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Encanto

What I liked: I liked the vibrancy of the animation and the story. I liked the donkeys. They are everywhere, they keep popping out in the background especially in the music video. I loved that the solution was, at least initially, a cactus. To my eyes it looked a little like the Emperor's Groove cactus, which made it that much funner. The house was great, living in that house would be amazing! The rooms specialized to each person were cool, though I agree with Mirabel that Bruno's room is The. Worst. I would have run away from home if that was my room, no other motivation necessary. The rescue from the bottomless pit was fun. I liked the family there were all of the classic tropes: the  nosy cousin, the crazy uncle, the wacky aunt, the responsible family member. I liked that through all of it the family loved each other and tried hard to support each other.  The staring contest/secret keeping scene at dinner was funny and I think I have been at those dinners but probably at college and not with my family. I liked that they acknowledged the nonsensical statements like "save the miracle." The love triangle as a minor side plot was kind of fun. I especially liked watching the movie with my Colombian friends who were so excited to see dances that their families do or the flower baskets their town is known for and who spent the next few days singing "Colombia te quiero tanto."  

What I didn't: The whole first song is about the members of the family each with their own magical gift. The kids around town keep saying that there are so many people in the family and how can Mirabel possibly keep track of them all. You might ask how many people there are in the family. The answer is 12 in all 3 generations. This is not actually a confusing number. A confusing number is 26 or 27 or 23...however many cousins I have. If they all had magical gifts along with the aunts and uncles that would make for a confusing long song. But 12? That is a very normal easy number. I know some of the people are friends with the rats, but it seems like a bad thing that there are so many of them living in the house. I think I would have liked the ending if it cut about 2 minutes earlier, with the support of the village neighbors. It wouldn't be as dramatic, but I think better in keeping with the themes of the movie. The music wasn't as catchy as the songs from Moana (same composer) or some other recent Disney films. 

Who should watch this? People who liked Moana or Coco. 

Would I watch it again? Yes. 

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