I'm glad you picked up on the food in Raya. I also agree that it's good that they moved from hope to trust, and as part of that, found redemption in relationship even after betrayal.
I liked the movie; I very much appreciated the fantasy country and its distinct cultures with their accompanying architectural and artistic etc. styles. But somehow Raya never became quite as real a character to me as Moana or Mulan, or, indeed, Lilo and Nani. I'm not entirely sure why. Next time I sign up for a month of Disney+, I should watch them in proximity to see whether it was just my mood when I saw Raya for the only time so far, or something that's missing in the movie. Possibly the epic scope of the story required more time than an animated feature is granted to flesh out the central characters fully? Or possibly the ninja toddler could have been replaced with a young kid with whom Raya could have developed a deeper emotional connection.
I'm glad you picked up on the food in Raya. I also agree that it's good that they moved from hope to trust, and as part of that, found redemption in relationship even after betrayal.
Ratatouille is my mom's favorite animated movie, and perhaps mine too. Food is an underrated story motif.
I had a whole bit about trust in politics, but I scrapped it because it was irrelevant.
I liked the movie; I very much appreciated the fantasy country and its distinct cultures with their accompanying architectural and artistic etc. styles. But somehow Raya never became quite as real a character to me as Moana or Mulan, or, indeed, Lilo and Nani. I'm not entirely sure why. Next time I sign up for a month of Disney+, I should watch them in proximity to see whether it was just my mood when I saw Raya for the only time so far, or something that's missing in the movie. Possibly the epic scope of the story required more time than an animated feature is granted to flesh out the central characters fully? Or possibly the ninja toddler could have been replaced with a young kid with whom Raya could have developed a deeper emotional connection.
I actually experienced this as a less epic story, coming off of Frozen II. I think it has to do with her being developed as an action heroine, rather than as a Disney protagonist. There are movies where that would be an issue, but maybe I'm just familiar with this type of character. I think there's some decent character stuff for young Raya, both with her dad and with Namaari. You're right, she's certainly not Lilo. And I'm kinda glad she's not Moana!
How did this movie compare to Kung Fu Panda? I was reminded of that movie, but I saw it aaaaaaaaages time ago... Still, it was pretty influential in its day, wasn't it?
Last Edit: May 26, 2022 20:52:08 GMT by That Duckfan
I actually experienced this as a less epic story, coming off of Frozen II. I think it has to do with her being developed as an action heroine, rather than as a Disney protagonist. There are movies where that would be an issue, but maybe I'm just familiar with this type of character. I think there's some decent character stuff for young Raya, both with her dad and with Namaari. You're right, she's certainly not Lilo. And I'm kinda glad she's not Moana!
How did this movie compare to Kung Fu Panda? I was reminded of that movie, but I saw it aaaaaaaaages time ago... Still, it was pretty influential in its day, wasn't it?
Hmm, that may be the issue, she's an action heroine. It's a matter of how character is developed according to genre.
Frozen II is an epic story, no doubt--but they had the chance to develop the characters in the first movie!
Zenimation - Season 2 (2021) Director David Bess | Writer David Bess Voice (all archive) Kristen Bell (Everyday Comforts), Larry Roberts (Everyday Comforts), Louise Bush (Waterways, Kindness), Frank Welker (Kindness)
They added deleted sequences from Raya and the Last Dragon.
Short Circuit: Experimental Films - Season 2 (2021)
Voices Tucker Gilmore (Crosswalk) Kiki Callis, Terri Douglas, David Fynn, Paula Jane Newman, Alan Shearman, Moira Quirk, Matthew Wolf (No. 2 to Kettering) Crosswalk by Ryan Green
A man is taunted by a stoplight. A look into the modern condition. Fun idea, decent execution. Could see the final gag coming a mile away. I'm usually very obedient when it comes to stoplights, so I don't share the agony quite as much, but I like the light-hearted self-mockery.
Going Home by Jacob Frey
These passage-of-time stories always tug at my heartstrings, and anyone who travels a lot is sure to empathize with the protagonist. For my part, it's rare to see contemporary Germany portrayed in an animated short. This one's probably my favorite.
