Encanto Plot Synopsis
Disney’s Encanto is widely known for being a refreshing break from its previous films, highlighting a complex web of Latin American culture, trans-generational trauma, the idea of the family with the modern spirit of self-acceptance, focus on individualism and breaking out of stereotypes.
Encanto follows the plot of a refugee family, Alma, her husband Pedro and their three infants, who along with several others try to escape the violence in their village in Colombia. While Pedro perishes in the onslaught, Alma’s ordinary candle transforms into a magical one, not only saving them but giving them a home and rebuilding their community.
The candle’s legacy gives the Madrigal children special gifts at the age of 5 which they use to help and develop their small community.
Fifty years later, while the family is thriving, the magic of the candle threatens to disappear. Mirabel Madrigal is the only one amongst the Madrigal family who has not received a gift and while she deals with self-acceptance and reconnects with her family, she swears to save the Encanto.
What does Mirabel see at Antonio’s Encanto ceremony?
During Antonio’s Encanto ceremony, where Antonio received the gift to communicate with animals, Mirabel sees the candle’s magic fade and flicker – Casita stops responding and the Madrigal house develops deep cracks all the way up to the magic candle.
Worried, she calls out that the house is in danger. Alma, the family and the village folk are concerned. However, when Alma and the others come outside Antonio’s new magical room, Casita is absolutely fine. Alma proclaims that the Madrigal magic is strong while rebuking Mirabel and interpreting her message as attention-seeking behaviour since she is the only one who did not get a gift.
What does Mirabel see in Bruno’s foretelling?
After the events at Antonio’s ceremony, Mirabel is convinced that the magic is in danger. She seeks her sister Luisa who tells her that apart from feeling the weight of her responsibilities, she feels that her powers are weakening. Convinced that something is wrong, Mirabel decides to enter Bruno’s room to find out more about the prophecy.
Inside Bruno’s room, she finds pieces of enchanted glass that show her Bruno’s vision. Before she could see the entire vision, the room starts collapsing. She gathers all the pieces and rushes out. When she finally puts all the pieces together, she sees herself in the vision standing in front of a broken Casita. She interprets that she is the reason for the fading of the magic.
Why does Bruno leave the Madrigal house?
After Isabelle’s marriage falls through, the family discovers the reason for the fading magic is Mirabel. Meanwhile, Mirabel sees some rats carrying the broken pieces of Bruno’s vision. She follows them and finds a secret passage behind a portrait. She meets her uncle Bruno, who has been living in hiding at the back of the Madrigal house.
Meeting with Bruno reveals that Bruno left to protect Mirabel as his vision portrays a duality – either the Encanto is broken forever or it isn’t, it depends on Mirabel’s actions. However, since Alma and the family have always treated Bruno as an odd outcast, Alma’s preoccupation with the Encanto would never have let her see the hope that the vision rests on Mirabel. As Mirabel’s mother says, Alma has been “too hard” on Mirabel. Therefore, Bruno left to protect Mirabel.
What was the real reason for the waning of Encanto?
After visiting Bruno in his hideout, Mirabel convinces Bruno to see another vision in order to find a solution to the waning Encanto. They visit Antonio’s room since Bruno’s room is all but dust. In Bruno’s vision, they see a golden butterfly and two figures embracing – Mirabel and an unknown figure and it soon changes into Mirabel and Isabella embracing.
She visits Isabella’s room to make peace with her and it is revealed that Isabella is under immense pressure to be a “golden child”. She has been suppressing her desire to make Alma and the family happy. They bond with each other and it makes the candle burn brighter. However, Alma sees them and scolds the pair while blaming Mirabel for all the family’s problems. This makes Casita crack; the candle loses all its magic and the house collapses.
The reason for the waning of the Encanto was the break in the Madrigal family, which built over the years due to Alma’s obsession with the Encanto, the gifts and the perfectness of the Madrigal family, which simultaneously deteriorated relationships between the Madrigals.
How was Encanto restored?
The Encanto is restored when Alma mends her relationship with Mirabel. Not only does Alma realises that she has been too hard on Mirabel but Mirabel realises why Alma has been the way she has been. Earlier, Mirabel had lashed out, that for Alma, Mirabel would never be enough. However, by the riverside where Alma first received the Encanto, she realises the sufferings Alma had gone through – losing her husband, and bringing up her family all on her own at a very young age.
They heal their relationship with an embrace. Their love for each other as a family is the very force behind the Encanto. So, when the Madrigals, along with their village folk, build back their home and their family – Encanto returns to the house and the ordinary house turns into Casita when Mirabel connects it with the the new doorknob that her family made for her.
Does Mirabel get a door at the end of Encanto?
Mirabel does not get a door or any gift by the end of the film. Just like Alma does not have any gifts but is the connecting thread that links the Madrigal family together, Mirabel signifies the miracle itself – one that brings out the best in others as she helps her family get back together and heal all their wounds. Her family makes her a doorknob, signifying that without her, the family is as good as a door without a doorknob. She’s an indispensable part of the Madrigals, even without any gift.