Encanto opened in the United States on Nov. 24, 2021.  The story introduces the Madrigals, a compelling and complicated extended family who live in a wondrous and charmed place in the mountains of Colombia. 
Credit: © Disney

Encanto is an animated motion picture released by the Walt Disney Company in 2021. The movie is set in Colombia and features Disney’s first entirely Latino voice cast. 

The film’s soundtrack, released in 2021, became a worldwide hit. The album spent more than a week at the number one spot on Billboard magazine‘s “200 Albums” chart. Encanto became Disney’s first animated film to have two songs in the top 10 on Billboard magazine’s “Hot 100” chart. The song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” performed in the film by Adassa, Stephanie Beatriz, Mauro Castillo, Rhenzy Feliz, Carolina Gaitán, and Diane Guerrero, reached number 2. “Surface Pressure,” performed in the film by Jessica Darrow, broke the chart’s top 10. The soundtrack featured original songs written and composed by the American musical theater composer Lin-Manuel Miranda. It also featured instrumental music by the American composer Germaine Franco. 

Encanto tells the story of the magical Madrigal family. The family was led to a safe haven and magical home known as Encanto by its matriarch (ruling mother). The Madrigals’ magic comes from the flame of a candle that gives a unique power to each descendent. The movie’s protagonist (main character), Mirabel, is the only member of the family who did not receive a magical gift. According to prophecy, it is up to her to restore the family’s magic when it starts to falter and repair the bonds among the family members.  

Members of the Madrigal family include Mirabel (voiced by Beatriz); Luisa (Darrow); Isabela (Guerrero); Pepa (Gaitán); Félix (Castillo); Dolores (recording artist Adassa); Camilo (Feliz); Bruno (John Leguizamo); and Abuela Alma (Olga Merediz, singing, and María Cecilia, speaking). Colombian singers featured in Encanto included Maluma, who provided the voice of Luisa’s love interest Mariano, and Sebastián Yatra, who sang the film’s main theme, “Dos Oruguitas.”  

The film was directed by the American screenwriter Jared Bush and the Japanese-born American animator and character designer Byron Howard. The American playwright Charise Castro Smith co-directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Bush.