#Encanto analysis

[yellowcry]

I've seen people saying that Mirabel has a bit greening skirt as a reference to her similarity with Bruno

But, honestly

Julieta has way more teal clothes. And I think Mirabel's color referring to her mom

#encanto #mirabel madrigal #julieta madrigal #bruno madrigal #encanto analysis

[jacarandaaaas]

in this shot the candle is positioned higher up in the shot than mirabel, showcasing how she feels this candle is worth more than she is. This is also foreshadowing for the moment she quite literally values this candle more than her own life!

#encanto #encanto disney #disneys encanto #mirabel madrigal #this is just how my mind interpreted it lmao I’m not claiming it’s canon #but like that’s just a theory #it would not surprise me if they did that on purpose #anyways more mirabel angst woo!! #it’s a piece of wax mirabel #magical wax but it’s still wax #like save yourself!! #encanto theory #encanto analysis #encanto discussion #notice how she’s always below it? #even in the opening scene like ???? the candle is always higher than her😭

[my-little-safe-corner]

Good and Evil Magic in Wish and Disney

In Wish, Star, a pure representation of good magic, has gold color. This is also the color of star power in each organism's heart:

And of course, the color of the magic wands Star gives Asha:

The gold color symbolizes good magic in other Disney movies, too, such as in the Fairies franchise with Queen Clarion and the miracle candle from Encanto:

In the first wish ceremony, Magnifico also uses golden magic:

But, wait! There's another color involved here:

And, indeed, Star is also associated with dark pink:

And so is the magic in Encanto:

However, after Magnifico uses the dark magic book, his magic becomes green / emerald, which is the classical color of evil magic in Disney, for example:

Even in Lion King, which has no magic (maybe except for Rafiki's rituals), the good lions are golden, while Scar is associated with green:

In Encanto, there's no evil magic, but Bruno, whom everyone is afraid of, is represented by this color:

And notice how Mirabel, who has green glasses, intentionally decorates her clothes and mochilla with gold and pink, trying as best as she can to belong and not be seen as an outsider:

Therefore, the second wish ceremony looks different:

And when Simon's wish is granted, even his heart becomes green, corrupted to the core:

#disney wish #wish analysis #the lion king #encanto #encanto analysis

[viridianvisions]

Animation details in Encanto (probably one of many, many, many posts)

#1 - Bruno before his visions:

His face immediately before the vision forms behind his eyes is serene, though clearly burdened with anticipation...

But you can see the immense effort that it takes to steady and prepare himself for the vision as it materialises and projects from his irises; his hands clench tighter, brows furrow and jaw sets harder. It actually looks painful.

The same can be seen when he has his vision ten years later with Mirabel: although subtle, his frown deepens and his mouth pulls tighter as he steels himself for the onset of probably sharp, stinging bursts of light behind his eyes.

Only when he exhales and stretches out his hands do we see his features relax a little.

But then, right before his eyes light up, we can see just how difficult it is to keep himself poised through the strain. It's clear that, although rusty after a decade, he's learned how to cope with it through this pre-relaxation routine.

It's telling that they took the time to animate all these miniscule details to further convey why Bruno was not only reluctant to perform the vision for Mirabel, but also how part of his anxiety likely stems from the very real expectancy of pain before, and probably during, the vision itself - and all this before he's even had to decipher what symbolism he sees, then convey what that means to the requester.

Dolores was definitely on the mark when she sang that Bruno's gift was "a heavy lift", and the animators made sure to let us know this is the case. 🥺

~If this is the number of years it's taken to get to this point of managing it, I can only imagine how excruciating it must have been when he first started out. He's suffered more than we know. 😭~

#encanto analysis #Bruno Madrigal #bruno encanto #Encanto #Disney #He handles it amazingly well #But upon closer inspection it's easy to see how much practice it's taken to get to this point #Why did they do him with his gift like that #I want to comfort him 🤧 #He needs more than a hug #Where are the headache pills 1950 magical town?! #I need to speak to the apothecary

[naoko-world]

This scene! Julieta's face! It summarizes perfectly her opinion on Mirabel!

First Mirabel impresses her! Here she's even whistling before Mirabel carrying a heavy box!

There I can totally imagine her thinking "My daughter is amazing"! Though she's probably musing on how Mirabel do a lot to be recognized by the family, especially Abuela.

Then we can see she's worried about Mirabel ! She doesn't want her to do too much, she'd like Mirabel to not forget to take care of herself! Especially since she's the only one to not be pressured to work. Julieta probably would like to see at least one of her daughters living a happy life.

