I’ve been really impressed at how Disney movies in the last decade and Pixar movies in general portray interpersonal dynamics in more complex and realistic ways beyond the standard trope of “reciprocated romantic love solves life’s problems.”
4:30 It was SO absurd that “Brave” had no hint of a chapel, icons, not a single friar hanging out in the background, NOTHING, all during the golden age of Orthodoxy in Scotland! 🤦🏻♂️
That could partially be laid at the door of fantasy, sword & sorcery, and media that in general depicts Saxon / Germanic-looking culture. Which even LOTR does...at Tolkien's deliberate choice...which in itself is a complex issue
I think, Mirabelle's gift is her connection with Casita. Other than Abuela, no other character in the movie is portrayed to have such a deep, communicative connection with Casita.
I personally see a lot of the story of the Old Testament Temple condensed into the movie, to the point it’s practically a full allegorical retelling. You have a wandering people who are miraculously saved, and end up with this house, and “the miracle” has come to dwell in it. But over time, the people are falling out of the state they are supposed to be in. They are becoming more demanding of the miracle and each other, rather than having the respectful and meaningful relationships it wants with them and for them to have with each other. At the height of it, the miracle chooses to remove itself from the house for their own good, and their house falls apart and is lost to them. They repent their roles in the collapse, sitting down by the waters and weeping, and with their humility and capacity for love restored, they are allowed to come back. You even have Bruno who is the literal “prophet” character predicting this and being misunderstood, rejected, and cast out Of course, they change the ending so “the miracle” comes back and dwells in the building again in the exact same way, (rather than holding off for a minute and getting ready to be among them in a new, even more complete way via the incarnation) because it’s Disney and they are professional inverters.
@@antoninoskomnenos1022 Mussorgsky was Russian, not Serbian, and the medieval town the evil apparitions haunted could be almost anywhere in Christendom, EXCEPT if they had been eastern rite, they would have been singing “Agni Parthani” instead of the Latin “Ave Maria”.
Seeing that the inhabitants of the Encanto are A) (Native) Columbian and B) Catholic (Just look at the parish priest! There is even a priest wearing Latin Rite vestments in the flash back to Abuela and Abuelo's wedding -- only one problem: The vestments are anachronistic -- "gothic" style post-Vatican II chasuble instead of the "baroque" chasuble.), it of course stands to reason, that Abuela and everyone referring to the Encanto, the Casita and the Gifts as a Miracle stems from their cultural and religious experience. In short: They're Catholic Latin Americans, _of course_ they consider it a miracle. And the theme of love and sacrifice (Mirabel's grandpa) in this movie is like in Harry Potter (Harry's mom Lily) triggering something powerful, beyond everyone's comprehension -- well, maybe in Encanto it is more spectacular with the magical shockwave, and the mountains rising and the Casita being formed... Oh, and did I mention the Casita is basically a sentient building?! (But not as beyond comprehension and powerful as the core message of our Christian faith. Wait! The Mystical Church consists of living stones, too, and was created as a consequence of our founder's death -- and resurrection... Wow! If we open the angle of comparing the Casita with the Church, it suddenly delves _deep_ ... )
@@kidus_1010 I didn’t get that from the film. It had an extremely heavy bent towards the pre-existence of souls and reincarnation, no talk about Hell, and no specific“god” to speak of. There was no indication that it was mocking these theological notions either. Furthermore, it intrinsically tied the “talents” of each individual to their ultimate salvation. This is nonsense.
Bojan, so I guess you joined the characters in the movie and don't want to "talk about Bruno"? Very good review though, drawing on biblical parallels to the movie. Only problem is, my kids play the soundtrack on an endless loop now and it's mind numbing. I never want to even hear the name Bruno again.
@BanterWithBojan Surface pressure is the reason I hate Alma (not referring as abuela because that's not specific I refer to my grandmother as Lola and abuela)
Can I ask why “everything offends me” Christians would even watch Encanto? If everything is against your close minded religion, why do you watch the movie?