(No.) 2 (to) Kettering by Liza Rhea
This is a very British short, from the look, to the general attitude, to the big red omnibus. Don't believe them. British people are a lot nicer than they say.
Dinosaur Barbarian by Kim Hazel
This one's American, alright. I was never too much into 'barbarian' fiction, myself. I appreciate the joke, but it's more for those who grew up with that kind of thing.
Songs to Sing in the Dark by Riannon Delanoy
This is too short! The director is clearly full of big ideas. I wish she could have explored them further.
Olaf Presents - Season 1 (2021) Directed by Hyrum Virl Osmond Story Hyrum Virl Osmond, Javier Ledesma Barbolla, Don Dougherty Cast Josh Gad, Paul Briggs, Kristen Bell (archive), Idina Menzel (archive), Sterling K. Brown (archive), Jason Ritter (archive), Rachel Matthews (archive)
Episodes: The Little Mermaid | Moana | The Lion King | Aladdin | Tangled
I... regret having watched this. This series is the equivalent of a seven-year old telling you about their favorite movie, and you've already seen it. You sit there patiently waiting for them to get to the end as they copy all the jokes out of context and ramble on about the plot. I know the pandemic was hard on all of us, and they were happy to put something out there, but this is the kind of self-congratulatory content that Disney+ is very much better off without. Sorry, no thanks.
Far from the Tree (2021) Written and Directed by Natalie Nourigat
This is a sweet story about two generations of raccoons, a parent and a child, as they first venture out onto the beach. As the child wanders off into treacherous situations, the parent needs to decide how to teach their child. I'm a big fan of generational stories, so this short gets an automatic plus. I'm an even bigger fan of thoughtful parenting, so that's a double plus from me.
Directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard Co-Directed by Charise Castro Smith Screenplay by Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush | Heads of Story Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse Original Songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Cast Stephanie Beatriz/Noemi Josefina Flores, María Cecila Botero with Olga Merediz, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda Cast Carolina Gaitan, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, Rhenzy Feliz, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Adassa, Maluma, Rose Portillo, Juan Castano, Sarah-Nicole Robles Cast Hector Elias, Alan Tudyk, Jorge E. Ruiz Cano, Alyssa Bella Candiani, Noemi Josefina Flores, Paisley Day Herrera, Brooklyn Skylar Rodriguez, Ezra Rudulph
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature - Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, and Clark Spencer - WON Academy Award for Best Original Score - Germaine Franco - nominated Academy Award for Best Original Song - Dos Oruguitas - Lin-Manuel Miranda - nominated Here we are, at the Disney studio's 60th animated feature, and the 70th entry in this review series. As we enter the tenth decade of feature animation, we've come amazingly far, simply on a production level. Today, Disney maintains a small country's worth of staff in order to bring their movies to life. Everything you see and hear has been worked out to the minutest detail, with intensive story development and interdepartmental synergy. Disney movies today are just better, from a technical point of view.
That does not make it easier to review these behemoths. I've noticed my opinions going much more back and forth on recent movies. I want to like where we've ended up, to the point where I pretty much surrendered my critical faculties in order to sit through Ralph Breaks the Internet (and, as some might say, the Frozen duology). This era is still being written, and it's harder to be a judge when you don't know where the chips are going to fall.
Ever since the mid-2010s, animated movies have become increasingly filled with stuff. It feels like every movie is this huge explosion of worlds and ideas and jokes and oh my goodness it makes my head spin. Encanto is like other recent movies in that it tries to squeeze a series' worth of ideas into one movie. Add Lin-Manuel Miranda's rapid-fire patter laid over a sumptuous Disney score, and you hardly get the time to digest the movie. And to what end? Out of the twelve living Madrigals (count 'em, twelve), the movie really only goes into five of them: Mirabel, Luisa, Isabella, Tio Bruno, and Abuela Alma. And two of those, if not three, make the same point in a different way (too high expectations kill the soul). Sure, you could make the same argument about Show White and the Seven Dwarfs. But that movie isn't about the dwarfs (except maybe Grumpy, the woman-hater).
