History FridgeBrilliance / Encanto

* Similarly, despite being made different studios, ''Encanto'' could be seen as a SpiritualSuccessor to ''WesternAnimation/Coco'', both being fantastical films centering on a minor protagonist from a large Hispanic MultiGenerationalHousehold, both using music as a major component of the story, as well as featuring GenerationalTrauma as a major theme, but with many differences that set both films apart:

* Since it aired around Thanksgiving, it's appropriate that part of the movie's story is about [[AccidentalAesop being thankful for who you have and not just what you have]]. Alma had to learn this the hard way, as her grief of losing Pedro not only made her blind to the family she still had, but also left her too focused on preserving the miracle to remember what it was for: her loved ones.

* Alma's children represent past, present, and future. Julieta's food heals ''past'' wounds, Pepa's emotions control ''present'' weather, and Bruno can see into the ''future''.

* As pointed out on the Headscratchers page, Isabel's gift is seriously underutilized (she could provide all manner of food plants, medicinal herbs, and other useful plants to the Encanto instead of just beautifying everything with flowers). The only apparent reason she isn't doing more with her gift is that she never even ''tried'' to make anything other than flowers with it. Isabel's arc is all about how being pigeonholed as the "angelic flower maiden" has kept her from exploring her true talents and interests.
** It's likely why Isabel is stuck making nothing but pretty flowers is because, when she first got her gift at the age of five, simple flowers were probably all she was able to produce. But Alma who, even upon her first grandchild, was already fixated with using each gift to "strengthen the miracle" and whatnot, quickly concluded that Isa's purpose must be making things beautiful. If Isabel's power and interests had been allowed to develop naturally, she almost certainly would make been conjuring more unique flora long before the age of twenty-one.

* Bruno's "You're future awaits" sign in his room is a big, imposing sculpture of a hand pointing up - a ''left'' hand. Truly a [[{{Pun}} sinister]] omen.

** It's likely why Isabel is stuck making nothing but pretty flowers is because, when she first got her gift at the age of five, simple flowers were probably all she was able to produce. But Alma who, even upon her first grandchild, was already fixated with using each gift to "strengthen the miracle" and whatnot, quickly concluded that Isa's purpose must be making things beautiful. If Isabel's power and interests had been allowed to develop naturally, she almost certainly would make been conjuring more unique fauna long before the age of twenty-one.

* Bruno's "You're future awaits" sign in his room is a big, imposing sculpture of a hand pointing up - a ''left'' hand. Truly a [[Pun sinister]] omen.

** The sound also matches up with the salt that he keeps tossing over his shoulder.

* While Pepa was annoyed she and Félix got married in a hurricane, rain during a wedding is actually often a sign of good luck -- it means that the couple will last and hard to unravel. In present time, Pepa and Félix are a HappilyMarried, loving couple with the latter not even being bothered by being the unusual wedding.

** Dolores -- while she participates in the song and proposal dinner, she's a step behind her family. Because while she will go through for it for the family, she honestly doesn't want to because she's in love with Mariano. Also, since the song is about Bruno, it can also hint at her being aware of where he truly is.

* The Casita cracking makes sense given it lacked proper support. How Casita was created via love specifically Pedro sacrificing himself for his family and Alma's grief over this. Yes, it was ThePowerOfLove but it was still brought forth because of trauma, which Alma never properly addressed for ''years''. As such, Alma never got any ''support''. And without proper support (literal or metaphorical), the breakdown will come. In contrast, while Mirabel did experience a humiliating and traumatic event resulting in insecurity issues, as well as tense relationships with Isabela and Alma (especially the latter), she still had a support system in her family, even if they made mistakes. As such, even though Casita crumbles, Mirabel is able to remake it with the help of her family and community.

* Some of the plants that Isabella spawns like cacti and carnivorous plants that she's fond of make a bit more sense when y'all realize that those plants are the ones that, in a way, fight back. For the longest, she's mostly grown flowers of plants that don't "fight back"—Ever since she got her gift, she's been kind of passed around and shown off, with very little control over things go and she wants control over that. Similarly, her cacti and carnivorous plants might be a ref to how, in a way, she lashes out Mirabel.