It continues later too, when Julieta is reminding Mirabel that, if she ever wants to talk, she can come to her. She's even leaning toward her as way to show more intimacy, as if she's whispering to her. But Mirabel doesn't listen because she's too focused on proving herself.

One day I'll totally write an analysis on how Mirabel has good parents! I just wanted to share that cause I noticed it when watching again today.

#encanto #mirabel madrigal #julieta madrigal #encanto screenshots #quick analysis #my analysis #encanto analysis #analysis

[allthingsencanto]

Maturing is realizing that the Madrigal family are all good people, they just lost sight of what was important over time because they were all so focused on their own struggles and desperately keeping their magic afloat that they ended up hurting each other and either not being there for one another, or not recognizing the other’s hardships. They’re a family who loves one another, but they’re broken due to the generational trauma. Certain characters hid their true feelings, certain characters weren’t there for others, certain characters kept their mouth shut and didn’t intervene, certain characters didn’t see or understand others. They were told how important this miracle is practically all their lives and how they can’t take it for granted that they eventually forgot about what was most important to them in the beginning, their love for each other. The Madrigals being a broken and flawed family but a family filled with good people who still care about one another deep down are statements that should coexist. 🕯❤️

#encanto #jared bush #walt disney animation studios #disney’s encanto #walt disney #disney animation #bryan howard #family madrigal #mirabel madrigal #isabela madrigal #alma madrigal #encanto movie #pepa madrigal #bruno madrigal #dolores madrigal #camilo madrigal #julieta madrigal #encanto disney #charise castro smith #encanto analysis #encanto take #agustín madrigal #antonio madrigal #felix madrigal #luisa madrigal #encanto themes #pedro madrigal #madrigal #la familia madrigal

[glitternightingale]

Shower Thoughts

Bruno's Stone Hand: Your Future Awaits

I've been thinking about this statue and trying to get into Bruno's head in case he decided to put it up, and it didn't just appear as a result of Casita's magical rooms. What was the motivation behind it? How long has it been there? And most importantly, what does it mean?

Meaning 1: "Climb all those stairs to get a vision from me."

The most on-the-nose interpretation is that this was simply meant to be a signpost to his Vision Cave for the villagers or other visitors. I can imagine it was set up when there were already a decent number of stairs in Bruno's room. At least, it would make the most sense at that point in time.

Meaning 2: "The way to Heaven/God in Christianity."

So, I saw some gravestones with a similar engraving: a hand with its forefinger pointing up to indicate the deceased's soul has risen to Heaven.

This was a prevalent symbol in the Victorian era (1837 - 1901). Of course, this concept doesn't have to apply to 19XX's Colombia, but it's an interesting thought, especially when one considers the heavy Catholic themes in Encanto and, perhaps, that Bruno might be a little old-fashioned/traditional in one way or another.

Also, most references of these headstone images I found feature the right hand as the "correct" hand for this symbol, regardless of if it's shown from the front or back. Bruno's possible left-handedness shown throughout the movie and his rock statue subverts this theme. He is different, and he is "wrong" in the eyes of the villagers.

Meaning 3: "Now listen up, the Prophet is speaking."

Bruno's expressive hand gestures often come into play when he tries to share his thoughts with other characters (Mirabel and Alma, for example.) I imagine their intention has changed from "Please, listen to me." to "May I just… please… say some–– Okay, never mind." over the course of his life.

#encanto #encanto meta #encanto analysis #shower thoughts #my meta #bruno madrigal #encanto bruno #la familia madrigal #madrigal family #mirabel madrigal #alma madrigal #bruno's room #encanto details

[waitingonavision]

Which Encanto blogs do you recommend for those who are new to the fandom?

Hoo boy! Everyone on this list posts about Encanto in general and are “all-rounders”—you’ll find both original content and reblogs of others’ content, as well as other fandoms/subjects (to varying extents). A lot of the folks here, most if not all of them, are also fic-writers and/or fan artists. And just plain amazing 💚

@glitternightingale • @acewithapaintbrush • @sokkas-first-fangirl • @seanettlles • @madrigaljail • @encantoisawesome • @encantowishes • @omgcheez • @lunaencantada • @lvnamuraart • @jennjiart • @junosaccount • @sketchnwhatevr • @kinschi • @rats0ut • @randomratthoughts • @becstuffs • @usedtobeguest123 • @mmollymercury • @immabethehero • @sionnaach • @captaincravatthecapricious • @missilestorm1 • @breannaaiedail • @naoko-world • @kogito-mojito • @cheetee • @clownmoontoon • @unskilled-dabbler • @villanavainilla • @neon-green-eyes • @pensandpizza • @arctictea • @rats-and-chamelons • @ambidextrous-space-samurai • @masao-micchi • @madrigaltripletssupremacy • @empty-cryptid • @actualhecc • @lunamadrigal

Happy browsing and following!

