Disney's tale of the magically-gifted Madrigal family who live in a magical house in the enchanting highland town of Encanto — set in the beguiling real-life Valle de Cocora — begins with the tragedy of Colombia's violent past before morphing into a panegyric to Colombia's warm and welcoming beauty.
The film's setting is a work of fiction: a town named “Encanto” set in the mountains of Colombia, inspired by the famous Cocora Valley and its many settlements. The valley is renowned for its hilly landscapes dotted with wax palm trees—the tallest in the world—prominently represented in the film.
What is 'Encanto' about? "Encanto" is about a family living in a small mountain town in Colombia. But the Madrigal family is anything but ordinary. Nearly every child has their own magical gift — all but Mirabel.
But “Encanto” has also received massive praise for the accurate way it portrays the Hispanic Madrigal family and the depiction of its many characters to fully represent the complexity of the Hispanic culture. The movie tells the story of the Madrigal family.
Co-director Adrian Molina stated, "not only is [Coco] based in a real place, in Mexico, but it's based in real traditions, so we knew it was very important to do the research, to get every detail recorded, so that when we get back to Pixar and we start deciding what is this town going to look like, what is this ...
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Is Coco respectful to Mexican culture?
Coco does something else entirely, a movie set in rural Mexico, rooted in popular Mexican culture in which not one single mention of crime or migration (other than the journey to the afterlife). Cocos authenticity is immediately recognized by the way the characters speak.
The plot is an excellent representation of Hispanic culture, with themes of family, friendship, and dreams. The movie contains various Spanish songs throughout, which kids will love and enjoy.
Moana as she appears in Moana (2016). Inspired by Polynesian mythology, Moana is depicted as the strong-willed daughter of a chief of a Polynesian village, who is chosen by the ocean itself to reunite a mystical relic with the goddess Te Fiti.
Disney's tale of the magically-gifted Madrigal family who live in a magical house in the enchanting highland town of Encanto — set in the beguiling real-life Valle de Cocora — begins with the tragedy of Colombia's violent past before morphing into a panegyric to Colombia's warm and welcoming beauty.
Encanto follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch whose children and grandchildren—except for Mirabel Madrigal—receive magical gifts from a miracle, which they use to help the people in their rural community, called the Encanto.
“Encanto” is a step away from that pattern. “A lot of times within the Latinx community, it's Mexican [culture being represented] but 'Encanto' is set in Colombia, which is great because we need more stories that are not just Mexican,” Velazco said.
In Coco, young Miguel's love of music ultimately leads him to the Land of the Dead where he teams up with charming trickster Hector. Pixar's newest animated movie, Coco, is meant to be a love letter to Mexico. The movie has a Latino cast.
Although Disney films have for a long time been associated with princesses and fairy tales, “Encanto” is a film that Colombians can feel proud of, thanks to the great lengths the filmmakers went to in researching Colombian traditions and culture.
In fact, thefilmmakers have shared that one of the reasons Encanto was set in Colombia is because of Colombia's racial and ethnic diversity, and, in particular, because the filmmakers felt Colombians embraced that diversity.
The cultural objects and Colombian references were probably the strongest and most accurate type of representation found in the film. To see paraphernalia that could be qualified as Colombian was promising even in the trailer. And in this sense, the movie delivered.
Butterflies are associated with transformation and hope, and in some cultures, they are a symbol of rebirth and resurrection, which all apply to the Madrigals' story, as they saw their family and house crumble and had to rebuild not only their house but also their relationship.
Colombian and Mexican Spanish share common roots in European Spanish, yet they are quite different. Although Mexican and Colombian Spanish speakers can understand each other, these two varieties are not mutually intelligible to a very high degree. However, a Mexican Spanish speaker can easily recognize a Colombian one.
In short, Agustín actually meant to say the Spanish curse word “mierda,” which translates to “s—t” in English. But he refrained from doing so and instead said “Wednesday.” According to #Encanto Twitter, this is a common practice in the Colombian community as a way to avoid profanity around children.
Rachel House reprised her role in the Māori version of Moana, and took over the direction of the dubbing. In many European countries, the name of the titular character, Moana, was changed to Vaiana due to a trademark conflict. The film was released in those countries to bear the alternative name in the title.
Moana's home island, Motunui, is fictional, but the production team drew a map of Moana's journey (which can be found in the book The Art of Moana) that places Motunui east of Tonga, near the real-world location of Niue. Te Fiti's island was based on Tahiti.
Yes, there is a Mexican Disney princess, and her name is Elena of Avalor. Elena actually had a pretty interesting journey before she made it onto the scene.