@@carolinpurayidom4570 This is what I learned.. Encanto means charm or enchantment in English. In the Bible enchantment usually refers to the practice of the magic arts. And enchantment, as a part of witchcraft and sorcery, was clearly forbidden in God’s Law.
This movie sucked. It has a strong message that adults don’t know anything, and headstrong teenagers know everything. That the worst thing in the world is that a teenager be stifled. My friends made me watch it.
I don't see that in the movie. I can see how you see that though. But you also have to understand the cultural dynamics behind the movie. As someone who comes from that background, I can tell you it was pretty accurate. The "Abuela" character is someone who has been through a lot in their lives and has learned to be confident in their choices even though they could be completely wrong. The way she treated her grandchildren and their response was not to be headstrong but to actually submit to her even though she is hurting them. They humbled themselves and endured the pain of rejection of a person they admired. I think the message that kids are smarter than parents have been a running theme in movies but this one wasn't that message. In fact, in the end of the movie she "lost it" and then came back to apologize to her, and through that act of repentance and asking for forgiveness, the family was reunited and the gifts were returned. But you are more then entailed to say you don't like the movie but this movie was a once in a decade actual good movie and will be a classic for this generation.
@@ricardoarchangel28 I don’t think the kids ever really submit themselves. The disrespect of parents was more of a subtle theme. Mirabel rejects her parents advice, Camilo is super rude to his father and he doesn’t discipline him. My main point is that Mirabel acts like she was slapped every time Abuela chides her for wasting time. Which is a completely valid thing to bring up every time she does it. And even if your elder is wrong, you should respect them.
@@hannahs1683 I understand how you can see it that way because in other cultures it would be disrespectful to do that in that way. So not saying you are wrong in your viewpoint of the movie because it would be disrespectful in some cultures. But for people in South America or even the Caribbean, you are encouraged to speak up and even do things on your own. Not sure how much of that is tied into history but I was very much raised to stand up for myself and not be stepped on. But to always be respectful to your grandparents and parents. That's why she venerated her grandfather's image sliding down the stairs. Again this is all a cultural thing. So going back to the original comment you made that the "movie sucked" and "it has a strong message that adults don't know anything" I can't really agree with you on that. But that's fine and we all have the right to express our opinions on movies. For me this was pretty much up there in good movies of the year, the soundtrack was the best Lin-Manual Miranda has worked on this year, and people were given an insight into a movie that will be talked about in college lectures on the complexity of story writing.
@@ricardoarchangel28 The animation was good I can say that, but the music was just awfully done. Surface Pressure was barely a song. Idk it could be cultural differences, but if it’s a thing in Hispanic culture to disrespect your parents, I don’t think it’s appropriate for a kid’s movie.