Feel free to reblog/reply and add more blog recs!

#encanto #encanto fanfiction #encanto fan art #encanto analysis #encanto screenshots #encanto blogs #asks #friends~ #the nerve-wracking thing about these #is inevitably accidentally forgetting people 😬 #sorry in advance

[metaphoricaltigers]

Bruno didn't want to look into the future after Mirabel's gift ceremony because he already knew what he would see, which is something he'd known for a while: that a magical system and thus a society based on grief and fear was fundamentally unsustainable. This was something he had insight into from the moment he got his Gift, and which was only reinforced by his subsequent life experiences. He didn't want to say that because he didn't realize that other people were ALSO feeling the negative effects of this; he thought he was the only one who would benefit from a fundamental change in their family system and transformation of their society. This is the fundamental tragedy of being neurodivergent, disabled, or otherwise marginalized: you are the canary in the coal mine, and it feels like you can't do anything about it. Even though, in the end, a societal transformation will actually benefit everyone.

#encanto #bruno madrigal #encanto analysis #personal

[impossiblefangirl0632]

Religious Symbolism in Encanto

Most of these thoughts spawned from reading, a hair on the head of john the baptist by @icarusinthesand which I highly, highly, recommend you go read if you are at all interested in the more religious aspects of Encanto.

We ended up talking about the religious symbolism in the comments and with their permission I’ve compiled the main points we talked about here. 

Tl;dr Encanto is chuck full of religious symbolism whether it was intentional or not.

Bruno’s Room

Religious parallels: 

John the Baptist (And other prophets, thinking namely of Elijah) spent a significant amount of time living and preaching in the desert

The Temptation of Christ is when Satan tried to tempt Jesus to turn against God for 40 days in the desert

Moses and the Children of Israel in the desert for 40 years

A note about the number 40: In the Bible, numbers are rarely literal and have underlying significance. Forty shows up a lot because it is often used for time periods (40 days/years) that separate two distinct epochs. Bruno’s life can clearly be divided by the point he went into the walls, when he was 40. Plus, like I said the Hebrews were wandering in the desert for 40 years (To me this part of Bruno’s life can easily be described as ‘lost in the desert’)  which represents the time it takes for a new generation to arise.

Staying on Moses for a second, this wasn’t in the movie but a lot of us seem to share the same headcanon that Bruno’s sand waterfall parts for him, kind of like the Red Sea for Moses.

The concept art for Bruno’s room shows a lot of different options they considered but I would like to bring these two to your attention.

The first is a concept that I cannot for the life of my find again but I vaguely remember it being in a youtube video. Imagine a dimly lit, slightly crumbling, cathedral interior with sand dunes instead of a floor and that should give you a pretty good mental picture.

The second concept (above) instantly reminded me of Petra (below) (World Heritage Site, very cool, has ties to a bunch of different cultures and religions including Christianity and Islam) 

Fun fact I learned today is that according to Arab tradition Petra is where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth. A lot of what remains of Petra is tombs which I think is an interesting tie in with the metas other people have written about the design influences from the Tierradentro tombs that did make it into the final design of Bruno’s vision cave.

Bruno’s role as the Prophet

Icarus did an amazing job at summing this up so I’m just going to drop in what was said in the comments here. For context, we were talking about how in the fic it’s alluded to that the Priest wanted Bruno to eventually become a priest himself.

“it seems logical (to Padre Acevedo) for Bruno to become a priest. I also think he has something more expansive in mind that just being the town priest -- when he says "lead" he does mean it. Because I really think that to a devout man of faith, Bruno would be... I mean, you have a prophet, he's the son of the man who made the miracle and the woman who turned it to bear fruit for the town, it feels fated, right? It feels like that man should be Something. Nobody's talking about living saints or the kind of leadership that reshapes the world but people are definitely thinking it, before they learn to be afraid of him.”

This reminds me a lot of this post (that was meant to be funny, and it is) that in my opinion correctly points out that Bruno’s two male role models are his father, who sacrificed himself for his family, and Christ, who sacrificed himself for humanity. To me it makes Bruno’s decisions make a whole lot of sense.

The Triplet's Gifts 

The thing that I've thought about a lot before reading Icarus’ fic is how the original three gifts in a way symbolize aspects of Christ/God. Because essentially, the gifts break down into healing (this is self-explanatory), prophecy/a (potential) sort of omnipotence, and controlling the weather to me falls under the umbrella of having dominion over the earth.

Breaking that down further: 

Bruno’s gift is obvious. He’s literally a prophet.

