler]yes, we see Isabela being rude to her in the beginning, but that doesn't mean that these few moments define their relationship, I really wanted them to go deeper than that and maybe explore Isabela being a little bit resentful towards Mirabel for not having to deal with the burden of having powers. Both Luisa and Isabela were basically there just for their songs and then they went back to being background characters. I really don't care about any of their characters truthfully

.

Another issue I had with the ending:

[Show spoiler]I really didn't like that they got their powers back, they did a song where they say they can be as good without powers, but then they get it back, felt like cheating and it was not really earned, I'm guessing they did that in order to not close the door on a potential franchise: sequel or Disney+ series

.

And one more thing about the situation with WDAS - I think that it's very troubling that in 2016 they released not one, but two really great films and they really were on top of their game, both Zootopia and Moana really made me look forward to what the studio will do next, and yet all the 4 films they've released since then were not really good and pretty mediocre. Something I've felt for a long time is that WDAS has entered a new dark era, starting with Ralph Breaks the Internet, and yet no one realizes it because the reviews for for animated films have low standard these days so we get 90%+ for both Raya and the Last Dragon and Encanto (I think I know the reason why but I think it's best not to share it), but maybe that's just me, maybe I'm too old that I don't find these films engaging anymore (though that's not the case with Pixar). It's sad to say that I'm not really looking forward to any future projects from WDAS.