* The creators confirmed that Antonio regards Bruno as his pal. Why? First, he was told by his uncle's rat friends his whole story. Second, because of the first reason, Antonio knows and most likely deeply appreciates the lengths Bruno went to, to protect Mirabel (the person Antonio most looks up to). Third, both uncle and nephew have more in common than noticeable-- have a gift that is hard to give a job for the community, [[BetterWithNonHumanCompany bond with animals and not people]] (rats mainly for Bruno), and are TheBabyOfTheBunch in their respective sibling group.

* "[[https://phoenixlionme.tumblr.com/post/710064650624106496 The Encanto Official Movie Magazine]]" states that Antonio is Mirabel's favorite cousin between him, Camilo, and Dolores. This makes sense for a number of a reasons:

* Antonio not being good with people makes sense given his close bond with Mirabel - The former most likely witnessed how the townspeople often disrespected the latter, whether intentional or not, simply for not having a gift. If strangers could treat his favorite relative so badly, it's no wonder he has trouble socializing with them.

* Jared Bush commented that Isabela secretly likes the chaos that Pepa can cause with her gift. She initially tried to be perfect, so for some this revelation may be jarring, but for those who have analyzed Isabela's character arc, the reasons for this admiration will be more than clear; Isabela wants to be free to express herself as she wants and expand the nature of her power instead of acting as Alma wanted, just like Pepa does when she stops holding back her emotions accidentally causing chaos around her. Despite acting like the perfect golden child" of the family, Isabela deep down just wanted to be free to express herself as she wanted, just like Pepa does.

** It's also been noted how Isabela snaps [[ITakeOffenseAtThatLastOne at being called selfish]] but she never contradicts being called entitled. Given the stress and expectations heaped upon her that she's spent years trying to live up to, Isabela probably ''does'' feel like she's entitled and far from selfish. Little wonder that specific accusation is what sets her off.

** It was Pedro's love and sacrifice that birthed the Miracle that lead to the Casita and Encanto being formed. And there have been many parallels between him and youngest granddaughter: The tie-in novelizations has Alma privately admit Mirabel is a lot like Pedro, the creators stated that it is Mirabel whose personality is the closest to the patriarch, and Mirabel bares one of the strongest physical resemblances to him. Casita may have sensed their similarities and wanted another person like Pedro to birth the new miracle.

** With Alma -- Both want to protect the family in their own ways, but tend to accidentally cause more problems than necessary. They are the only blood Madrigals with no gift inherited gift but communicate with Casita the most. And while Isabela is the grandchild who looks like Alma the most, Mirabel comes in close second. Their respective rooms are in direct opposition of each other. They have a tendency to mask their emotional pain in order to help the family even if it their hurt goes unacknowledged.

** With Agustín: Both he and Mirabel are the only Madrigals to wear glasses. Like with his daughter, Agustín is a non-magical family member; and while both have some insecurity over this they don't let said insecurity make them resentful or jealous. Both can play an instrument (piano for Agustín, accordion for Mirabel). They are clumsy, dorky {{Butt Monkey}}s willing to stand up to Alma in the defense of another. And like his daughter, Agustín has an (implied) complex relationship with Alma, as WordOfGod revealed that Alma wasn't initially on board with him marrying Julieta; in other words, both father and daughter know what it's like to be unfairly judged by the Madrigal matriarch.

** Despite the mutual tension on both sides, it's Isabela who's openly more antagonistic and haughty towards Mirabel while the latter is at worst snarky (and usually either in private or in defense of Isabela's attitude). It all comes down to how they handle their positions in the family -- Isabela is the golden child and had to put on an air of perfection since she was five, which only worsened after Mirabel's failed ceremony; Mirabel is both TheUnfavorite and TheScapegoat but usually only from Alma and Isabela, and never received a gift, and thus never had to hide her imperfections. In other words, Isabela was never able to release her stress in healthy ways while Mirabel was.

** Humility - Tying into the above example, there's a stark difference in each other's pride levels given their positions in the family. Mirabel had low self-esteem given her low status in the family but also could model humility from them, particularly her humble father and doting mother. In contrast, Isabela was constantly doted on by Alma, the matriarch, and the tie-in novel reveals that she never gets in trouble (hinting at Alma's coddling of her). So in spite of the pressure, Isabela gained a somewhat prideful opinion over herself.

** "Big heart" = Combined with her above mentioned smarts and natural empathetic nature enables to better connect with each emotionally stressed Madrigal.

