“Well, my little friend, I am not, because the truth is, gift or no gift, I am just as special as the rest of my family.”―Mirabel Madrigal
Mirabel Madrigal is the protagonist of Disney's 2021 animated feature film Encanto. And also Disney's first spectacled animated protagonist is who I see my reflection in for the very first time. She is the youngest daughter of Julieta and Agustín Madrigal; even though I am the oldest in my family I feel like the youngest. What makes Mirabel special and different is that she has the distinction of being the only Madrigal without a magical gift, sometimes I feel like I am different which makes it feel like I don't have a magical gift. However, when the miracle begins to fade, Mirabel takes it upon herself to save the magic, learning about hidden familial troubles along the way. In this instance, I feel exactly like Mirabel when I witness anyone undergoing something difficult, I feel a moral obligation to help in any way I can to make the situation better.
Mirabel ( the beautiful Stephanie Beatriz voices Encanto's main character ) is often showcased as a free-spirited and optimistic demeanour; despite being the only Madrigal grandchild without a gift and is treated differently wherever she goes, despite this external treatment by society and her own family, she is still very much sociable and friendly to those around her. This quality of her personality is like holding a mirror in front of me that reflects the aspects of my personality. Even though she Lacks a gift of her own, she admires her relatives and holds them in high regard. She describes Isabela (voiced by the effervescent Diane Guerrero) as graceful and perfect, and Luisa ( voice actress, Jessica Darrow) as strong and the brawn of the family.
Her lack of gifts also does not hinder her from getting along with most of her relatives, even though this is somewhat true in my case. But she gets along with her parents Julieta ( Columbian actress, Angie Cepeda) and Agustin( voiced by Wilmer Valderrama who is a stud and a personal favorite) her cousin Antonio ( voiced by the cuddly, Ravi Cabot-Conyers), her uncle Bruno ( John Leguizamo brings this misunderstood and ostracized character to life) and her elder sister Luisa. She also is humble and honest, admitting easily that she and her father are both accident-prone. This hilariously also matches my father and my habitual habit of being messy eaters. On top of this, Mirabel appears confident as she claims that she does not need a gift to make herself happy and that she is just as special as everyone else in her family. I also happen to at times, tell myself to be special is to know that my different approach to life makes me special.
Despite seemingly living life happily without any power of her own, Mirabel is very much insecure about the fact that she cannot contribute to her family the same way her relatives do. I feel the same way whenever I struggle to get compensated for my efforts fairly hammering away at my self-esteem. The worst part of not having a gift is being shunned by her Abuela (and Isabela) and not viewed as equal in her own family. Even though this isn't true in my case, I still felt the same way when my Grandmother from my father's side refused to let me in the house just because I was born a girl, and they expected a boy. As she cannot relate to favourite her gifted relatives, she is lonely and feels disconnected from them. I do emulate and identify with this feeling overriding the mind of Mirabel. Ultimately, her greatest wish is nothing more than to be fully included in the family Madrigal as the only one without a gift.
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During the movie, in her pursuit to find answers behind the magic’s weakening, she is shown to be very persistent as she continually followed Luisa who was running her errands, and pestered her until her sister confesses her problem too She also insisted that her Tío Bruno conjure another vision of the future, despite him being uncomfortable with the idea of it. Later on, Mirabel persisted in reconciling with Isabela (albeit begrudgingly, doing so only because it’s in Bruno’s vision), and while Isabela is singing about her self-expression and freedom, Mirabel attempts to rush the reconciliation process.
While searching for answers to why the magic is dying, Mirabel discovers how much stress each of her family members is in as a result of the expectations set upon their gifts and themselves, which they hide behind peaceful façades. It's okay to not be okay. Life is a rollercoaster. She can sympathize with her uncle Bruno’s loneliness, understanding his feelings of being an outsider, and resolves to help him be welcomed back into their family after seeing that he is a good man who just had troubles with his gift. In addition, Mirabel helps to give voice to her family’s problems through her compassion and helps them understand that they are valuable as they are, not because of their gifts. This allows Mirabel to relate to her family members in ways she could not previously do, thus allowing her to form stronger bonds with them.
While Mirabel greatly respects Abuela as both the founder of the magic and the matriarch of the Madrigal family, she is unhappy with the fact that Abuela shuns her for not being blessed with a gift and for frequently disallowing her from participating in familial activities. I identify with this as my grandmother on my father's side also has a problem with my existence, the thought of which overrides my brain like a constant headache. After learning the source of the miracle dying and trying to tell Abuela how to fix it, Abuela was quick to lash out at Mirabel for "hurting the family" and causing misery within the household because she didn't get a gift, which greatly hurt Mirabel. Again, the thought of a family member having a problem with my existence because of their own messed up mindset is very enraging, to say the least. Finally fed up with this treatment, Mirabel pointed out how Abuela always burdened the family with expectations by only seeing them as the gifts they possess, and how she always saw the worst in Bruno (and to an extent, Mirabel). She even pinned Abuela as the reason the magic was dying.
