Can we please take a moment to realize Pepa and Félix are without question THE most affectionate Disney couple?
Let’s think about this for a second. The main romances are never together until the last scene, and their touches are limited to one or two kisses, and a short happily ever after montage where maybe he has his arm around her waist as they ride off into the sunset (every single Disney princess sans Nala and Belle). They’ll talk and laugh but they won’t ever actually touch or if they do it’s limited to maybe brushing hair back or touching them only when necessary to save them but that’s it. Every physical touch is all big grand romantic gestures that stand out and help move the plot along.
Belle and Beast, she ‘didn’t shudder as she touched his paw’ and then they have one romantic dance where her resting her head on his chest was the most physicality any Disney couple had in a while but again, it was a big romantic gesture designed to be noticed and move the plot along. They don’t touch just to touch. And even Nala almost every touch she had with Simba was deliberate and meant to be noticed and to move the romantic plot along (I don’t know about you but I think Pepa and Félix might have take the spot away from Nala and Simba for best Disney sex eyes)
The rare times there’s more than once romance in a movie it’s limited to what Augustin and Julieta have. A gentle simmering of sweet romance and that’s it. We hear they’re married, they may hold one another close at the end of the movie but again, very little actual physical affection.
Now let’s look at Pepa and Félix. There very first intro she’s literally grabbing him, yanking him close and lifting him up off his feet to kiss him
Then his hand is around her waist and stays that way the entire time they walk up the stairs after their first scene. No big grand gesture, no plot development, just a background note you might not even catch. Then with Antonio’s gift ceremony he takes her by the shoulders and doesn’t let go, and when they’re waiting at the door they’re completely wrapped around one another and when he gets his gift again, just a background moment, but he misses her hand and she looks at him with sheer relief and adoration
And let’s not forget the ‘fuck me’ eyes she gives him at breakfast when he gets her to calm down about the chair
During the Bruno song I can’t even count how many times his hand is around her waist and the calling card to all Pepa/Félix shippers that is ‘I’m sorry Mi Vida go onnnn!’ Where he’s singing right into her ear and neck and she’s got *that* kind of smile on her face as she dies which is as close as Disney will ever get to a couple necking
While I mentioned Disney romances only touching eachother to save the other I think theirs should count bc again, it’s just a background moment, not plot development, but when the house shakes and she falls he’s right there to catch her and help her. No plot, no big gesture, it’s not the focus of the scene… it’s just there
And then during the end song…. My god. When Bruno whips her around his hand is right there to catch her and then he pulls her close where once again , she gives him bedroom eyes, his hand is on her waist and hers is on his chest.
Also what’s even more miraculous and remarkable about it is this isn’t the star, this isn’t some 18 year old Disney princess, this is a 50 year old woman with three kids whose oldest is an adult herself, and Félix is a dark skinned Black man who is affectionate and loving and adoring, something you very rarely see in mainstream media. And what’s more is none of these moments are played for laughs. It’s straight and serious and romantic and physical and so amazing. Disney really broke the mold with them and I’m so grateful to them for it
1. Does abuela accuse Mirabel of being drunk when she announces the cracks at the party but then they’re gone when everyone else checks? “The magic is strong, and so are the drink!”
2. At the breakfast table does abuela pull the white flower that pops up in Isabelas hair because it doesn’t match the pink so isn’t “perfect”
3. In Luisa’s song there’s a pattern on the background right after the “Drip drip drip” part my eyes only caught the gold the first time so I didn’t notice the pattern was actually little Luisa’s holding weights.
4. Also Luisa’s song. When she punches the iceberg and skids on the ice with Mirabel it reminds me of Frozen 2 and makes me see the similarities between Luisa and Elsa.
5. Also also in Luisa’s song I first thought that when they fell into the machine it was grinding some fruits but after that I learned that coffee beans are that color when they’re first picked which I think is a nice homage to Colombia.
6. What if Bruno’s tower added more and more stairs and obstacles for people to come to the vision cave because that’s how much Bruno didn’t want to be approached by people who will then be angry at him. And it was still like that when Mirabel went in because that’s how depressed he was the last time he was in their?
7. Felix and Agustin are kings.
8. Everyone always connects Mirabels glasses to Bruno’s green cloak but Agustin also has green glasses and he joined the sibling hug during Bruno singing so what if Bruno and Agustin were really close friends before Bruno left.
9. The scene where Mirabel is sad and covered in soot is so visually beautiful like a painting.
10. Where TF did Bruno get a horse we have only seen donkeys in this entire town.
I belatedly realized that Agustín & Félix took their wives’ last names when they married into the Madrigal family. These kings never stop impressing me.
Little things I’ve noticed about the costume design in Encanto
In no particular order because I can’t put my thoughts into a cohesive line even if I tried…
1. Colors
The original triplets have their own colours: Julieta - Teal, representing her powers of healing, Pepa - Yellow, because she always needs to be happy and not ruin the weather, Bruno - Green, because green can represent both good and evil
Pepa’s family are wearing yellow. Felix, who married into the family, also wears yellow but with his own touch of orange stripes. The children are wearing yellow for their mom and have stripes for their dad.
Agustin’s clothes are white and dark blue which compliment Julieta’s teal. Luisa is wearing white and dark blue like her father and Mirabel is wearing white top and a skirt that goes from teal to blue, a little from both parents.
The last one is Isabela who is wearing violet. A combination beween her family’s blue colors and her grandmother’s magenta dress, representing her falling into the role of the golden child of Abuela.
2. Mirabel’s dress
Mirabel has a little from everyone. Starting from the basic design that is a white top and blue skirt just like Luisa, her skirt has teal for her mother and blue like her father.
Now to the details. Her dress has a candle and is full of butterflies, representing the miracle; the butterfly on her shoulder is the same colour as the flower on her father. She has embroidered flowers for Isabela, has a cloud for Pepa and a leopard for Antonio.
3. Camilo
Camilo is wearing the colours of his family, but in contrast to all the men in the village who are wearing suits and shirts, Camilo is dressed like his tio Bruno.
4. Dolores
Dolores is wearing a cute red pattern with a red bow, two things that only one other family member has - Luisa.
5. Antonio
The little guy has a red scarf around his neck that is the same colour as his sister’s necklace.
6. Isabela
At the end of the movie, when Isabela realises she can create more things than just roses, she changes her dress to dark blue - the colour of her father and Luisa, and she adds different colour patterns just like Mirabel.
So much talk about Camilo being a mammas boy but not enough discussion has been had on Dolores being a daddy’s girl.
Case in point- a daughter whose super quiet and ‘unnoticeable’ being the daughter of someone super outgoing and charming like Félix, someone as dramatic and loud as Pepa, and her dramatic theatre boy brother? She absolutely preferred, even before her gift, Quiet snuggles and cuddles with her parents bc the rest of her family was so loud but with Pepa’s thundering and tornadoes and unintentional loudness she would go to Félix. Even as an adult when she’s feeling super overwhelmed with noises she’ll go to Félix and he just knows what she needs and he’ll just hug her and they’ll just sit there in silence
Then in the movie whenever she’s with her parents she’s always around Félix. Even n Mirabels imagination of the whole family being proud of her Dolores is next to him
Then he not only defend her from Camilo shape shifting into her so she wouldn’t get blamed but he spoke in this soft whisper voice so he wouldn’t hurt her ears
And when the search party is going on who does she go with?
And probably my favorite Dolores shot is him being up there with her when she swings from the rafters and yelling and having fun and Félix is just beaming bc he gets to see his little girl let loose and be loud for a minute without it hurting her?
Long story short these two are adorable and I love them so much