I think this is a rather reductive point of view. There is an intergenerational conflict going on -- mainly between Mirabelle and Abuela. And it involves an underlying problem, and repressed history (Bruno), that reminds me of my own country's (Germany) history in the 1960s, when a taboo topic (Hitler Regime and Holocaust) was dragged into the forefront by the younger generation. Your argumentative premise "that adults don’t know anything, and headstrong teenagers know everything" is a great exaggeration. The problem posed by the plot is, that the *Gifts have become a commodity* to Abuela. I mean, the first thing she thinks about a gift is how it would serve the community. She has expectations of her grandchildren -- or rather of Isabella and Luisa: Isabella as the flower girl with all those soft roses who is gonna marry the guy who Abuela deemed a suitable husband (arranged marriage?); Luisa as practically being exploited by family and community because of her super strength and her inability to say "No" once in a while, which leads to her showing signs of stress and burnout ("Surface Pressure" anyone?). Something is obviously rotten in the House of Madrigal. And Mirabelle notices literal cracks in the Casita, that reflect the metaphorical cracks in the family. And then there is the fact, that Mirabelle didn't get a Gift. And it looks like Abuela basically shunts her aside, because she didn't meet Abuela's expectations. And then, there is the matter of Bruno: It is not a _damnatio memoriae_ -- but even uttering his name has become a taboo. (And, really, "adults don’t know anything, and headstrong teenagers know everything" and "We don't talk about [...]" could be a standard response during the 1960s in West Germany, when teenagers and young adults began to ask their parents inconvenient questions about the Holocaust.) So, Mirabelle begins to ask inconvenient questions. And Abuela? Deflects, ignores, accuses Mirabelle of being the actual problem, and tells her "Whatever you're doing: Stop it!". (Just like they did in 1960s West Germany, when inconvenient questions began to be asked by the younger generations.) Which brings me to the matter at hand there: *The Madrigals are a dysfunctional family, because Abuela and everyone else are stuck in their ways.* Bruno has a vision about how Mirabelle would be pivotal in the fate of the Casita -- and thus the entire family. But instead of showing the vision to Abuela, he chooses to go into internal emigration -- he becomes a hermit inside the bowels of the Casita. But why would Bruno react that way? Such a reaction would not come from nothing. And Bruno himself gives the answer: "Oh, Bruno always predicts bad things and bad things happen." There are obviously underlying issues that made Bruno react that way, so that he rather keep his vision a secret, then let Abuela know. It sounds to me, that he is afraid of ruining everything and perhaps putting Mirabelle at risk of being shunned, as well. If Abuela knew of the vision, she would have probably resented Mirabelle even more. God knows what would have happened, if Bruno showed her the vision and Abuela interpreted it as -- as she did in the plot -- Mirabelle "being at fault" for the breaking apart of the Casita. The literal breakdown of the Casita caused by the fallout between Mirabelle and Abuela shows that both Abuela and Mirabelle are the foundation of the Casita, of the family. The truth and the dysfunction in the family has been so rugsweeped, that Abuela was incapable of looking at things from others' perspective. And Bruno and Mirabelle were the ones providing that perspective. Things were about to change, and the problem was about to cause the destruction of the Casita in its own accord. But Abuela and everyone else were so set in their ways, that Bruno and Mirabelle were treated like those pesky, inconvenient prophets of the Old Testament with their annoying warnings of consequences, if the problems would not be acknowledged and solved. Abuela acting as if the family was not dysfunctional and dismissing Mirabelle's observations about the dangers that the Casita was in, and then her resentment towards Mirabelle, after she revealed Bruno's vision, together with Mirabelle finally letting off her pent-up steam and anger and pain, caused the Casita to literally break apart. What _I_ take from the plot of Encanto is this: *The routine, the commoditization of the Gifts, is what caused the cracks in Casita's walls and threatened to tear her -- and the family -- apart, after the household was thrown into imbalance because Bruno "left". And Mirabelle noticed, and tried to fix it when the adults -- Abuela -- refused to do their job.* So, instead of "adults don't know anything, and headstrong teenagers know everything", you should consider this option: "Adults don't know _everything_ and sometimes are wilfully ignorant, and teenagers know _something_ and know something is going wrong, and want to know why and how to fix it."
Bojan: Disney doesn't make religious movies.
Hunchback of Notre Dame: Am I a joke to you?
Are you sure?
... magic spells, wizards, wicked witches? This is the cult of a satanic religion.
I’ve been really impressed at how Disney movies in the last decade and Pixar movies in general portray interpersonal dynamics in more complex and realistic ways beyond the standard trope of “reciprocated romantic love solves life’s problems.”
4:30
It was SO absurd that “Brave” had no hint of a chapel, icons, not a single friar hanging out in the background, NOTHING, all during the golden age of Orthodoxy in Scotland! 🤦🏻♂️
@☦️Turcopole - kerimcan ak☦️
Western Orthodox Catholicism in Scotland as Enlightened by Saint Mungo prior to the Great Schism.