Julieta literally heals people with food (including bread, which has so many biblical tie-ins: the loaves and fishes, I am the bread of life, etc) 

Pepa is a bit more of a stretch but consider first off, the flood that destroyed the earth, and numerous times in the Bible where there’s a drought and the miracle sent by God is rain. 

Icarus made a good point about how Pepa seems to be more drawn to precipitation even when she’s happy since rainbows need moisture.

We know that when they were younger Bruno was the golden child but it wouldn’t surprise me if at least all three were considered saints at least at the beginning. (There’s a great oneshot that explores something very similar)

There are just too many connections for this all to be a coincidence in my opinion. At the very least someone on the design team thought about it at some point given the cathedral concept art. I mean come on, they literally call it a miracle.

#encanto #encanto meta #encanto analysis #religious symbolism #I considered adding my rant about how a lot of the fandom seems to be forgetting that this movie takes place in a majority catholic country #But that will half to wait for another day #Bruno madrigal #Bruno madrigal's room #Catholicism in encanto #religion in Encanto

[mmollymercury]

Madrigal triplets 🧠 (if you're familiar with MBTI)

Full disclosure, just started actually learning what all this means so, if I get something wrong and just don't know, oops.

I knew what the MBTI test thing was but never really cared to look into it, the only thing I've done that's close to it was a knockoff test, just for fun.

Thank god this image exists.

Let's go from oldest to youngest:

Julieta.

Are you outwardly or inwardly focused?

I know Julieta’s job kinda calls for extraversion but also, not really. We don't see her making any small talk with people while she's handing out food, it's quite the opposite, she likes the line to move pretty fast so she can see to everyone, proving that she's not looking to be the centre of attention. She seems pretty modest to me in "the family Madrigal" (and in general), like, she’s kinda just following everyone else if that makes sense. So, introversion.

How do you prefer to take in information?

This one was pretty difficult for me to pick at first but I eventually decided on 'Sensing', because of this scene:

While Julieta doesn't discount what Mirabel saw, she's focusing on what she knows to be the reality of the situation: that this was a tough night for Mirabel and she's probably going through a mentally tasking time. Also, she explains what she's feeling very literally: "Tonight was hard", "You're perfect just like this." There's no room for interpretation, she's very open with her opinions.

How do you prefer to make decisions?

Another one I had to think about for a bit. People might disagree here, because Julieta is the level-headed, put-together triplet- but I think she's: 'Feeling'. She's a person who definitely acts on emotion, she's very compassionate but sparing with her love, I.e she only gives it out to certain people. She loves her family all equally and definitely wants them all to live in harmony. When Alma has some pretty mean things to say to Mirabel, before Antonio's ceremony, Julieta stops her and tells her not to do that, yet in a very compassionate way, "Mamá, don't be mean to Mirabel, you know tonight will be hard for her." It's not completely accusatory, nor is the way she says it, she says: "you know tonight will be hard for her." Giving Alma the benefit of the doubt and telling her that she knows better, inadvertently complimenting her compassion, in a way.

She doesn't want to upset her mother but she also wants to stand up for her daughter. And come on, she's as warm and empathetic as they come.

How do you prefer to live your outer life?

I mean, just going by her profession, I think it's pretty safe to say that she likes deadlines and step-by-step instructions (the cooking recipes all over the kitchen wall, suggesting that even after all these years, she likes to know that what she's doing is correct, even though she should know these steps by heart.) So, judging.

Result:

ISFJ

warm, considerate, gentle, responsible, pragmatic, thorough. Devoted caretakers who enjoy being helpful to others.

I think I hit the nail on the head ngl-

Pepa.

Are you outwardly or inwardly focused?

Pepa definitely thinks outloud, I mean, when we first see her speak she is. Literally, talking up a storm to no-one and everyone. Also, in the same act, she's looking for Antonio, despite how the ceremony isn't ready yet, showing how she likes things to be done quickly. It also shows how she's itching for something to do in these situations, she works fast paced. During Antonio's ceremony, she's being very confident and interactive with her guests, implying how she likes to have the spotlight sometimes. So: Extraversion.

How do you prefer to take in information?

I think she's: 'intuition'; she definitely seems like a dreamer, especially with how easily she can be swayed by romance: "I'm sorry, mi vida, go onnnn", Pepa: why was I angry?🥰😍

Notice the bigger picture: when she sees Antonio before the ceremony, she says: "look at you. All grown up." This isn't a logical thing to say- but in the Madrigal context, Pepa is only thinking of the bigger picture concerning her son.

Describe things in a poetic way? "In doing so he floods my brain!" Nuff said.

How do you prefer to make decisions?

