ENCANTO

Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith.

142, PG

Screenwriter: Castro Smith and Jared Bush, Music: Lin-Manuel Miranda and Germaine Franco.

Cast: Voice actors: Stephanie Beatriz, Angie Cepeda, Diane Guerrero, John Leguizamo.

 

Walt Disney Company’s 60th movie continues its commitment to girl power (since 1989’s The Little Mermaid), with characters who are smart, self-aware and not looking for a Prince to sweep them off their feet. It keeps on giving with the gift of lush, magical animation, and the songs by Pulitzer-Prize winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton.) The story centers on Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz), a brainy and mostly-content girl, living in the green mountains of Columbia in La Casa Madrigal. It’s just that everyone in the family has a superpower – except for her. And everyone, except her mother, sees their gift as proof of superiority. When La Casa Madrigal starts crumbling, Mirabel turns detective, searching out historical wrongs, family rifts, and why “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” the ostracized Uncle who Mirabel looks to for help.

Academy Award nominations: Best Animated Feature, Best Original Song, Best Original Score. “The most dastardly thing in this touching fairy tale is to ignore the love under our noses.” – Owen Glieberman, Chief Critic, Variety. NYT Critic’s Pick