Reviews
By Violeta Nanutti / Matthew staff || Edited by Giulia Leo & Ilenia Reale
This year’s Oscars nomination for the Animated Feature Film will be a hard pick. I want to give my best take on who is going to win and why.
The contenders in this category are Luca, Raya and the Last Dragon, Flee, The Mitchells vs. The Machines, and Encanto.
My predictions are that the Disney movie, Encanto, directed by Jared Bush and Byon Howard, will win this Oscar nomination. But, before I explain why, comes the plot:
Encanto is based in Colombia and shows a big family, the Madrigals. The first generation of the Madrigal family are, Pedro and Alma, parents of Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno. Pedro sacrificed himself during the civil war to protect his family and when Pedro did this, magic was unleashed into the candle Alma was holding in that moment. This candle is the source of the Madrigal family powers.
Julieta has the gift of healing people with her food. Pepa can control the weather with her emotions. Bruno can see the future, but this has a bad impact on him because the village think that he is a doomsayer since he usually just tells everyone the bad things that are going to happen. Bruno is there for banned from the family and no one in the village is allowed to speak of him. The hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” explains the story of his past through the lyrics.
The third generation of the madrigals have all been blessed with gifts, except one person. Isabela can control plants. Luisa has superhuman strength. Dolores has the ability of supersonic hearing. Camilo can shapeshift into any other person. Antonio is blessed with the ability to communicate with animals. Lastly, Mirabel is the only child in the family that is not gifted with any supernatural power.
Mirabel senses that something bad is going to happen to the Madrigals powers and to the Madrigal is the youngest child of Alma and Pedro.
My Prediction of Encanto’s best Animated Feature Film
This is the first time that Disney made a Colombian animation movie that shows deep Colombian roots and traditions. This is also the first movie that has an all Latinx cast.
“Disney’s 60th movie is all Latinx. I mean, I never thought I’d see this in my lifetime. We’re the oldest ethnic group in America, the largest ethnic group in America, and we’re virtually absent everywhere. But not tonight. Not tonight,” said John Leguizamo who plays Bruno Madrigal, for Variety magazine.
Even if you are not part of the Latinx community, this movie is very relatable. Encanto shows how families’ older generation’s carry so much on their shoulders from the past but, find strength within them to continue and achieve better things for their family’s future. In the movie, Abuela Alma is very strong and can even come out as mean but, she uses tough love to show that she really cares for the family and only wants the best for everyone.
“My hope is that everybody can see some member of their family reflected in this,” said co-director Charise Castro Smith in the Los Angeles Times.
This movie includes a diverse movie cast, on screen and off screen. The Afro-descendant population in Colombia is almost never seen or talked about so, for this movie to finally show light on this community is very impactful and beautiful.
“The movie handles representation of the Black experience in a caring manner, where the Black characters aren’t subordinates, but full-fledged people who have purpose beyond assisting the main character,” said writer Bryan Steven Monge Serrano for The Stanford Daily.
The music in this movie is very fun and is part of the big success that Encanto has. The soundtrack of this movie has broken records and is making history. The song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is taking over the billboard charts and even surpassed Disney’s Frozen “Let It Go.”
From an adult perspective, I think this movie is amazing. I thought the story showed that women can be strong and at the same time to not be afraid to let their guard down because, even with special powers, pressure and stress is real and it affects everyone.
From a child’s point of view, I will be using my 3-year-old brother, Alejandro, as an example. Alejandro isn’t the type of kid that likes to sit down and pay attention to a long movie but, when I turned on the T.V and played Encanto, he was amazed. He even asked me to play it multiple times. The fact that he is also growing up learning two languages, English and Spanish, made me think if that had anything to play to his liking of the movie.
When Alejandro saw Luca and Raya the Last Dragon he was entertained and seemed like he enjoyed them but, his expressions while watching Encanto were so vibrant. Even my own parents loved Encanto, especially because they could relate to it.
I am not saying that I think the other movies are not good. I just feel that the audience’s impact for Encanto made it get on the top of charts and got people to start a conversation about families past traditions, plus their struggles. The song “We don’t Talk About Bruno” is being heard all over, I heard it in my cab and even in the night club.
Luca had an amazing story line and soundtrack as well. The scenery of beautiful Italy shown is breathtaking. Yes, this movie was, and is still very popular but, not as popular as Encanto.
The Encanto crew recently just won the NAACP image award for Outstanding Animated Motion picture.
Another nomination that Encanto has won already is the BAFTA best animated film.
They are also nominated for two more Oscars, Best Original Score and Best Original song. The song nominated is “Dos Oruguitas” sung by Sebastian Yatra, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda.
To conclude, in my opinion, all movies nominated for the 2022 Best Animated Feature deserve the success they obtained. However, I feel and believe that Encanto will be the one to take the prize home with them. Encanto has broken records, it has shown diversity in a way that no Disney movie has. The music and story behind the film is inspiring. Encanto has touched many hearts all around the world and has made the Latinx and Afro-descendant population in Latin American feel seen and heard.
thematthewrome.com 