This is a shame, since it results in a lot of great characters getting buried. For example, Mirabel's parents, Julieta and Agustín, who are actually present for the movie, only to get unceremoniously shoved to the side. When was the last time we had a Disney protagonist living with a full set of guardians throughout the movie? You'd think Mirabel would have a much closer relation with her dad, with whom she shares basically all traits. I also love Dolores, not only because I have a slight hypersensitivity issue myself but also on account of her body language and fantastic design. And Tia Pepa has some issues that really need some sorting out. I can't help but feel these movies exist solely to kick off new franchises, that will then never develop the characters further...
As for the characters we do see, the writers seem to be in denial that Abuela Alma is the designated villain of the movie. She's the matriarch that's been keeping the family down for a long time, but she gets very little comeuppance. Interesting, in a previous draft where Bruno had an actual spine and left the Encanto for the city, Abuela actually goes on a journey of repentance to find Mirabel there. This scene was infinitely better than what we got, which was a very weak concession from both sides. Mirabel concedes that her Abuela has led a hard life (which she has known since she was five!) and Abuela concedes that you don't actually need to do anything to be accepted for who you are (so much for contributing to society...). I admit, I'm wary of this message because I've often found it preached by the most incisively judgmental people. Must be some interesting psychology in that paradox. I would have preferred exploring the less radical and more practical 'from each according to their ability, to each according to their need'.
Speaking of society, one of the bonus features suggested that the Casita was designed to be compact because they didn't want to give the idea of the Madrigal family being especially rich or powerful. I'm sorry, did we watch the same movie? Are you suggesting the magical superpowered family who founded this valley that no one's left in 50 years doesn't have a hold over the town? Where Luisa is the construction sector and Pepa can ruin the harvest over a bad hair day? Their bedrooms are massive! I'm all about keeping it real, but this is pathetic.
It's funny how public opinion has largely sided with this one over Raya and the Last Dragon. I wonder how much of that is down to the movie itself, and how much of it is the political discourse on multiculturalism in American society. I'm happy to see a movie that has gone so deep into Colombian culture, but I'm bemused by the barrage of online journalism praising the "importance" of Encanto. The more I see that kind of praise, the more I'm inclined to write off the movie in question as neoliberal trash. I'm sorry, but there's nothing brave or fearless about imperial-age Disney. Hair dye and cacti do not make a personali-ty.
As much as I like it, I don't think Encanto is the great movie it's made out to be. For a movie that claims to renounce artifice and facade, it sure is full of flawlessly overproduced fluff. And the idea that you have nothing to prove is rich coming from one of the world's biggest corporate meritocracies. No Disney, you better preach what you practice. Better luck next time. Where there's worldbuilding, there's unintentional dark comedy. Director Jared Bush has been happy to share the most minute of lore on Twitter, down to individual birthdays, but when it comes pinning down the time period of the movie, that's suddenly off-limits. While the creators of Encanto did their best to keep Colombia's violent history in the background, careful deduction places the main story in 1950, during the period of political unrest known as La Violencia (1948-58). Oof! And that is why we don't talk about dating...
Interestingly, that also makes Encanto the first fully animated Disney movie to place its vaguely historical fantasy firmly after the release of Snow White.
Directed by Akiva Schaffer Written by Dan Gregor & Doug Mand Animation Supervisor Omar Morsy
Starring John Mulaney/Mason Blomberg as Chip and Andy Samberg/Juliet Donenfeld as Dale Featuring KiKi Layne, Will Arnett, Eric Bana, Flula Borg, Dannis Haysbert, Keegan-Michael Key, Tress MacNeille, Tim Robinson, Seth Rogan, J. K. Simmons With Da'Vone MacDonald, Akiva Schaffer, Rachel Bloom, Liz Cackowski, Corey Burton, Jim Cummings, Chris Parnell, Jeff Bennett, June Schaffer With Stephen Curtis Chapman, Jorma Taccone, Alan Oppenheimer, Hazel Schaffer, Charles Fleischer, Heather Dragulescu, Sean Rohani With Jake Matthew Cohen, Jonathan Verweij, Kai Zen, Sophie Fatu, Rachel Samiri, Matt Cook, Greg Chun, Tad Stones, Krystal Alvarez, Scott Whyte With Nneoma Nkuku, Jean Gilpin, Jovana Lara, Victor Turpin, James Joseph Pulido, James M. Black, Kenzo Lee, J. Anthony McCarthy, David Tennant, Paula Abdul With Dan Gregor, Paul Rudd, Cole Massie, Jessie Hendricks, Philena Franklin, Rawson Marshall Turner, Matt Nolan, Tom Antonellis, Doug Mand, Julian Graham, Boo Radley I'm irrationally angry at this movie.
