"Encanto's Most Important Lesson: Your Superpower is Being You"

Savannah Price

Published in Dalton State College's Exemplar Spring 2022

Awards upon publication: Best 4000-Level Paper

"Encanto's Most Important Lesson: Your Superpower is Being You"

Beyond the façade of Byron Howard and Jared Bush’s seemingly typical, kid-oriented 2021 animated film Encanto lies a much greater lesson of accepting one’s true identity without relying on any external factors. Throughout the Columbia-based film, the Madrigal family is praised for their wide array of powers, all except for one of the family members: Mirabel. Mirabel is the most relatable character to audiences as she has no powers and is, therefore, insecure and constantly trying to prove herself. In contrast, her older sister Isabela possesses the power of beauty and perfection; a simple touch of her hand causes beautiful flowers to sprout, but the seemingly flawless character reveals how much of a burden expected perfection truly is. In addition to Isabela, Mirabel’s sister Luisa obtains the power of strength, picking up mules and churches with ease, yet the weight of her power weighs on her both physically and mentally as she wonders who she is and what her worth is without her powers. Similarly, Mirabel’s uncle, Bruno, has the gift of seeing the future, which sends him into exile after he sees a vision that is damaging to one of his family members. His burden, caused by his power, is perhaps the greatest as he is excluded from everyone else in his family. Encanto holds a powerful message illustrating that one’s worth does not rely on their talents or superpowers, though, at times, it can feel that way, but, instead, one’s power is rooted in the true self.

Because Mirabel has no gift, she is consistently trying to prove herself as a worthy member of the magical Madrigal family. Though she soon learns that having a power is not all it seems to be from the outside, she first experiences the heartache of being isolated from her family. For example, the movie opens on the gift ceremony of her younger cousin Antonio, where Mirabel is reminded of her own, in which she was the only family member not granted a gift. The village children feel pity for Mirabel, stating “If I were you, I’d be really sad” (09:31), to which Mirabel responds: “I am not. Because the truth is, gift or no gift, I am just as special as the rest of my family” (09:34-09:42). While this quote sums up the fundamental theme of the movie, it takes Mirabel a while to truly believe her own words. For instance, she struggles with proving herself to her Abuela, who urges Mirabel to let everyone else handle the details due to Mirabel’s clumsy and unlucky nature. Because of this, Mirabel feels the need to “do [her] part like the rest of the family,” which proves to be difficult, if not impossible, for her (10:52). Her father, who married into the enchanting Madrigal family, understands her dilemma and explains that being “[s]urronded by the exceptional, [makes] it [is] easy to feel un-ceptional” (11:08-11:12). Throughout the remainder of the film, Mirabel continues to fight for her spot in the family despite her lack of power, causing her to seek out her long-lost uncle Bruno. By the end of the film, Mirabel has witnessed the restraints and demands of her family members’ superpowers and understands that they all feel scared of the family’s wavering power because they have placed all their worth in their gifts.

Similar to the way Mirabel attempts to prove her worthiness, her family struggles with finding their worth as the possibility that they may lose their power arises. The first to voice their concerns with the fading Madrigal powers is Mirabel’s older sister, Luisa, whose power is superhuman strength. She assists her family and the town by literally moving bridges, churches, livestock, and furniture. For the first time in her life, the items she moves begin to feel heavy compared to their usual weightlessness under the effects of her power. Upon the possibility of losing her power, Luisa illustrates the weight, both literally and figuratively, that comes with her gift and the pressure she feels to remain the strong one. She explains that because she is “the strong one” and “the older sister” she holds a large amount of pressure on her shoulders (34:15-20). Underneath this strength-based façade, Luisa articulates her feelings “under the surface” (34:46), in which she feels that “[she’s] worthless if [she] can’t be of service” (34:59-35:02). In other words, Luisa is wondering if who she is without her power is enough and if losing her power strips her of all her worth. Luisa appeals to the eldest children of many families as she illustrates the weight she holds as the older sister, stating: “Give it to your sister, your sisters stronger. See if she can hang on a little longer. Who am I if I can’t carry it all?” (35:39- 35:48). Therefore, Luisa not only fears that her gift of strength is faltering, but also that her value as an older sister is declining if she cannot handle the physical and emotional weight expected of her. This issue mirrors that of Mirabel’s own worth-based insecurities: are they enough just being themselves? Like Luisa and Mirabel, Isabela questions her worth, though she seems undoubtedly the most unlikely to do so due to the perfect nature of her gift.