After the destruction of Casita( the house they were blessed with), Mirabel and Abuela have a heart-to-heart conversation away from the family, and Mirabel understood why Abuela became the way she did, though Abuela also admitted that she lost sight of what is truly important in life: her family, and not the gifts they possess. Mirabel saw how broken her grandmother was, and forgave Abuela while lifting her spirits by reminding her how she was strong in leading their community and raising her children despite the tragedy she endured. The two then reconciled and mended their relationship. Now, Mirabel is not excluded from the family and is seen as an equal with everyone else in her family and community.
Mirabel dancing to the beat of her own drum/ Credit: DevianArt
Mirabel's physical appearance is a comfort to see as not only does her spectacles, body type & hairstyle match me, aspects of her personality also do. Specifically, she is a 15-year-old Colombian girl of a 5'2" height, curly chin-length black hair, thick eyebrows, hazel eyes, and a visibly dark shade of freckles on her nose and cheeks. She is authentically Columbian, which makes my heart happy. Even though, I am taller, had longer hair, brown eyes, and no freckles. I feel a deep connection to how she looks and feels inside her mind. She wears lime green round-framed glasses, I wear fashionable blue and black cat-eyed spectacles and blue pom-pom earrings, sparkly and rose-gold ones for me, and carries around a mochila bag when going out, I prefer a clutch or a faux leather chain bag.
Her attire is a white blouse that has colorful butterfly stitching, I do have something similar in my wardrobe with frills of black trimming at the neck and sleeves. No frills for me, but I wouldn't mind wearing some on Halloween. She wears a long teal skirt with colorful butterfly embroidery and her name stitched on the waistband, with an indigo petticoat and white bloomers, and sandals with pink linking and black ribbons around her ankles. Mirabel's skirt has many embroidered patterns, like butterflies, flowers, a little version of herself, and even some motifs representing her relatives, like a candle (for Abuela), a little basket of food (for Julieta), a chameleon (for Camilo), musical notes (for Dolores), and others. At night, she wears a white ankle-length nightgown with a green ribbon at the neckline. I do a lot of nature-inspired clothing to channel my love for natural surroundings.
The Madrigal family’s casita in ‘Encanto’ is more than a house — it’s alive — embodying the same magic that has blessed the Madrigal children for two generations. | Photo Credit: Disney
When it comes to her powers and abilities, Mirabel is not bestowed a magical gift like the rest of her family. However, she does have a stronger affinity with the Casa Madrigal than most of her family; she communicates with the house (or Casita) like it is a real person, and Casita responds to her prompts and helps with her daily routine. Mirabel is skilled in sewing, having embroidered her clothes and made a stuffed jaguar for her cousin, Antonio. While I am skilled at taking care of my family and my beloved dog and starting a career in a pandemic while still looking for my big break. She is also nimble and quick on her feet, displaying skills similar to parkour to navigate through difficult areas like the roof and walls behind the house, I hope I can do so someday but I can swim pretty well and she sings and plays the accordion well. I do sing in the bathroom and hum along to my favorite tunes whenever I listen to great music.
Lin-Manuel Miranda and his music have been a major reason for Encanto’s success.
Encanto songs have topped the charts and reached massive milestones. Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote all eight songs featured in the Disney movie and Germaine Franco composed the music. Most of the Encanto songs are sung by characters and actors in the movie, but a few are performed by well-known Colombian artists. With the Encanto songs constantly topping the Billboard.
Listen to the musical stylings of Encanto here.
Here is a list that has overtaken musical charts and our hearts and minds:
The Family Madrigal
Waiting on a Miracle
We Don't Talk About Bruno
Surface Pressure
What Else Can I Do
Dos Orguitas
All of You
Colombia, Mi Encanto
Encanto Gif/ Credit: Giphy
The album received two nominations at the 94th Academy Awards: the film score contends for Best Original Score, and the track "Dos Oruguitas" by Sebastián Yatra competing for Best Original Song. Additionally, Disney Animation's musical earned three Academy Award nominations in total for best-animated feature, original score for composer Germaine Franco and song for Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Dos Oruguitas." I am very happy to announce that Encanto won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film.
Encanto is out now on Disney Plus.
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