Well, not entirely irrationally. This movie gives me a headache whenever I try to think it through. Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers is a movie that should not be examined too closely, on multiple levels. In fact, I don't think it's worth your time at all. To be blunt, this is a lousy movie.
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers follows two forgotten animation starlets trying to uncover the mystery behind their missing friend. It's Who Frames Roger Rabbit meets Zootopia. Except where Roger Rabbit showed great respect for the animation medium, and was very careful to walk the fine line between animation and live-action, Chip 'n Dale has none of that. A movie that should never have been more than a late-night drink somehow made it to screen, with none of its characters, tone, or any kind of common sense left intact. Because it doesn't care about any of that. It wants to tell a story about two Hollywood wash-ups, not about Fat Cat.
See, there's a reason Who Framed Roger Rabbit introduced two new characters through which we get introduced to this world. Any existing characters would simply have too much baggage. It might also have come off as favoritism, at a time when studio executives weren't as keen to sign over the use of their characters. Because it runs the risk of cheapening the brand. Chip 'n Dale responds by simply retconning everything, introducing Chip and Dale as third-grade classmates in 1982. Yeah, apparently their early history was just wiped for convenience. In this universe, humans and toons and even Muppets all live together, just as in Roger Rabbit. But unlike in Roger Rabbit, it doesn't set up any further rules, breaking any seemingly existing rules at will.
Neither of the protagonists are likable. John Mulaney's Chip is a boring grudge and Andy Samberg's Dale is doesn't have his life together. This kind of dynamic isn't inherently bad, and was used in the original series to some success. But here, as in many modern movies, it's subtle as a brick and it annoys the heck out of me. Don't make your character's personality flaws their only traits. Show their humanity. If I wanted to be annoyed by idiots, I could just turn off the TV.
As in Roger Rabbit, the line between actors and characters are basically non-existent. Chip 'n Dale starred in a hit show that got cancelled after Dale tried to create his own show, and Chip has held it against him all these years. Apparently nobody has heard of syndication. When Monterey Jack gets into a bit of hard cheese over his addiction, they run into one another again, but this meeting fizzles out. Monty gets kidnapped by the Valley Gang for his debts, and it's up to Chip 'n Dale to sniff them out. Nobody wants this to happen, Chip explicitly mentions going to the cops multiple times, but that's the way the story needs to go.
The Valley is the Uncanny Valley, where more self-referential "humor" awaits. And by humor I mean they explain the joke every time in a fourth-wall breaking way that is more confusing than the joke is worth. They pretty much walk into the big boss' office, who turns out to be... an aging Peter Pan. Very clever. Aging in this movie makes no sense: all the classic characters like Roger Rabbit never age, neither do Chip 'n Dale, and neither does one of the Lost Boys...
Anyway, this isn't just any Peter Pan. No, it's explicitly Disney's Peter Pan, the one played by Bobby Driscoll, who was dumped by the studios as he grew up and died of a drug overdose in the early '30s. That Peter Pan. Christ on a stick. And this is the guy who turns unsold merchandise into mobile toilets, and kidnaps toons in order to mutilate them to star in off-brand bootlegs. What the crap?
Let's see, what else? There's some real sick stuff in this movie, from jokes about feeder mice to Gadget and Zipper's mouse-fly hybrid kids. Horribly mutilated cartoons like Bambi and the mom from Phineas and Ferb. Chip gets a Snoopy ear from a laser surgery gone wrong. Like, who is this movie for? This stuff even creeps me out, as an adult. And Ugly Sonic was there, too. (He knows the FBI.)
