Episode 183: Encanto (2021)

The first rule of Bruno: we do not talk about Bruno.  Second rule of Bruno: we do not. Talk. About Bruno. However, everyone should feel free to sing about Bruno and engage in complex and elaborate dance numbers about Bruno.  Everyone clear on that? Good.  Then we can get on with this week’s “Now Streaming to a Room Near You” episode which, as you may have guessed, involves the latest Disney Animation feature “Encanto,” featuring Columbian imagery, dances, and the songs of Lin-Manuel “Please, I’m So Close To EGOT” Miranda. (C’mon, Academy! Just give him the Oscar already. Look at that face! Can you say no to that face?).  We’ve got magical realism, Disney animation, this year’s earworm song (Can “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” unseat “Let It Go”? If you have children, you’re going to find out, so say goodbye to your audio cortex!).  Is this a Disney triumph, or one of their “Oooo, so close…!” Give a listen and find out!

Poll question: when you watch a movie, do you watch the end credits all the way through? If so, is it just to see if there is a mid-credits or end-credits scene, or is there some other reason?

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5 thoughts on “Episode 183: Encanto (2021)”

  1. Oh gosh, I’m with you two on so many counts here and I’m very glad to hear I’m not the only one. The story felt very floaty, and it’s not just you who found the lyrics hard to decypher. Camillo and Dolores seemed out of place to me too, and the best I could do to rationalize them was that they protected the village from internal dangers, which is terrifying if you think about it at all. Despite that, I like the movie a lot and it’s been growing on me ever since. The music is really daring for Disney, even if Lin-Manuel Miranda seems more and more smug every time I hear him, and they’re exploring a lot of interesting themes that they haven’t touched on before.

    Also, hey, speaking of things that are horrifying once you think about them, if Antonio can talk to animals, what’s that leopard going to eat?

    I watch credits mostly out of habit, but it’s good to reflect on the movie and to acknowledge all the hard work that went into it. People spend years working on these things, and I want to respect that.

  2. Thanks for the comment, Nedrick! I have to admit, I was a little worried about Antonio and how he is now going to get a VERY personal look into the whole “circle of life” thing. Is he going go all Zootopia on us and only want to hang around with herbivores?
    I feel a little bad for Mr. Miranda these days; “Wow, ‘Hamilton’ was the greatest musical in the history of Broadway and musicals and music in general! Just so amazingly awesome! We can’t WAIT to see what you do next because everything you do from now on is going to be just unimaginably brilliant forever isn’t it?? ISN’T IT???!!!!” Wow, no pressure.
    I do maintain that Dolores and Camillo are the Madrigal Family Black Ops Team; if they catch anybody doing anything against The Family, they send Luisa in to have a little “chat” with them. Or they have Isabella manipulate their intestinal flora in horrific ways. Or Pepa ensures they end up in an “accidental” flash flood, or . . . ok this is sounding less Disney and more Dark Horse, so I’m going to stop now.
    I’m actually quite relieved to know that it’s not just my aging ears and audio cortex that required the sub-titles during some of the songs; thanks for that! And, as always, thanks for listening!

  3. Whoops, you called out the rats just after I made the comment! And I’d say that the movie actually worked a lot better in the theater than it did at home–I saw it in the former, and the lyrics were actually intelligible, as opposed to when I listened to them on my phone. But I still had to look them up, especially for the headlining songs.

    Hamilton was rough for me because I was teaching at a summer camp when it premiered; I had to listen to a dozen or so very small children trying and failing to rap every single day for a month and a half. It was painful, and I, perhaps unjustly, bear a grudge against Mr. Miranda for that.

  4. I haven’t seen this yet but it’a on my list and thinking of them as a black-ops family has me VERY interested in it now!

    I would ALWAYS watch the end credits right to the end until recently. I always wanted to make films and wanted to know who did what. I would sometimes see a film because of some technical person over the director or stars sometimes. I have less patience these days as the credits are so long I am afraid I will be considered dead more missing by the time they finish and I can get home.

    1. Well, perhaps we’ve now made you consider watching “Encanto” a little more! Or something! As for the credits, I can totally see that as you’re a filmmaker yourself. They just seem to get longer and longer as graphics take so many teams and, honestly, you can’t read them all anyway. They go by too fast. Thanks for listening and commenting, Vince! Have all the BumpyBux you want, we insist!

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