Feeling. Pepa’s powers literally depends on her feelings and in order to process things without hurting anyone (base your decisions on personal values and how your actions affect others) she does so through masking: If she's sad, she's sad but if the sadness is too strong to control, she'll replace it with anger (the whole Bruno situation), this is literally her sacrificing her own health to please others and protect them. And she's incredibly warm and empathetic, just look at how she acts with her kids and Bruno.

How do you prefer to live your outer life?

Judging. I know people like to think that Pepa was a pretty laid back, bad girl teen and I do agree although I think she went about this lifestyle in a much more organised way. I definitely think she likes things to be planned, if something spontaneous happens, she could cause a natural disaster, or at the very least, ruin her outfit.

Result:

ENFJ

Caring, enthusiastic, idealistic, organised, diplomatic, reasonable, skilled communicators who value connection with people.

Bruno.

Are you outwardly or inwardly focused?

Introversion. People would definitely describe him as reserved. He's drifted away from his family, so much so that Casita has adapted to the want for isolation: the stairs of his room and the whole walls situation. He thinks things through his head, I don't think he discloses the majority of his thoughts with anyone, for fear of being wrong or perceived as weird. Definitely would rather observe, we're talking about Bruno Madrigal, come on.

How do you prefer to take in information?

I went back and forth on this one but I'm thinking 'intuitive'. Imagine how things could be: he literally took the biggest risk by hiding away, just for the possibility that Mirabel would be safe. But realistically, there were so many variables against him: how will he survive and not draw suspicion? How will he wash himself? Where would he go? Would Dolores hear him and tell?

His gift requires him to look at the bigger picture, another thing he did in his own, roundabout way for Mirabel’s original vision.

He's an artist, therefore, poetic. He writes plays ffs-

How do you prefer to make decisions?

Feeling, 100%

How your actions affect others? He only took Mirabel’s needs into consideration, completely ignoring his own. He wanted harmony and forgiveness for her and the whole family, neglecting to realise he was apart of it. He's a people pleaser, you can just tell he suffered in silence for years, that confrontation with Alma at the river? That was more than ten years of pent up feelings coming out.

How do you prefer to live your outer life?

Judging. He's definitely not spontaneous. He's a recluse who thrives on familiarity and routine (autistic coded😶) people might say that him going into the walls was spontaneous, however, I argue: not really; him being so ready to leave, suggests how he had already been having thoughts of leaving, probably by way of ending his life. But with his niece and her safety as his main motivation this time, he finally went through with it. He clearly planned his moves well while in the walls: when to get furniture and food, rerouting pipes, stimulating art projects, how to move things without drawing suspicion. Ect.

Result:

INFJ

Idealistic, organised, insightful, dependable, compassionate, gentle. Seek harmony and cooperation, enjoy intellectual stimulation.

I think I did pretty good! If you wanna ask me character questions too, look here🥰

#encanto #encanto meta #encanto analysis #mbti personality types #bruno madrigal #pepa madrigal #julieta madrigal #character analysis #encanto asks #ask game #character asks

[yellowcry]

Let's talk about how different Madrigals are holding cups. (I promise, you desperately need this information)

Mirabel and Agústin(?) are really the same. Holding the cup with three fingers while others are clenched. But Mirabel's fingers pressed to her palm while Agustin's are hung a bit free

Luisa is the only one who picks up the cup from the upper part instead of a handle. Uses thumb and middle fingers

Felix uses thumb and index fingers. But his free fingers aren't closed. He also seems to take the cup in much more elegant/aristocratic way (And I also thought that it was Isabela

#yes i just analysed how they are holding cups #why not #encanto #mirabel madrigal #luisa madrigal #agustin madrigal #not sure if it's him tho #encanto analysis #felix madrigal

[jacarandaaaas]

I don’t know if this has been talked about before but I just realized that mirabels outfit is primarily teal but, the one thing that always stood out to me is that her shoes didn’t match her outfit like most of the other madrigals did.

Until I realized this was possibly on purpose as look how similar the color of her shoes is to almas outfit. Maybe this was to show how mirabel wanted to be appreciated and seen by alma. The color is a little off but I can’t help but think that was intentional too. Like she wants to make her abuela proud but she was always just a *little* off.

#encanto #encanto disney #disneys encanto #mirabel madrigal #abuela alma madrigal #it’s been 2 years and I just noticed this #theories anyone? #this might be a reach but this is encanto so I wouldn’t put it past them #mirabel encanto #encanto character design #encanto analysis

[omgcheez]

Which of the triplets do you think spoke first and last?

#encanto #bruno madrigal #pepa madrigal #julieta madrigal #encanto analysis #encanto headcanon

[imaginationfanstar]

I’ve come up with a theory about the warm side of the Madrigal family. While the movie focuses on the blue side it’s clear that everyone has some major anxiety issues. And if it’s not explicit it’s implied.