The first break-in is of course a wash, there's a cop playing dirty blah blah, a few pretty gruesome deaths (don't believe the credit scenes), and a reunion that is completely unearned. Nothing you haven't seen before, surely. And there's plot-relevant intentionally bad rapping. And Zipper is voiced by a black man with a deep voice, because that joke hasn't worn out either.
Chip 'n Dale: Rescue Rangers goes through the motions without ever earning its happy ending. It doesn't do the work, it doesn't care about the material, and it shows gaping plot holes. When Chip accidentally turns on the monster machine, he jumps ONTO it in order to get away. And why are all the toons in a shipping crate when those bootleg movies were just being made in the Valley? This is what I mean, there are plot holes wherever you look.
At least Who Framed Roger Rabbit had the decency to rip off a good movie. If you saw this movie and enjoyed it, good for you! Don't let me rain on your parade. The movie had a decent budget, and the animation effects are integrated pretty well in most places, despite being relatively cheap. The pacing and editing are similar to other comedies of this kind. I just hope that for the sake of this series, I never have to review one of these again.
Post by donaldistducktoons on Jul 10, 2022 8:08:53 GMT
Thank God! I thought I was the only one who wasn't a fan of that movie. Granted, there are some good things, but then again everything they accomplished in Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers was just a marketing ploy for the nostalgic and a failed attempt. Not to mention that lame joke about Gadget having kids with Zipper.
Cass Directed by Dean Wellins Screenplay by Cirocco Dunlap Voice Talent Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Maya Rudolph, Carlos Ferro, Dichen Lachman, Angel Parker, Sarah-Nicole Robles, Brandon Scott
When Cass twists here ankle, Baymax tries to take over the Lucky Cat Café, with hilariously predictable results. Cass' attempts to return to work unseen lead only to more injury, but soon learns she can close the café without fear of losing customers, who come for her as much as much as for the coffee. And so we learn the central conceit of this series: there's more to good health than just medication: it involves people, too. Check it out! Kiko Directed by Dean Wellins Screenplay by Cirocco Dunlap Voice Talent Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Emily Kuroda
When local elderly woman Kiko Tanaka experiences joint pains, Baymax is on hand to suggest water therapy at the pool next door. When she refuses to take him up on the offer, Baymax diagnoses her with a water phobia and tries exposure therapy on her, with predictably comic results. Eventually, we find out it wasn't the water she was avoiding, it was the pool itself: her late husband's favorite spot. Sofia Directed by Lissa Treiman Screenplay by Cirocco Dunlap Voice Talent Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Lilimar, Zeno Robinson, Alex Davis, Dichen Lachman, Angel Parker, Sarah-Nicole Robles, Brandon Scott
When middle-schooler Sofia takes a sanitary stop before the class talent show, terror strikes. Blood! That's right, it's her first menstruation. Sofia feels the ground shift underneath her feet and her childhood slip away. Thankfully, Baymax is on the case, shopping for tampons, pads, and wings, and giving Sofia some psychological support. I've always found it somewhat ironic that the notoriously puritanical Disney was the first to breach the subject of menstruation on film in the 1945 educational short The Story of Menstruation, and I'm glad we've come full circle. Mbita Directed by Dan Abraham Screenplay by Cirocco Dunlap Voice Talent Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Jaboukie Young-White, Brian Tee, Alex Davis, Carlos Ferro, Dichen Lachman, Angel Parker, Sarah-Nicole Robles
When fish soup vendor Mbita gets a sudden allergic reaction, he's not ready to accept Baymax's diagnosis. What follows is a high speed van chase across San Fransokyo, as Baymax tries to administer the antidote to Mbita's growing swells. Mbita must come to accept that he can't follow in his parents' footsteps, and in doing so he finds the courage to ask out that cute fruit vendor Yukio as well. Too bad we never find out how their date went. Yachi Directed by Mark Kennedy Screenplay by Cirocco Dunlap Voice Talent Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Alex Davis, Carlos Ferro, Dichen Lachman, Sarah-Nicole Robles
Baymax finds his most difficult patient yet: Yachi, a street cat who's swallowed a wireless headphone. The chase leads them to an abandoned warehouse, where Baymax successfully treats his patient, but at a great personal risk. His battery low, Baymax fails to find a power socket in time, and deflates on the floor of the abandoned and soon to be demolished warehouse. I like the continuity in this series, as we already saw a glimpse of Yachi in episode one. Baymax Directed by Dean Wellins Screenplay by Cirocco Dunlap Voice Talent Scott Adsit, Ryan Potter, Maya Rudolph, Emily Kuroda, Lilimar, Jaboukie Young-White, Alex Davis, Carlos Ferro, Dichen Lachman, Angel Parker, Sarah-Nicole Robles, Brandon Scott
Baymax is missing! Hiro assembles a team of his last patients to search for his whereabouts. Kiko gets Yachi to lead them back to Baymax (I call foul on this, everybody knows you can't train cats that way), and they get to the warehouse shortly before lunch break. While Mbita and Cass distract the workers with food, Kiko and Sofia try to retrieve Baymax. Ultimately, it's Yachi who saves the day, and Baymax reports he is satisfied with his care.
Directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard Co-Directed by Charise Castro Smith Screenplay by Charise Castro Smith, Jared Bush | Heads of Story Jason Hand, Nancy Kruse Original Songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda
Cast Stephanie Beatriz/Noemi Josefina Flores, María Cecila Botero with Olga Merediz, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda Cast Carolina Gaitan, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, Rhenzy Feliz, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Adassa, Maluma, Rose Portillo, Juan Castano, Sarah-Nicole Robles Cast Hector Elias, Alan Tudyk, Jorge E. Ruiz Cano, Alyssa Bella Candiani, Noemi Josefina Flores, Paisley Day Herrera, Brooklyn Skylar Rodriguez, Ezra Rudulph
Academy Award for Best Animated Feature - Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Yvett Merino, and Clark Spencer - WON Academy Award for Best Original Score - Germaine Franco - nominated Academy Award for Best Original Song - Dos Oruguitas - Lin-Manuel Miranda - nominated Here we are, at the Disney studio's 60th animated feature, and the 70th entry in this review series. As we enter the tenth decade of feature animation, we've come amazingly far, simply on a production level. Today, Disney maintains a small country's worth of staff in order to bring their movies to life. Everything you see and hear has been worked out to the minutest detail, with intensive story development and interdepartmental synergy. Disney movies today are just better, from a technical point of view.
That does not make it easier to review these behemoths. I've noticed my opinions going much more back and forth on recent movies. I want to like where we've ended up, to the point where I pretty much surrendered my critical faculties in order to sit through Ralph Breaks the Internet (and, as some might say, the Frozen duology). This era is still being written, and it's harder to be a judge when you don't know where the chips are going to fall.
Ever since the mid-2010s, animated movies have become increasingly filled with stuff. It feels like every movie is this huge explosion of worlds and ideas and jokes and oh my goodness it makes my head spin. Encanto is like other recent movies in that it tries to squeeze a series' worth of ideas into one movie. Add Lin-Manuel Miranda's rapid-fire patter laid over a sumptuous Disney score, and you hardly get the time to digest the movie. And to what end? Out of the twelve living Madrigals (count 'em, twelve), the movie really only goes into five of them: Mirabel, Luisa, Isabella, Tio Bruno, and Abuela Alma. And two of those, if not three, make the same point in a different way (too high expectations kill the soul). Sure, you could make the same argument about Show White and the Seven Dwarfs. But that movie isn't about the dwarfs (except maybe Grumpy, the woman-hater).
This is a shame, since it results in a lot of great characters getting buried. For example, Mirabel's parents, Julieta and Agustín, who are actually present for the movie, only to get unceremoniously shoved to the side. When was the last time we had a Disney protagonist living with a full set of guardians throughout the movie? You'd think Mirabel would have a much closer relation with her dad, with whom she shares basically all traits. I also love Dolores, not only because I have a slight hypersensitivity issue myself but also on account of her body language and fantastic design. And Tia Pepa has some issues that really need some sorting out. I can't help but feel these movies exist solely to kick off new franchises, that will then never develop the characters further...
