Encanto

[D82]

Another TV spot and more from "The Family Madrigal".

[blackcauldron85]

Inspiring Disney's Encanto
https://youtu.be/tI2TrebU8rE

(I had two or three Encanto dreams last night, not my first ones either. #excited

[D82]

Here's another featurette: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jESGrpCBNLA

[blackcauldron85]

I love the food-focus, of Raya and now Encanto. Grilled street corn and arepas are two of my favorite foods anyway, and after watching that video, I've been reading about other Colombian foods. (Elote, street corn, is from Mexico, but they do have their version in Colombia like they showed in the video.)

I think it'd be nice if Disney continues to make films based in actual countries. Epcot doesn't have a Colombia pavilion, but surely they'll set some kind of info station up, right?

[blackcauldron85]

I received my Winter 2022 Disney Rewards Insider newsletter today (for Disney credit card holders), and there's an article on Encanto. Quotes from the filmmakers below:

Charise Castro Smith:

I am really excited for people meet Mirabel. She's such a deeply human, large-hearted person. And actor Stephanie Beatriz brings her personality to life so beautifully. It's very moving when Mirabel can finally say, "I'm just as special as the rest of my family."

Encanto is ultimately about finding personal perspective, so we wanted a place that represented many different ones. We chose Colombia because it is a crossroads for so many different cultures, perspectives and traditions, including African, Indigenous and European. It's a fascinating blend of cultures.

Jared Bush:

The Madrigals are a huge, multi-generational family living in one house. We wanted to tell a story about the family and the roles each member plays. In fact, I think many of our audience members will see someone in the Madrigal family that reminds them of somebody in their own.

Colombian music is so diverse, it's very freeing. Miranda's songs reflect that freedom and joy. His work is so much fun.

The cast of Encanto is huge. There are 13 family members, plus an entire town. The actors elevated the characters with unique personality quirks that add so much fun and color to the characters. A lot of the actors also have a very regional vibe, which is perfect for this film. And they have great voices, too, which was a real plus!

Byron Howard:

I know many people, who feel as though they are surrounded by amazing people, but that they themselves are ordinary. I think everyone can relate to the way Mirabel feels.

We saw everything from 200-foot-tall palm trees, to rain forest, desert and immense rock formations. We were inspired by all of it. I came home so inspired by this wonderful country and its culture.

Disney musicals are very collaborative. There was a lot of back and forth with Lin about who should sing a song, how it underscores the characters' personalities or strengthens the story.

*Edit*
PHOTOS, VIDEO: Mirabel from Disney’s “Encanto” Now Greeting Guests at Disney California Adventure
https://wdwnt.com/?p=554073

[D82]

New clips:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH_p8oS3Z34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swMBoBT-Lb8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d46RSzZmalw

The cast of Encanto is huge. There are 13 family members, plus an entire town.

The usually say there are 12 family members, but I've also seen 13 been mentioned a couple of times. Maybe it's that sometimes they include Abuelo Pedro too.

[Sotiris]

Here's another featurette.

All the shots with just Mirabel and Isabela being all energetic must be from the “What Else Can I Do?” sequence, right? It seems this song will be about Isabela showing Mirabel everything she can do with her powers. If that's the case, it would make the song a little insubstantial. I would have preferred if it was a song where the sisters worked out their issues like I previously theorized.

New clips.

Isabela coming down the stairs like she's a circus acrobat made me chuckle. She's so extra. No wonder Mirabel is annoyed by her.

[Farerb]

I see that they turned up the clumsiness to the maximum.

[Sotiris]

I've grown weary of having female characters act all clumsy and awkward as a cheap and lazy way to make them likeable and relatable. I believe this trend started with Rapunzel and then continued with Anna and Honey Lemon and now with Mirabel. This shtick is getting old. I was never fond of this personality trait in fictional characters to begin with. Do people really find it cute? I just find it annoying.

[blackcauldron85]

In that new Luisa clip, the whole town is starting to fall apart, not just Casita.