That could partially be laid at the door of fantasy, sword & sorcery, and media that in general depicts Saxon / Germanic-looking culture. Which even LOTR does...at Tolkien's deliberate choice...which in itself is a complex issue
I think, Mirabelle's gift is her connection with Casita. Other than Abuela, no other character in the movie is portrayed to have such a deep, communicative connection with Casita.
I personally see a lot of the story of the Old Testament Temple condensed into the movie, to the point it’s practically a full allegorical retelling. You have a wandering people who are miraculously saved, and end up with this house, and “the miracle” has come to dwell in it. But over time, the people are falling out of the state they are supposed to be in. They are becoming more demanding of the miracle and each other, rather than having the respectful and meaningful relationships it wants with them and for them to have with each other. At the height of it, the miracle chooses to remove itself from the house for their own good, and their house falls apart and is lost to them. They repent their roles in the collapse, sitting down by the waters and weeping, and with their humility and capacity for love restored, they are allowed to come back. You even have Bruno who is the literal “prophet” character predicting this and being misunderstood, rejected, and cast out
Of course, they change the ending so “the miracle” comes back and dwells in the building again in the exact same way, (rather than holding off for a minute and getting ready to be among them in a new, even more complete way via the incarnation) because it’s Disney and they are professional inverters.
Imagine Disney doing a Serbian themed animated movie :D
I would love that (mostly... I think)
@@BanterWithBojan They did...it was the penultimate act of Fantasia. :P
@@antoninoskomnenos1022
Mussorgsky was Russian, not Serbian, and the medieval town the evil apparitions haunted could be almost anywhere in Christendom, EXCEPT if they had been eastern rite, they would have been singing “Agni Parthani” instead of the Latin “Ave Maria”.
Seeing that the inhabitants of the Encanto are
A) (Native) Columbian and
B) Catholic (Just look at the parish priest! There is even a priest wearing Latin Rite vestments in the flash back to Abuela and Abuelo's wedding -- only one problem: The vestments are anachronistic -- "gothic" style post-Vatican II chasuble instead of the "baroque" chasuble.),
it of course stands to reason, that Abuela and everyone referring to the Encanto, the Casita and the Gifts as a Miracle stems from their cultural and religious experience.
In short: They're Catholic Latin Americans, _of course_ they consider it a miracle.
And the theme of love and sacrifice (Mirabel's grandpa) in this movie is like in Harry Potter (Harry's mom Lily) triggering something powerful, beyond everyone's comprehension -- well, maybe in Encanto it is more spectacular with the magical shockwave, and the mountains rising and the Casita being formed... Oh, and did I mention the Casita is basically a sentient building?!
(But not as beyond comprehension and powerful as the core message of our Christian faith. Wait! The Mystical Church consists of living stones, too, and was created as a consequence of our founder's death -- and resurrection... Wow! If we open the angle of comparing the Casita with the Church, it suddenly delves _deep_ ... )
Colombian*
We miss you! I hope you’re well.
as a Colombian yes I love Encanto
nah. they can't have my money anymore. nope, not ever again.
I am pretty sure that pixar movie soul was written by a christian too
That’s a shame. That movie was nothing but perennialism and idolatry.
@@IAMFISH92 I’ve heard it was more so mocking perennialism and idolatry.
@@kidus_1010 I didn’t get that from the film. It had an extremely heavy bent towards the pre-existence of souls and reincarnation, no talk about Hell, and no specific“god” to speak of. There was no indication that it was mocking these theological notions either. Furthermore, it intrinsically tied the “talents” of each individual to their ultimate salvation. This is nonsense.
Hi Bojan,
If you like movies that lack any typical villains and if you like animated movies, have you seen any Studio Ghibli movies?
Bojan, so I guess you joined the characters in the movie and don't want to "talk about Bruno"?
Very good review though, drawing on biblical parallels to the movie. Only problem is, my kids play the soundtrack on an endless loop now and it's mind numbing. I never want to even hear the name Bruno again.