As for the characters we do see, the writers seem to be in denial that Abuela Alma is the designated villain of the movie. She's the matriarch that's been keeping the family down for a long time, but she gets very little comeuppance. Interesting, in a previous draft where Bruno had an actual spine and left the Encanto for the city, Abuela actually goes on a journey of repentance to find Mirabel there. This scene was infinitely better than what we got, which was a very weak concession from both sides. Mirabel concedes that her Abuela has led a hard life (which she has known since she was five!) and Abuela concedes that you don't actually need to do anything to be accepted for who you are (so much for contributing to society...). I admit, I'm wary of this message because I've often found it preached by the most incisively judgmental people. Must be some interesting psychology in that paradox. I would have preferred exploring the less radical and more practical 'from each according to their ability, to each according to their need'.
Speaking of society, one of the bonus features suggested that the Casita was designed to be compact because they didn't want to give the idea of the Madrigal family being especially rich or powerful. I'm sorry, did we watch the same movie? Are you suggesting the magical superpowered family who founded this valley that no one's left in 50 years doesn't have a hold over the town? Where Luisa is the construction sector and Pepa can ruin the harvest over a bad hair day? Their bedrooms are massive! I'm all about keeping it real, but this is pathetic.
It's funny how public opinion has largely sided with this one over Raya and the Last Dragon. I wonder how much of that is down to the movie itself, and how much of it is the political discourse on multiculturalism in American society. I'm happy to see a movie that has gone so deep into Colombian culture, but I'm bemused by the barrage of online journalism praising the "importance" of Encanto. The more I see that kind of praise, the more I'm inclined to write off the movie in question as neoliberal trash. I'm sorry, but there's nothing brave or fearless about imperial-age Disney. Hair dye and cacti do not make a personali-ty.
As much as I like it, I don't think Encanto is the great movie it's made out to be. For a movie that claims to renounce artifice and facade, it sure is full of flawlessly overproduced fluff. And the idea that you have nothing to prove is rich coming from one of the world's biggest corporate meritocracies. No Disney, you better preach what you practice. Better luck next time. Where there's worldbuilding, there's unintentional dark comedy. Director Jared Bush has been happy to share the most minute of lore on Twitter, down to individual birthdays, but when it comes pinning down the time period of the movie, that's suddenly off-limits. While the creators of Encanto did their best to keep Colombia's violent history in the background, careful deduction places the main story in 1950, during the period of political unrest known as La Violencia (1948-58). Oof! And that is why we don't talk about dating...
Interestingly, that also makes Encanto the first fully animated Disney movie to place its vaguely historical fantasy firmly after the release of Snow White.
I also felt that Encanto was greatly overstuffed, with characters and story as well as with lyrics. But it's clear that Miranda's songs don't work for me as well as they do for *many* people! Though I did enjoy the songs in Moana more than these, for some reason.
On Abuela Alma: it's interesting to hear that an earlier draft had her demonstrating her repentance by her journey to the city. I agree that she should have had to make amends somehow, but I rather like the fact that while she's effectively the villain she is not a "bad guy," that she's done wrong to her family out of understandable motives and warped good intentions, warped in part by a history of trauma. That should not mean she gets off so easily, but I approve of the fact that she's not portrayed as a bad guy. She's not been intending to seek her own power at others' expense. There's a lot of harm in this world done by parental types who mean to be protective or otherwise caring and go about it in the wrong ways. I like having that portrayed without turning the parent-figure into a Mother Gothel bad guy. (I know that's not what you were wanting, I'm just using that as an example of a true parent-as-villain.)
Comparison to Raya: I myself admired a lot about Raya, but I found it less emotionally involving than Encanto. I go back to what I said earlier about not feeling deeply connected to Raya as a character. I did feel more emotionally connected to Mirabel, to her love for her family and her strong feelings about not apparently having a magical gift and her confusion about the secrets of the past and the present and her determination to discover the truth.
I just read that the most streamed animated movie of the year so far is Turning Red, followed by Luca and Encanto (not sure of those two which was 2 and which was 3).Turning Red certainly seems to touch a deep emotional chord in all the tween girls I know! A counter voice to all the birthday & holiday cards for girls, where the single most common descriptor is still "sweet"!!
I also felt that Encanto was greatly overstuffed, with characters and story as well as with lyrics. But it's clear that Miranda's songs don't work for me as well as they do for *many* people! Though I did enjoy the songs in Moana more than these, for some reason.