And as an awkward clumsy girl who has anxiety, I genuinely do appreciate Punzie and Anna, and I do like what I've seen of Mirabel so far. The Punzie freaking out about being a bad daughter/"best day ever" scene is very relatable for me, as an example.

[Jules]

The look Mirabel gives Isabela. It looks better in motion with the subtle animation at play.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d46RSzZmalw

OMG, an actual Catholic priest seen in a WDAS film if only for a second. Glad to see the studio acknowledge the fact that religion exists in 2021. In the last 30 years the trend has been to erase religious elements in these films so as to make them marketable the world over. I believe this is most flagrant in The Princess and the Frog. I've never been to the US, but I found out that New Orleans is well-known for its Christian community, and the Disney film makes absolutely no reference to this, not even in passing. Instead we get "good" voodoo in Mama Odie.

I am amazed Hunchback happened at all in 1996. Even so, it is curious that while we see plenty of religious imagery in the form of stained glass and statues (including one of Our Lady with baby Jesus), we never see a crucifix. At least I don't remember one.

[Sotiris]

In that new Luisa clip, the whole town is starting to fall apart, not just Casita.

I don't think the scene was showing the town falling apart. Just the average maintenance Luisa does every time she goes into town. The river needing rerouting, the church a change of location, and the donkeys escaping "again" couldn't have been caused by problems with the magic. It's interesting that Luisa seems to know something about what's affecting it. Maybe other people can see the cracks too, but are only pretending not to. Why are they keeping it a secret from Mirabel though? It must mean this secret involves her. Maybe she really is the reason the magic is starting to fade or at least that's what her family believes. She did say in a TV spot that the magic disappearing is all her fault.

[D82]

New TV spots:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U9lobQIpoc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnkiuEUL69Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azE2uMIE39k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZnzTOEezWEQ
https://twitter.com/EncantoMovie/status ... 1109497858

And interviews with the cast and crew:

Byron Howard (Director): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itfLQPJcsFI
Jared Bush (Director) & Charise Castro Smith (Co-director): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJBE2JzeJ_E
Yvett Merino Flores & Clark Spencer (Producers) Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRhpUUaGzU0
Yvett Merino Flores & Clark Spencer (Producers) Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZu_I96zXOM
Stephanie Beatriz (Mirabel) & John Leguizamo (Bruno): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87XTjq6gtd0
Jessica Darrow (Luisa), Wilmer Valderrama (Agustín) & Diane Guerrero (Isabela): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhhDFqaqMGs
Lin-Manuel Miranda (Composer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuZXURbXVTU
Renato Dos Anjos & Kira Lehtomaki (Heads of Animation) Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4z4X_3aPU
Renato Dos Anjos & Kira Lehtomaki (Heads of Animation) Part 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LScO_ptv7CU
Renato Dos Anjos & Kira Lehtomaki (Heads of Animation) Part 3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNjp-ftAEGU
Lorelay Bove (Assistant Production Designer) Part 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zgYRqZJO-Y
Lorelay Bove (Assistant Production Designer) Part 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGgrea44QRg
Kai Martinez (Assistant Choreographer): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVBVKCWZ0V0

[robster16]

Something about this production is really rubbing me the wrong way. The animation comes across as so high energy that it's borderline hysterical and frantic. I seriously do not get the idea that a lot of CGI animation has that every aspect of a character should be moving at all times just because it can. Your eyes keep darting across the screen and things just don't "read" anymore. I'm also not the biggest fan of the "realism is the epitome of beauty" art direction. Animated characters in photorealistic backgrounds and settings don't really excite me, ... at all. I miss a sense of stylisation and imaginative background and layout design, which seems to be favoured by a feeling that they want everything to look like you could just step into those worlds. A little more specific visual language and style wouldn't hurt in my opinion.

In terms of story I also don't connect well at all with the main premise of being labeled as sub par unless you can control the weather, speak to animals or make a complete rainforest sprout from your fingertips. I'm sure there's a good pay off at the end, but I do hope Maribel doesn't end up with her own magical superpower just so she can be validated by her family. There's too much emphasis in society these days, especially due to social media, to be special in order to be considered worthy enough, as it is!