Although weather control, super hearing and shapeshifting don’t appear to match up with one another, the anxieties the recipients faced are still closely correlated. Each of their powers cause the users to be stressed, overwhelmed, untethered and under appreciated.

Pepa’s weather is inconvenient and always on display. No matter what she does it’s impossible to hide. People expect her to only express certain emotions when it suits them. Then get upset when what she’s feeling becomes inconvenient for them. In an effort to please everyone while being told her emotions don’t matter, it’s easy for Pepa to frequently succumb to her anxiety.

Meanwhile, Dolores is privy to a well of secrets and information with very little idea how to process it all. In addition she is constantly overstimulated. Girl must be extremely stressed out. Not only that but because her power isn’t as showy as others she is often left on the sidelines to simply relay information, rarely getting to express what she wants, how she feels, or even what she thinks.

Then we have Camilo. There is so much to potentially unpack here. While on the surface Camilo seems fine, we all know, no one in this family is fine. Like his mother and sister, with a gift like his it’s easy to feel like who he is doesn’t matter. With people constantly expecting him to fill a role of some kind rather than just be himself, it would be easy to become overwhelmed and lose himself at times. I can imagine him forgetting that he’s still in a shift or even what he looks like. Perhaps he’s not comfortable in his own skin but doesn’t have the freedom to explore what would make him feel more like himself. Hiding how he truly feels under a smile, a joke, or a sarcastic comment. Which is why I head canon Camilo as queer with they/them he/him pronouns.

This family has a lot more in common than it would initially appear and it would be great if they all had the chance to address that. It would surely bring them all closer together.

#encanto #encanto analysis #the warm side #pepa madrigal #dolores madrigal #camilo madrigal

[naoko-world]

Why Bruno is a wonderful character and why I love him so much? - A Bruno Madrigal analysis

OK so originally this was a dissertation about Bruno and why I love him for a Discord server, but in the time it took me to translate, many months passed and I now understand way more my love for him than I did at the time. So we can say it’s a translation of this dissertation but not really. It is now more of a big whole analysis of this character I love. A less messy like it was months ago too, easier to read and...When rereading it I see many English mistakes OMG...They’ll be fixed when it’s  posted though, phew!

Here we go!

Beforehand

In the RiordanVerse, which includes Percy Jackson, Heroes of Olympus, The trials of Apollo and the spin-offs Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase, my favorite character is Leo Valdez. Leo Valdez is a Hispanic character, son of Hephaistus, who plays the role of the jokester and the third wheel of the group in HOO. He ended up getting a girlfriend during the 4th volume though. Of course, Leo is actually more than that since he's at the same time the one meant to make people laugh, and the one who suffers in silence because of his status as a third wheel and a jokester. 

In the movie Encanto, the character who has the closest personality to Leo's is Camilo Madrigal. Logically then, Camilo should have been my favorite. Well, he almost was! I even had my eyes on him when I first watched the movie, a part of me already loving him. He was really about to become my favorite character in the movie when appeared...

Bruno Madrigal

Well, I'm in love with Bruno! But that's not the point here since there are other reasons why he's my favorite. And I’m going to explain them to you!

Bruno as an assumed villain

The villain treatment

First of all, I'll talk about what is a part in making him the best character in the movie: Bruno isn't a villain but is treated as one by the movie.

During the first half of the movie, Bruno has the same kind of treatment as Shere Khan, Rasputin or even Voldemort. You can actually make parallels between him and these villains! 

We don't talk about Bruno = He Who Must Not Be Named

Concretely, the first thing to notice about it is how in the very first song of the movie, the first thing we say about Bruno is "We don't talk about Bruno". If you do, you'll upset people. It weirdly reminds us of Voldemort and him being "You-Know-Who" (also called He Who Must Not Be Named) because we don't say his name. We call Voldemort “You-know-who”/“He Who Must Not Be Named” and when you evoke Bruno people reply “We don’t talk about Bruno”. It’s not exactly the same thing but it’s close enough. 

That way to evoke Bruno though can remind you of Shere Khan, whose name is pronounced a lot in the movie for him to only appear near the end and being way worse than we thought. Like Bruno, who appears really late on screen, in the middle of the movie actually, but whose name is pronounced pretty often. 

One of the biggest villain details about him, however, is his color.