* During and after the disastrous dinner, most of the Madrigals are quick to assume that Mirabel being possibly responsible for the destruction of Casita and the Miracle makes sense given what happened a day earlier: The successful ceremony of Antonio's gift ceremony. In contrast to Mirabel's own failed ceremony, which took place 10 years prior. While they are not said, it's implied that, on some level, they think Mirabel not getting a gift had something to do what was wrong with ''her''.

** Bruno's visions seem like a case of BadPowersGoodPeople, but, from a practical standpoint, visions are generally more useful when used to ''warn'' people of bad events to come because it allows for preventative measures. There is very little practicality in a vision that simply reassures someone that things will be alright, because the events of the future are always directly impacted by the present, and [[SelfFulfillingProphecy people who are given a cosmic guarantee that their future will be problem-free will grow lazy and complacent,]] which could change their future to be ''less'' fulfilling because they don't work for it. This is why most of Bruno's visions are so ominous; they serve to warn people to ''create'' the future they want. This is also where many of the townsfolk misunderstand Bruno's powers; many probably want Bruno to be a YesMan rather than [[DontShootTheMessage the bearer of bad news]] who tells them where they will have time to think of what caused the problem and eliminate possible causes before the actual problem presented at the vision would come true or taking certain steps to achieve a certain outcome shown at the vision instead. One could see the people of Encanto as fatalistic and have tenuous and shaky grasp to cause and effect.

** Bruno's visions seem like a case of BadPowersGoodPeople, but, from a practical standpoint, visions are generally more useful when used to ''warn'' people of bad events to come because it allows for preventative measures. There is very little practicality in a vision that simply reassures someone that things will be alright, because the events of the future are always directly impacted by the present, and [[SelfFulfillingProphecy people who are given a cosmic guarantee that their future will be problem-free will grow lazy and complacent,]] which could change their future to be ''less'' fulfilling because they don't work for it. This is why most of Bruno's visions are so ominous; they serve to warn people to ''create'' the future they want. This is also where many of the townsfolk misunderstand Bruno's powers; many probably want Bruno to be a YesMan rather than [[DontShootTheMessage the bearer of bad news]] who tells them where they will have time to think of what caused the problem and eliminate possible causes before the actual problem presented at the vision would come true or taking certain steps to achieve a certain outcome shown at the vision instead. One could see the people of Encanto having a tenuous and shaky grasp to cause and effect.

** Bruno's visions seem like a case of BadPowersGoodPeople, but, from a practical standpoint, visions are generally more useful when used to ''warn'' people of bad events to come because it allows for preventative measures. There is very little practicality in a vision that simply reassures someone that things will be alright, because the events of the future are always directly impacted by the present, and [[SelfFulfillingProphecy people who are given a cosmic guarantee that their future will be problem-free will grow lazy and complacent,]] which could change their future to be ''less'' fulfilling because they don't work for it. This is why most of Bruno's visions are so ominous; they serve to warn people to ''create'' the future they want. This is also where many of the townsfolk misunderstand Bruno's powers; many probably want Bruno to be a YesMan rather than [[DontShootTheMessage the bearer of bad news]] who tells them where they will have time to think of what caused the problem and eliminate possible causes before the actual problem presented at the vision would come true. One could see the people of Encanto having a tenuous and shaky grasp to cause and effect.

** Bruno's visions seem like a case of BadPowersGoodPeople, but, from a practical standpoint, visions are generally more useful when used to ''warn'' people of bad events to come because it allows for preventative measures. There is very little practicality in a vision that simply reassures someone that things will be alright, because the events of the future are always directly impacted by the present, and [[SelfFulfillingProphecy people who are given a cosmic guarantee that their future will be problem-free will grow lazy and complacent,]] which could change their future to be ''less'' fulfilling because they don't work for it. This is why most of Bruno's visions are so ominous; they serve to warn people to ''create'' the future they want. This is also where many of the townsfolk misunderstand Bruno's powers; many probably want Bruno to be a YesMan rather than [[DontShootTheMessage the bearer of bad news]] who tells them where they have room to grow.

* Antonio being NotGoodWithPeople makes sense given his close bond with Mirabel - The former most likely witnessed how the townspeople often disrespected the latter, whether intentional or not, simply for not having a gift. If strangers could treat his favorite relative so badly, it's no wonder he has trouble socializing with them.