I remain apprehensive about this production, have been from the start and this feeling keeps growing as more and more clips, details and footage emerges... sadly...

[Sotiris]

New TV spots.

It's interesting they name-dropped Zootopia in one of the TV spots. I think that's the first time they've done it for this film. Maybe it was because the spot in question focused on the animals.

Byron Howard (Director): "As a matter of fact, five years ago this week we started working on this film with Lin-Manuel Miranda. Lin was very keen to have this musical set in Latin America, but none of the three of us knew where it should be set."

Jared Bush (Director): "Why did this movie have to be a musical? Lin said this movie has to be a musical. That's why it's a musical. From the beginning we were really lucky that Lin-Manuel Miranda was part our our core creative team. Not just in writing the song, but really putting the entire story together"

Charise Castro Smith (Co-director): "He's been involved in every single screening that we do; really involved in the story. We would meet with him on a very regular basis and keeping him updated on what was going on in the story. He would talk about ideas that he had for songs or even for story."

So, it was LMM who decided the setting and the genre. Isn't that supposed to be the director's job? LMM was given an unprecedented amount of power and influence over this film. Why didn't they just let him direct it and call it a day? I was thinking maybe this film is a stepping stone for him. Have the directors take him through the animation process and show him the ropes, so he'll be ready to direct an animated film on his own. I wouldn't be surprised if someday soon it's announced he's directing his own feature at Disney.

Byron Howard (Director): "As soon as we started the idea of the movie, this magical family, the one character that kept coming out as being the main character that the whole story was based on was Mirabel. I think because everyone can relate in one way or the other to not feeling as worthy as we want to be."

This sounds like Mirabel wasn't set to be the protagonist from the start.

Jared Bush (Director) & Charise Castro Smith (Co-director).

We finally know the origin of the magic. The grandmother's love for her family is what caused the miracle. That means Alma is to blame for the magic disappearing. Maybe she has forgotten how to love unconditionally and that's what causing Casita to crack. It was also confirmed she had a difficult relationship with Bruno who felt like the black sheep and ended up leaving, so probably that contributed to the family's bond weakening.

Something about this production is really rubbing me the wrong way. The animation comes across as so high energy that it's borderline hysterical and frantic. I seriously do not get the idea that a lot of CGI animation has that every aspect of a character should be moving at all times just because it can. Your eyes keep darting across the screen and things just don't "read" anymore.

I noticed that too, but I think it's limited to only Mirabel's animation. Certain movements and expressions of hers are a little too fast and sharp and hyper. I think they're doing that to showcase how quirky and adorkable she is through her body language and not just her appearance.

I miss a sense of stylisation and imaginative background and layout design, which seems to be favoured by a feeling that they want everything to look like you could just step into those worlds. A little more specific visual language and style wouldn't hurt in my opinion.

It's true; the environments could use some stylization and flavor. With 2D movies that happened all the time. I'm not sure why they're more reluctant to do that with CG films.

I'm sure there's a good pay off at the end, but I do hope Maribel doesn't end up with her own magical superpower just so she can be validated by her family.

You don't need to worry about that. They won't give Mirabel superpowers because that would go against the message of the film. They wouldn't spend so much time trying to convince us Mirabel is special and capable as she is only to give her powers at the end.

[D82]

• The first reviews are in. Currently, the movie has a 92% score on Rotten Tomatoes with 25 reviews. Many reviews still need to be added, but this is a really good start.


• Disney Japan has released a snippet of "Waiting on a Miracle" in Japanese in this video which also includes new footage.