Hey, still beats Let It Go
Yeah, looping "Don't Talk About Bruno", but huge fan of "Surface Pressure" too :-D
@BanterWithBojan Surface pressure is the reason I hate Alma (not referring as abuela because that's not specific I refer to my grandmother as Lola and abuela)
What is your video channel??
Bible Illustrated
Can I ask why “everything offends me” Christians would even watch Encanto? If everything is against your close minded religion, why do you watch the movie?
Is this directed at me? I lived the movie.
Do you feel that Brunos magic was divination like the Bible condemns ?
No it was a natural gift given to him and the rituals he do is just to calm down his anxiety
Encanto is a watered-down evil
@@carolinpurayidom4570 This is what I learned.. Encanto means charm or enchantment in English. In the Bible enchantment usually refers to the practice of the magic arts. And enchantment, as a part of witchcraft and sorcery, was clearly forbidden in God’s Law.
@@TF-lr1go that’s not even what the movie is about
@@jes9157 that don’t mean it’s a sin to watch Encanto
This movie sucked. It has a strong message that adults don’t know anything, and headstrong teenagers know everything. That the worst thing in the world is that a teenager be stifled. My friends made me watch it.
I don't see that in the movie. I can see how you see that though. But you also have to understand the cultural dynamics behind the movie. As someone who comes from that background, I can tell you it was pretty accurate. The "Abuela" character is someone who has been through a lot in their lives and has learned to be confident in their choices even though they could be completely wrong.
The way she treated her grandchildren and their response was not to be headstrong but to actually submit to her even though she is hurting them. They humbled themselves and endured the pain of rejection of a person they admired.
I think the message that kids are smarter than parents have been a running theme in movies but this one wasn't that message. In fact, in the end of the movie she "lost it" and then came back to apologize to her, and through that act of repentance and asking for forgiveness, the family was reunited and the gifts were returned.
But you are more then entailed to say you don't like the movie but this movie was a once in a decade actual good movie and will be a classic for this generation.
@@ricardoarchangel28 I don’t think the kids ever really submit themselves.
The disrespect of parents was more of a subtle theme. Mirabel rejects her parents advice, Camilo is super rude to his father and he doesn’t discipline him.
My main point is that Mirabel acts like she was slapped every time Abuela chides her for wasting time. Which is a completely valid thing to bring up every time she does it. And even if your elder is wrong, you should respect them.
@@hannahs1683 I understand how you can see it that way because in other cultures it would be disrespectful to do that in that way. So not saying you are wrong in your viewpoint of the movie because it would be disrespectful in some cultures. But for people in South America or even the Caribbean, you are encouraged to speak up and even do things on your own. Not sure how much of that is tied into history but I was very much raised to stand up for myself and not be stepped on. But to always be respectful to your grandparents and parents. That's why she venerated her grandfather's image sliding down the stairs. Again this is all a cultural thing.
So going back to the original comment you made that the "movie sucked" and "it has a strong message that adults don't know anything" I can't really agree with you on that. But that's fine and we all have the right to express our opinions on movies.
For me this was pretty much up there in good movies of the year, the soundtrack was the best Lin-Manual Miranda has worked on this year, and people were given an insight into a movie that will be talked about in college lectures on the complexity of story writing.
@@ricardoarchangel28 The animation was good I can say that, but the music was just awfully done. Surface Pressure was barely a song.
Idk it could be cultural differences, but if it’s a thing in Hispanic culture to disrespect your parents, I don’t think it’s appropriate for a kid’s movie.
I think this is a rather reductive point of view.
There is an intergenerational conflict going on -- mainly between Mirabelle and Abuela. And it involves an underlying problem, and repressed history (Bruno), that reminds me of my own country's (Germany) history in the 1960s, when a taboo topic (Hitler Regime and Holocaust) was dragged into the forefront by the younger generation.