The thing about Miranda's style is that it suits itself best to an album (Hamilton literally got its start as The Hamilton Mixtape), but for some always finds himself in a situation where it needs to be played live. Miranda's a recording artist.
I've been critical of his work in the past, in part due to the historical interpretation and general reception of Hamilton, but his work is very suitable to listening over and over. Except for "You're Welcome" and Mary Poppins Returns. That's where I draw the line.
On Abuela Alma: it's interesting to hear that an earlier draft had her demonstrating her repentance by her journey to the city. I agree that she should have had to make amends somehow, but I rather like the fact that while she's effectively the villain she is not a "bad guy," that she's done wrong to her family out of understandable motives and warped good intentions, warped in part by a history of trauma. That should not mean she gets off so easily, but I approve of the fact that she's not portrayed as a bad guy. She's not been intending to seek her own power at others' expense. There's a lot of harm in this world done by parental types who mean to be protective or otherwise caring and go about it in the wrong ways. I like having that portrayed without turning the parent-figure into a Mother Gothel bad guy. (I know that's not what you were wanting, I'm just using that as an example of a true parent-as-villain.)
It's also worth noting that Bruno was a completely different character in that one, too: his name was Oscar and he was much more assertive, going out to the city on his own. The name Oscar was later dropped by Miranda because it isn't very musical. I prefer this version over the one we got, because I tend to prefer strong-willed characters. (In fact, according to some screenwriting yogis, strong-willed characters are objectively better.)
What I would have liked, and maybe I left this a little vague in the review, would be an honest examination of Abuela Alma's morals. There's a lot to be said in her favor that I think people today have lost sight of: civic values, service to the community and getting a strong network in return. That's another thing that bothers me, the other inhabitants of the Encanto are background fodder until the closing moments of the movie. I understand that's for story reasons, but I cannot believe that there is no reciprocity. The Madrigals are effectively the Corleones of the Encanto, everybody else seems to be just an NPC.
But going back to Abuela: there's too much we don't see of her. Her situation reminds me of my own grandmother. Born in 1938 in a poor provincial family, the eldest of four sisters, she was forced to step up when her father died in WW2. The post-war years were hard on her and her family, and shaped her into a hardworking and practical person. Alma must have known similar hardships during the first years of the Encanto, but we only ever focus on the trauma of losing her husband. That's where the hardships start. But we don't get any of that in the movie. (Interestingly, relating to the Baymax! series, my grandmother also has a phobia of water. She doesn't remember why, but she was forced to cross a channel at night during an air raid as a small child, and I think that may have something to do with it.)
Instead, Alma becomes another in a long list of Disney patriarchs/matriarchs have other ideas for their wards. Mother Gothel and Frollo are the most villainous of this line-up, but there's quite a few all the way back to King Triton. There's Chief Powhatan, Chief Tui, Chief Benja. The Sultan from Aladdin. Even Buck Cluck. Most of them aren't evil, in fact, I've sided with them on more than one occasion.
Comparison to Raya: I myself admired a lot about Raya, but I found it less emotionally involving than Encanto. I go back to what I said earlier about not feeling deeply connected to Raya as a character. I did feel more emotionally connected to Mirabel, to her love for her family and her strong feelings about not apparently having a magical gift and her confusion about the secrets of the past and the present and her determination to discover the truth.
Again, the genres are so very different. Raya isn't your typical Disney protagonist in many ways, and I understand why someone would feel that way. For my part, the music makes Encanto that much more memorable. Not sure why I can't fully relate to Mirabel. Maybe it's because I'm a little 'gifted' in my own right; whenever there's something in which I don't much measure up to other people, I tend to just neglect that thing and focus on other things. Also, my family is tiny (as in I'm an only grandchild), so I already receive more attention than I know what to do with.
I just read that the most streamed animated movie of the year so far is Turning Red, followed by Luca and Encanto (not sure of those two which was 2 and which was 3).Turning Red certainly seems to touch a deep emotional chord in all the tween girls I know! A counter voice to all the birthday & holiday cards for girls, where the single most common descriptor is still "sweet"!!