We don't talk about Bruno... no no no?

SPOILER ALERT - I will be freely discussing the full plot of Encanto, so if you haven't watched it, look away now!

Unless you've been living under a rock lately, you'll know that Encanto and its catchy number one hit "We Don't Talk About Bruno" are everywhere. We watch a lot of Disney in our house, so we fully expected that our son would want to watch Encanto when it made it to Disney+, and made the most of a Sunday afternoon to watch it as a family. Since then it has become a firm favourite. Our son asks to watch the film several times a week and listens to the soundtrack on a daily basis. My husband and I catch each other humming the songs around the house several times a day.

I don't mind this at all. In fact, I really like it. Why? Because Encanto is magical in so many ways. It may be aimed at children, but it's the best film I've seen in a long time. It's not like the Disney films I watched as a child, where there was a good guy and a bad guy and a happily ever after; it's deep and multi-faceted. It contains so many things I want my children to learn as they grow, and a few that I could do with remembering for myself as well.

The main pull of the movie is the music. A brilliantly-written soundtrack by the genius that is Lin-Manuel Miranda.  

My son's favourite song is the earworm-worthy "We Don't Talk About Bruno", and I can see why - it's super catchy and fun. It's also a masterclass in story-telling through music. It felt very like something from a West End/Broadway musical, where various perspectives are given in one song, with voices all overlapping, to paint the desired picture of why we're supposed to be wary of Bruno.

My husband has taken a particular liking to calm, beauty of Dos Oruguitas. It's melodic, serene and emotional. It's sung in Spanish in the movie, so the meaning of the song isn't immediately clear, but we watch everything with subtitles on (we read somewhere that it was good a good thing to do when teaching a child to read) so we were able to appreciate the fact that the film's whole lesson is summarised in this one song.

Don't you hold on too tight.
Both of you know, it's your time to grow, to fall apart, to reunite.

I, on the other hand, am torn between "Surface Pressure" and "What Else Can I Do?" as my favourite song.

"Surface Pressure" has been adopted as an older sibling anthem; with lyrics like:

Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt
and see if she can handle every family burden.

it's not hard to see why. But there's so much more than an older sibling strength going on here. I relate to the lyrics in so many different parts of my life, as a mum, a wife, a friend, a daughter, a sister, and just generally as a human being. My favourite lyric in the whole song is:

Who am I if I can't carry it all?
If I falter.

Under the surface
I hide my nerves and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us.

The lyrics are so incredibly clever. At one point, Luisa sings about the Titanic, saying:

The ship doesn't swerve as it
heard how big the iceberg is.

Except that the ship sank. It should have swerved. It's a great hidden message about how Luisa has misunderstood her strength, and should, in fact, be asking for help when she needs it.

Also, as a side note, I love that Disney are portraying a strong, beautiful, layered character like Luisa. Showing kids that beauty is not just found in the traditional Isabella-style grace and charm, but also in the less conventionally accepted strength and courage.  

Vying for the title of my favourite Encanto song is the song that Mirabel's other sister sings. She's initially very unlikeable in the film, but Isabella shows a hidden depth in her anthem "What Else Can I Do?" - a song about the expectation of being perfect all the time.

The meaning behind the lyrics are impossible beautiful when you consider they are featured in a cartoon film, but they really hit home as an important life message:

What could I do if I just grew what I was feeling in the moment?
What could I do if I just knew it didn't need to be perfect?
It just needed to be.

and my personal favourite:

I'm so sick of pretty, I want something true, don't you?

The back and forth between Isabella and Mirabel is beautiful, as they come to understand each other better. Isabella is in the middle of exploring her new found skills, constantly asking what else she can do, with Mirabel's only responses being supportive messages like "grow", "show 'em what you can do" and "there's nothing you can't do".

Combine these two songs together and you pretty much have my personality wrapped up. I have sung them both on repeat for days now.

