I think it's fair for me to say I didn't really have high hopes for Encanto. I don't watch trailers, or at least I try not to, so I had no idea what Encanto was going to be like going in, I thought it was going to be another Disney magical adventure flick, another movie that had the elements of Frozen and Tangled and Raya, with some okay songs, cute jokes and animation that looked good on screen, but really needed the Theatre to show it off.
So, I think it is also fair to say that Encanto surprised me, in fact it really surprised me. It surprised me so much, it may actually become my new favourite movie in the Disney animated canon, and honestly, Disney's modern animated movie output has been, well I would not say mediocre, it has been floundering a bit. Frozen was fine, Big Hero 6 was derivative, Zootopia wasn't anything special, Ralph Breaks the Internet was cute, Frozen II was okay and Raya and the Last Dragon and I have a complicated relationship, not that any of those movies were bad, but I can't say I really loved them. I loved Encanto.
What really surprised me was the music, and yeah, it was Lin-Manuel Miranda so it was going to be good, but holy cow I did not expect every song to be fun, memorable and enjoyable. Seriously, think about it, every song in this movie was fantastic, I can't think of any duds, and they didn't have the obvious big pop hit, they didn't have the "Why Should I Worry?" or the "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" or the "Let It Go", each song was just as spectacular as the last and I really want the soundtrack, in fact, if I find it I am totally getting it on vinyl, it's that good.
I was also invested in the characters and their arcs, I won't give away too much, but this story relies on how well written these characters are, how strong they are and how well they work off each other. I don't think I loved an ensemble cast in a Disney movie since... oh jeez, Robin Hood? The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh? Like, every character I either loved immediately, or grew to love and not just like, or tolerate, but full on, "if these characters had a series of shorts I would watch them" love.
One thing I also got to bring up is the animation. Yeah, it looks good, it looks great, the colour palette is lush, vibrant and lively, and when it needs to it can get dark and grey, but there was this one moment towards the end, and all I had to say when I saw it was "That's beautiful", not "That would look better in the theatre", not "That looks nice", full on "That's beautiful", I don't think I've said that about a Disney movie in a long time, really I don't think I've said that about any modern animated movie in a long time.
I mean, what is there not to love about this movie? It looks great, the characters are all fun, it can get very tense and one scene even made me feel the anxiety and tension. The cast was perfect, the music was fantastic, I'm really hoping that when I come back to this movie, my reaction stays the same, because I would hate for this movie to be another Frozen, where the flaws become more apparent the more times you watch it. I really want this movie to be as good as it was on first viewing because it was just so good. Hands down, my favourite Disney movie in a long time, and a definite High Recommendation.
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