• An article from Disney Japan also provides some new details about the song:

"Waiting on a Miracle" is the main song of the film, following "Let It Go" sung by Elsa in "Frozen" and "How Far I'll Go" sung by Moana in "Moana". The song is about Mirabel, who lives a cheerful and positive life in a family full of special talents, saying, "Even if I don't have a magical gift, I'm still part of the family. I want magic, too." This song expresses her true feelings. Lin-Manuel Miranda, the Tony, Grammy and other award-winning composer of all the songs in the film, said that like "Part of Your World" in "The Little Mermaid" or "Into the Unknown" in "Frozen 2", this song is about what the main character really wants. This is the last song I wrote (of the eight). Mirabelle doesn't mind at all that she is the only one who doesn't have a gift. She is proud to be part of the Madrigal family, but through this song, she lets it all out, how she struggles with it. How it hurts to be different in the family, how she longs to be seen as the same as everyone else. It took me a long time to find the words to convey that," he said, explaining the difficulties he went through when writing the song and how it was an important song to reveal the struggles that Mirabel, who is usually positive and cheerful, is facing.

The role of Mirabel in the Japanese version of the film is played by Ruki Saito, whose singing ability has become a hot topic in the recently released song "The Family Madrigal". Unlike the cheerful and up-tempo rhythm of "The Family Madrigal", Ruki Saito sings this difficult song with a slow but unique Latin rhythm, conveying the feelings of Mirabel. The song is about Mirabel's anguish over the fact that she is the only one who is different from everyone else, and her desire to be just like everyone else, but when her family is in danger, Mirabel, without magic, is the only one who tries to move forward, giving us courage to believe that magic is not the only way to create miracles. In this day and age, Mirabel will be able to light up the hearts of the audience.

Source: https://www.disney.co.jp/movie/mirabel/ ... 16_01.html


• A couple of new promos:

https://twitter.com/EncantoMovie/status ... 8800823298
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_LY-yZHlw0

[Warm Regards]

Disney Japan has released a snippet of "Waiting on a Miracle" in Japanese in this video which also includes new footage: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-9B_l9E8yk

The snippet sounds good, reminds me of the end credits rendition of a Disney song -- a lot of 90s end credits songs had that "slow ballad" vibe too. (Though this "Encanto" song has a bit more energy to it.)

But I'll be honest and say that the biggest thing I noticed was that, following the tradition of other 2010s films, we'll see baby/toddler Mirabel in the movie. Not that I was expecting otherwise but just in case, people can see that on their own terms.

[Sotiris]

Disney Japan has released a snippet of "Waiting on a Miracle" in Japanese in this video which also includes new footage.

On a first listen, the song's disappointing. It starts with a traditional Broadway sound, but the chorus has a Flamenco sound to it which feels jarring and out of place. It's ill-fitted for the sentiment it's trying to convey and its purpose as an 'I Want' song. Still, I could have forgiven that if it at least had a memorable tune, but unfortunately it does not. Granted, the song was edited in this video and it was in another language, so I'm withholding final judgement until I listen to it in English.

But I'll be honest and say that the biggest thing I noticed was that, following the tradition of other 2010s films, we'll see baby/toddler Mirabel in the movie. Not that I was expecting otherwise but just in case, people can see that on their own terms.

It makes it easier to sell those toddler dolls this way. We knew a young Mirabel would appear in the film from that photograph of hers in the teaser poster. They wouldn't built a model of hers at that age just for a poster.

[D82]

I don't find the tune too memorable either, but like you said, Sotiris, it's just a snippet and in another language to boot. This Friday, when the soundtrack is available, we'll be able to judge it properly. I do like the idea for the visuals, though. How time seems to freeze and Mirabel walks among all the people who are in slow motion. I guess it's all meant to happen in her head and it's a visual representation of how she feels at that moment. The only thing I'm not sure I like about the visuals is that sometimes it reminds a bit too much of "Let it Go". Not only the shot I already mentioned the other day, but also the one in which Mirabel goes up the stairs and they lit up as she passes.

[Disney's Divinity]

"Part of Your World" and "Into the Unknown" are weird songs to lump together as a comparison. I don't really think of ItU as an "I want" song exactly? Or at least not purely an "I want" song. But Frozen 2 is fairly unique in terms of Disney's musicals because it's a sequel and the characters are already established.