Your argumentative premise "that adults don’t know anything, and headstrong teenagers know everything" is a great exaggeration.
The problem posed by the plot is, that the *Gifts have become a commodity* to Abuela. I mean, the first thing she thinks about a gift is how it would serve the community. She has expectations of her grandchildren -- or rather of Isabella and Luisa: Isabella as the flower girl with all those soft roses who is gonna marry the guy who Abuela deemed a suitable husband (arranged marriage?); Luisa as practically being exploited by family and community because of her super strength and her inability to say "No" once in a while, which leads to her showing signs of stress and burnout ("Surface Pressure" anyone?).
Something is obviously rotten in the House of Madrigal. And Mirabelle notices literal cracks in the Casita, that reflect the metaphorical cracks in the family.
And then there is the fact, that Mirabelle didn't get a Gift. And it looks like Abuela basically shunts her aside, because she didn't meet Abuela's expectations.
And then, there is the matter of Bruno: It is not a _damnatio memoriae_ -- but even uttering his name has become a taboo.
(And, really, "adults don’t know anything, and headstrong teenagers know everything" and "We don't talk about [...]" could be a standard response during the 1960s in West Germany, when teenagers and young adults began to ask their parents inconvenient questions about the Holocaust.)
So, Mirabelle begins to ask inconvenient questions. And Abuela? Deflects, ignores, accuses Mirabelle of being the actual problem, and tells her "Whatever you're doing: Stop it!". (Just like they did in 1960s West Germany, when inconvenient questions began to be asked by the younger generations.)
Which brings me to the matter at hand there: *The Madrigals are a dysfunctional family, because Abuela and everyone else are stuck in their ways.* Bruno has a vision about how Mirabelle would be pivotal in the fate of the Casita -- and thus the entire family. But instead of showing the vision to Abuela, he chooses to go into internal emigration -- he becomes a hermit inside the bowels of the Casita.
But why would Bruno react that way? Such a reaction would not come from nothing. And Bruno himself gives the answer: "Oh, Bruno always predicts bad things and bad things happen." There are obviously underlying issues that made Bruno react that way, so that he rather keep his vision a secret, then let Abuela know. It sounds to me, that he is afraid of ruining everything and perhaps putting Mirabelle at risk of being shunned, as well. If Abuela knew of the vision, she would have probably resented Mirabelle even more. God knows what would have happened, if Bruno showed her the vision and Abuela interpreted it as -- as she did in the plot -- Mirabelle "being at fault" for the breaking apart of the Casita.
The literal breakdown of the Casita caused by the fallout between Mirabelle and Abuela shows that both Abuela and Mirabelle are the foundation of the Casita, of the family. The truth and the dysfunction in the family has been so rugsweeped, that Abuela was incapable of looking at things from others' perspective. And Bruno and Mirabelle were the ones providing that perspective.
Things were about to change, and the problem was about to cause the destruction of the Casita in its own accord. But Abuela and everyone else were so set in their ways, that Bruno and Mirabelle were treated like those pesky, inconvenient prophets of the Old Testament with their annoying warnings of consequences, if the problems would not be acknowledged and solved.
Abuela acting as if the family was not dysfunctional and dismissing Mirabelle's observations about the dangers that the Casita was in, and then her resentment towards Mirabelle, after she revealed Bruno's vision, together with Mirabelle finally letting off her pent-up steam and anger and pain, caused the Casita to literally break apart.
What _I_ take from the plot of Encanto is this:
*The routine, the commoditization of the Gifts, is what caused the cracks in Casita's walls and threatened to tear her -- and the family -- apart, after the household was thrown into imbalance because Bruno "left". And Mirabelle noticed, and tried to fix it when the adults -- Abuela -- refused to do their job.*
So, instead of "adults don't know anything, and headstrong teenagers know everything", you should consider this option: "Adults don't know _everything_ and sometimes are wilfully ignorant, and teenagers know _something_ and know something is going wrong, and want to know why and how to fix it."