You obviously noticed that he's associated with the color green, which is a color extremely associated with villains, making it the color of evil. I think about Maleficent or Rasputin, for example, who wear dark clothes but whose magic is green like Bruno's. Same for The Evil Queen in Snow White, who puts the red apple in a green mixture. On top of that, not only Bruno's magic is green, but when Camilo talks about him in the song “We Don't Talk About Bruno”, there is a green light all around him and Mirabel, making it all the more worrying. Like Scar from The Lion King in his own villain song.

The song “We Don't Talk About Bruno”.

One last thing that causes him to be treated as a villain : The song “We Don't Talk About Bruno”. Not only Camilo describes him as a monster, scary and dangerous, but most of the song is only negative about him, making us feel that he makes the future happen rather than merely announcing it...I mean..."Your fate is sealed when your prophecy is read"....It’s like they’re saying that if he didn't announce it, it wouldn't have happened. The only exceptions are Isabela, who is the only one to speak about a positive prophecy, and Dolores who, in her first part, talks about how she grew to live in fear of Bruno but explains later in that part that his prophecies are misunderstood. A big hint on how, maybe, he isn't much of a villain that the song wants us to believe.

His pictures

To add on top of it, each flashback or picture we have of him shows him with his hood hiding his eyes, or frowning and not looking very sympathetic. He smirks on his door though but it’s barely visible. 

All of that before we finally meet him and discover he actually isn't what we thought he would be (though I met people who understood immediately it was only baloney).

Bruno isn't actually a villain

And here is me announcing the moment to talk about why I love Bruno that much, with my whole soul and heart!

First thing first I’ll talk about how he can be pretty blunt and honest.

I mean, we sometimes saw him lie, like when he’s saying he didn’t leave because the mountains are pretty tall, but otherwise he’s a pretty blunt and honest man. I think for example about when Mirabel falls into the chasm and he catches her before telling her, “You’re very sweaty”. I mean, it’s true, we saw it earlier, but was it really the right time to tell her that? I can understand though, I can sometimes be pretty blunt like that too, but it clearly wasn’t necessary. That’s cute though, I like it! 

If I can elaborate on it and give my view about that point, I could even say him being blunt precipitated his bad reputation. I can see him giving the visions with nervosity but not sugarcoating them! 

Then, Bruno can also be very clumsy! 

I don’t only mean he’s clumsy like when he’s fleeing Mirabel and almost falls when jumping from plank to plank. Or when he fetched a horse to come save Mirabel but is struggling handling it, which is so adorable! No, I also talk about when he can hurt others without intending to. 

I’m thinking typically about the events at Pepa’s marriage, where he tried to make a joke and it made his sister think it was a prophecy. She was already pretty nervous, but that joke made the rain fall on her wedding day because of how terrible it made her feel. Of course, Bruno wasn’t ill-intended, he only was trying to put her more at ease, as he said in  “All Of You” when he sang “I could just see you were sweating”, but intention matters less than the results. There, the result is that he hurt his sister. Which must have made him feel very bad too, if I know him well. This is probably why he probably never apologized until the end of the movie.

But I love that part of him too! I think it is incredibly cute! And I would have loved to be there to hug him and reassure him about how it’s not completely his fault, that the context wasn't the best for that kind of joke and that Pepa was not the right person. Though I suspect she wasn't even holding it against him, she was more angry because he left and wanted a reason to hate him.

That point joins another part of him I like: He's nervous and anxious...Like me!

Oddly I always loved shy, nervous and anxious characters, like Sawako Kuronuma, from Kimi ni Todoke, or Shin-ah from Akatsuki no Yona. They have my whole heart and Bruno is the ultimate shy, nervous and anxious character! I just want to comfort him, tell him it'll be okay, help him overcome his nervosity and anxiety. Also, we can be anxious together! 

That aspect of his personality is mainly shown in his body language. During the movie, he’s often fiddling with his hands, with his ruana, chuckling nervously, or stuttering. He also has a way to look at people with his eyebrows going upwards in worry, as if expecting something to go wrong. 

Hell, even him being superstitious is part of his anxious side! He knocks on wood to bring good luck because he clearly doesn’t feel well when he can’t do it when he feels bad. You can even see him tapping his arm during the last song, just before the part where he’s rapping and apologizing to Pepa! Because he wants to bring good luck but doesn’t have wood to knock on! 

Also the way he laughs...You can feel the nervosity in his chuckles! Like when he’s trying to be funny with his Hernando/Jorge play and Mirabel only stares at him as if he said something weird. At that point you can feel he realised she didn’t find it funny and cringed. Poor Bruno.

Oh well it doesn't prevent him from actually being funny. He's a goofy character after all!

First...What the heck Mirabel??? His Hernando/Jorge play is hilarious! You just don't have any taste! Bad girl! Hernando and Jorge are the funniest characters and Bruno is the best actor of all time. He should do a stand-up show!

