DVDizzy Forum

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.

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!

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.

blackcauldron85 wrote:

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

D82 wrote:Here's another featurette.

D82 wrote:New clips.

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

blackcauldron85 wrote:In that new Luisa clip, the whole town is starting to fall apart, not just Casita.

D82 wrote:New TV spots.

D82 wrote: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."

D82 wrote: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."

D82 wrote:Jared Bush (Director) & Charise Castro Smith (Co-director).

robster16 wrote: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.

robster16 wrote: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.

robster16 wrote: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.

"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.

D82 wrote: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

D82 wrote:Disney Japan has released a snippet of "Waiting on a Miracle" in Japanese in this video which also includes new footage.

Warm Regards wrote: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.