Encanto is an American musical fantasy film animated in 2021 by Walt Disney Animation Studios. Setting place in Encanto, a small village that is opened through magic, the story features the Madrigal family with a history of magical abilities gifted to every family member when they turn five, except for Mirabel Madrigal, the main character of the film.
For one, gifts of superhuman strength, plants and flower growing abilities were given to Mirabel’s two older sisters, Luisa and Isabel, as well as their own special doors that led them to their own enchanted room, when they performed the ritual of opening the doors at the age of five. However, when Mirabel turned five, with all excitement to have her powers and a room of her own just like other Madrigal family members, magical lights diminished and no powers were given to her.
Mirabel feels excluded from the proud and magical family members who all have their own roles to serve within the village. While Luisa, the one with superhuman strength, assists villagers in moving heavy loads and Isabela blossoms beautiful flowers to adorn the village streets, still there is no room for a Madrigal without specialities like Mirabel. The plot soon elevates into a conflict with a prophecy of Mirabel possibly destroying their beautiful home, Casita, and messing everything up. However, putting the main conflict aside, Mirabel’s frustration over her “normalness” compared to her family members with magical abilities is considered in the world today as well.
Just like Luisa and Isabela with special powers, there are people today who are talented in certain fields that naturally assign them to such roles to serve in society. For instance, a child with a special talent in table tennis will start training early in their lives to become a professional player while a child with gifts in mathematics often walks into academia. However, compared to those who seem to have a distinct path to follow, some people do not know what their biggest strengths are.
Walking along a path of uncertainty is difficult, especially when people around you seem to be so certain of their path. Just like how Mirabel felt to be too “normal” compared to her sisters Luisa and Isabela, people without a distinct talent in different fields are burdened to pave the rough rocks out of the path they aim to go to.
After Mirabel sees a prophetic t a b l e t o f h e r i m a g e a n d t h e destruction of Casita behind her, strange things start to happen. Luisa, who used to carry six donkeys along her shoulders, starts to feel helpless and vulnerable. Telling Mirabel that she is losing her powers, she confesses that she is now scared and does not know what to do. In the same way, a person born with a certain gift and who has always walked such a path may end up losing everything when suddenly faced with discouraging circumstances. All the time and devotions would have ended up as nothing, demanding the person to start everything from scratch.
The important factor in such times is the ability to stand up again, to start gathering all the lost pieces to finish building everything all over. That is what Mirabel taught her family members, when Casita was broken into different pieces and they all lost their powers. It was Mirabel, who was often in the position of paving new things and ended up in dead ends to have the mindset of starting everything over, even if things turned hopeless. Passing the front gate of their house, Mirabel gathered her now powerless family members and showed them how to pick up the bricks and tiles of Casita.
Having no outstanding traits may be a long-held anxiety, but the “normalness” is what makes knocking to different doors possible. And through moments of rejection, the power to stand up again starts growing stronger. As Mirabel has found happiness and success through her “normalness” with such power, everyone, whether regarded as special or not, will need to train the strength to face difficult situations.