Then...I talked earlier about when he went to fetch a horse to go save Mirabel who actually wasn’t in danger. I’ll elaborate on it if you permit me too (you don’t have a choice anyway because that analysis will end before you can answer), in saying how interesting that scene is on a comedy lense. Starting with the way Bruno just arrives at the river struggling with the horse but managing to scream "Mirabel didn’t do anything wrong!" like a madman. Then, he literally falls before getting up spinning like a screwdriver all while yelling at his mother! That’s incredibly funny! 

Also, Bruno shows some sarcasm at some points. I think about when he’s afraid Mirabel will hate his vision and he’s repeating what was saying in the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” to parodying it. I mean, you can feel what the three townspeople said, “He told me my fish would die the next day dead, he told me I’d grow a gut and just like he said, he said that all my hair would disappear now look at me,” and the whole Camilo verse “Seven foot frame, rats along his back, when he calls your name it all fades to black, yeah he sees your dreams and feast on your screams,” when Bruno says “Bruno makes bad things happen, oh, he’s creepy and his vision killed my goldfish.” Honestly I have a bad memory but first time I watched the movie I’m pretty sure I was like “Oops, guilty” because I believed everything said in the song.

Bruno is also kind and caring!

Bruno is a kind and caring man who, as a proof of this character trait, saved Mirabel during their chase. I remind you he was fleeing her! But he preferred saving his niece rather than staying away from her like he’d done the last 10 years. This is why he was fleeing and he probably didn’t expect her to try to jump the chasm. She did though, and pushed him to make a choice: continue to flee and protecting himself and his, probably with time, comfortable life in the walls, or turn back to save her. He made that last choice. Because it wouldn’t be logical to leave her to die while he hid to protect her, but also because he’s too nice to leave her behind. 

We can also see that part of him when we discover later why he left. The fact is that he left because he was afraid Mirabel was in danger of having a fate potentially worse than his. I mean, I know people who would have taken advantage of it to stop being the black sheep of the family. Some people prefer to be part of the accepted group, Bruno preferred staying the black sheep so Mirabel could live a good life. 

To go further into the topic of his kind and caring side, I’ll talk again about the river scene. Before that scene, in the movie, Bruno leaves to let Mirabel go see Isabela, making her tease him “You’re afraid Abuela will see you,” which he confirms. He’s afraid of his mother but, even with that detail, when he thinks Mirabel is in danger he doesn’t hesitate to hurry save her from that same mother. He does because he cares too much to just stay hidden near the ruins of his house while one member of his family, especially one he bounded a lot with, is in danger. The most incredible detail in that scene being he’s trying to pin the blame on himself rather than simply defending her like most people would have done. He’s so kind! I love him!

Another thing I love about him is linked to the joke he was fed with “respect woman juice”: he’s respectful!

There is something noticeable when viewing the movie during “All Of You”: at the moment Bruno’s part is starting, he doesn’t take Pepa’s hand. Instead, he holds his hand to her to take, before spinning around to bring her into Félix’s arms. It’s not much but that man knows consent!

I’m French, so in my country, before COVID, when you greet each other you have to kiss the other person on the cheek. It’s basically an automatism and, for people like me who don’t like being kissed on the cheek by anyone, it always has been annoying. You can even blame children for not wanting it, telling them to be a bit polite. Or, if you don’t kiss someone, they can think you are angry at them. No, I just don’t like kissing on the cheek. I’m telling you, since COVID I saw people being incredibly happy to not be obligated anymore to kiss people! 

Finally, Bruno is creative. 

Him being creative can be shown with his Hernando/Jorge show, of course. However, in a more subtle way, we can also see many drawings, mainly of rats, in his hideout. And not bad at all! Hell, the screen even zooms in on one of his drawings to make us cry with sadness when realising how he loves his family and could never let go. I’m obviously talking about the plate scene. It’s neither a real plate, nor a photo. He drew that! That man is an artist! 

People talked a lot about his telenovelas too, like I saw many (including myself) using that to make Bruno and a reader/OC bond. Because it's a good way to! Though it seems like people tend to forget Bruno doesn’t only write telenovelas, but also sports games, and game shows. This is proof of a big imagination too!  

In the end I think you can now understand how much I love him. That man is perfect in his imperfection, and perfect husband material! I mean, I love everything about him, his bad sides, like being too blunt, as well as his good ones, like being caring.

I know this is also why he’s overloved too: I’m not the only one who saw it in him, and many are in love with him or only have him as their favorite character. In my case, he’s both the one I’m in love with and my favorite.

The fact he started the movie by being kinda villainized adds to it too, because there is a contrast between how he’s seen in the first part and in the second one. 

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