Aside from the soundtrack, the story itself is beautiful. Abuela learning that the best way to love someone is to let them be themselves, and that family is more important than anything. The mother, Julieta, being able to heal with her food is a lovely metaphor for how mothers nurture their families. Mirabel learning that just because she doesn't have magical powers like the rest of her family, doesn't mean she's any less special or valuable.

Here are the top lessons I've found nestled in the plot that I hope remain with me and my kids for a long time to come:

Just because your gift isn't obvious, doesn't mean you don't have one

Mirabel has several moments in the film where she laments her lack of powers and questions whether or not she is adding anything to the family dynamic, often over-compensating in other ways to make up for her lack of gift. But, as you would expect from a feel-good Disney film, she realises that her gift may, in fact, be the most important one of all. It masquerades as something ordinary and every-day, but it is anything but.

The best gift you can ever have is to be able to show others unconditional kindness and support

And this is Mirabel's superpower. It takes a while to pick up on it, but she has a very soothing, open nature, and is supportive of every member of her family. It starts right at the beginning, when the village kids ask about her gift and she spends the whole opening number telling them about all the amazing things her relatives can do and how she's proud to be a part of their family. Then she calms Antonio's nerves effortlessly just before his gift ceremony. She gets Luisa to release some of her burden, helps Isabella realise that she doesn't have to be perfect all of the time, promises to bring Bruno back into the family circle, and even helps Abuela to feel better after their fight breaks the encanto. She never asks anyone in her family to be anything other than their true selves, and it's magical.

You don't have to shoulder life's burdens on your own

This is most obvious in Luisa's anthem and storyline, with her realising that she isn't weak if she needs to ask for help. But, there are other plot points that help illustrate it:

• Mirabel takes the pressure of saving the miracle on her own shoulders, but isn't capable of doing what she needs to without support from Bruno, Antonio, Isabella and Abuela.
• Delores keeps quiet about her feelings for Mariano, but with a little help from Mirabel and Isabella, she gets the man of her dreams.
• Bruno has given up on his gift because he came to believe that it caused nothing but pain, but with Mirabel's help, he opens up to the knowledge that he just wasn't seeing the whole picture.

It's a lovely demonstration of a problem shared really and truly being a problem halved.

Perfection is not sustainable

Isabella spends the first half of the film coming off as irritable and unlikeable, with her perfect movement and arrogant attitude. It's only when you hear her sing about the pressure that she's under, that you realise that it was all her way of coping with the expectation constantly placed on her to not even so much as have a strand of hair out of place. Once she comes to terms with the fact that it's ok not to be perfect all the time, she softens and warms. The pressure of perfection was literally making her miserable, and it wasn't worth it.  

Your strength can also be your downfall if you put too much emphasis and focus on it - everything in moderation

Several of the characters are shown to struggle with their gift throughout the film:

• Luisa feels that she has to be strong to the point of never showing any weakness of body or emotion
• Isabella maintains perfection at all times, causing herself misery and making life decisions based on what she thinks other people will want rather than what she wants
• Pepa is so busy trying to avoid the negative emotions that she feels because they cause rain and storms, that she ends up storming even more than she would if she just felt what she felt (she her wedding day - Bruno pointed out that she seemed a little nervous and she ended up causing a hurricane)
• Delores can hear everyone's every move, including the fact that Bruno is in the walls of the house, but is so quiet in herself that her wishes and feelings often get sidelined because she doesn't speak up over the other voices in the room.

This further illustrates that nothing is perfect, and that every gift comes with it's own challenges, the same as Mirabel struggles with having "no gift" at all. Blessings can also be curses if you don't keep them in check and use them wisely. Helping others can come at a cost if you're not looking after yourself at the same time.

This film is soooo much more than a kid's cartoon. It's a film that is fast climbing up my list of favourite films; I love it more with every viewing. It's a wonderful story, beautifully animated, with catchy music that you'll be humming for weeks and a lesson or two about the real meaning of love and acceptance, and how your perspective can make or break your life.