Isabela’s gift is pure elegance and grace on the surface as she sprouts out beautiful flowers with a flick of her wrist, but she soon reveals that her gift has placed the taxing expectation of perfection onto her, leading her to desire imperfection and freedom from her burden. Isabela is a prime example of a superficial character in Encanto as she hides behind a façade of perfection. Revealing her own false identity to Mirabel, Isabela states that “so much hides behind [her] smile” (1:09:27). In another instance, when Mirabel confronts Isabela about her seemingly perfect life, Isabela reveals that her life is not as perfect as it seems, even commenting that she has “been stuck being perfect [her] whole entire life” (1:08:13-16). During this argument between the sisters, Isabela unexpectedly creates a cactus, which she describes as “not symmetrical or perfect, but its beautiful” (1:08:58). Therefore, the cactus becomes a symbol for the individual character in Encanto. None of the characters are perfect, powers or no powers, but they are still beautiful. In addition, just as Luisa pondered her worth without her superhuman strength, Isabela wonders what she could do “without needing to be perfect” (1:09:40). It is at this moment that she is able to create flowers and foliage beyond her usual domain of pretty, perfect, and safe pinks and purples, instead sprouting up “strangling figs and hanging vines” (1:09:50). Unlike Isabela and Luisa’s questioning of self-worth or Mirabel’s search for a purpose, their uncle Bruno has chosen his own fate in exile from the rest of his family because of the negative effects of his gift.

Bruno’s gift of seeing into the future sends him into exile, away from his family, making his gift perhaps the greatest burden to be delivered from as the Madrigal magic candle falters. Bruno was tasked with seeing into the future, both the good and bad events, which he warns his family and friends about in order to prepare them, but he is blamed for the bad things that happen instead. Even his niece, Dolores, explains that “[i]t’s a heavy lift with a gift so humbling,” alluding to the fact that his gift was undoubtedly the hardest gift to bear due to its negative effects on the family and the blame he received (47:11). Ultimately, Bruno’s gift became such a burden that it “wasn’t helping the family, but [he] love[d] his family” (58:19-24). Therefore, he sends himself into exile within the walls of the Madrigal home, so he can observe and feel near the rest of his family without disrupting their lives with his prophecies. Soon, though, Bruno leaves his hideaway in order to help and protect Mirabel. It is Mirabel who gives him hope, stating: “I don’t think you make bad things happen. Sometimes family weirdos just get a bad rap. You can do this” (1:02:29-42). Both Mirabel and Bruno are the “family weirdos” and, therefore, are treated as if they are worth less, but they find each others, both the outcasts, and inspire one another to continue on (1:09:42). Near the end of the movie, Bruno, along with the rest of the family, are stripped of their powers and are forced to learn who they are as giftless individuals. Abuela, who had been so fixated on preserving her family’s power, offers Bruno some solace by articulating: “The miracle is not some magic that you’ve got. The miracle is you. Not some magic, just you” (1:25:46-54). Therefore, Bruno is delivered from his gift that had burdened his life and is appreciated for his worth as an individual.

In summary, Encanto illustrates the idea that one does not need to have superpowers to be a worthy person or family member. Mirabel, the only Madrigal child with no gift, struggles to assert her role in her gifted family, where she feels she has no real purpose. On the other hand, her sister Luisa and Isabela’s gift weigh on them and cause them to pretend to be people they are not. In Luisa’s case, she pretends to be stronger than her own emotions, and Isabela hides behind her charade of perfection. Lastly, Bruno illustrates devotion to his family, sending himself into exile following the dismay his family members feel for his gift. Each of the gift-holding characters place their self-worth in their powers, hiding behind their strengths in order to conceal their weaknesses. Because Mirabel does not have the luxury of hiding behind her gift, she is a raw, real, and relatable character for audiences struggling with identity and worth. In the closing scene of the movie, Abuela asks Mirabel a final question, “Open your eyes. What do you see?” (1:29:06), to which Mirabel responds: “I see… me” (1:29:13). Therefore, the reoccurring search and questioning of self-worth outside of the individual is solved: one’s worth relies in who they are, not in their gifts or talents.

Works Cited

Encanto. Directed by Byron Howard and Jared Bush, Walt Disney Animation Studios, 2021.