No./11 How Colombia inspired Disney to break its own rules
Three ways the South American country shook things up for new animation Encanto
A DIFFERENT KIND OF MAGIC
Encanto — about a Colombian village where everyone has magical powers, except for a girl named Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz) — is not another Disney film based on a fairy tale. “European-style Disney magic didn’t really match up with the Latin American world,” says the film’s co-director, Byron Howard. While most Disney magic is adapted from writers like Hans Christian Andersen (Frozen, The Little Mermaid) or the Brothers Grimm (Snow White, Sleeping Beauty), Encanto is an original story that follows the literary traditions of the country it is set in. “We were [more] inspired by Colombian literature of magical realism, such as [the work of ] Gabriel García Márquez,” Howard explains. Here, rather than a princess’ castle, the magic is found in an everyday family home, and is “specific to [your role in the] family. So the rock of the family is incredibly strong, the nurturer heals with her food...”
NOT A BUDDY MOVIE
“Typically, animated movies are buddy movies,” Howard explains. But in Encanto, there are a whopping 14 main characters, inspired by the bustling families of its Colombian setting. Co-writer/director Charise Castro Smith spent time “thinking about my family’s history” in conceiving the ensemble, and claims each one is complex. “I don’t think anyone is there just as a comic relief,” she says. Fellow director Jared Bush says it is “the most ambitious film we’ve ever attempted — because of the number of characters.”
3. THE HERO STAYS AT HOME
“We knew that we didn’t want to make this a quest movie,” says Bush. So the film largely stays in one location: the magical family home, inspired by the ‘pueblos mágicos’ visited by the filmmakers on research trips. “We had to make the house itself a charming character,” Bush explains. “With magical realism, let’s actually make it come to life!” Every part of the house moves — which occasionally confused animators. “We constantly surprised our environment team,” recalls Howard. “They were like, ‘That’s not built to move!’ And we
were like, ‘Well, now it needs to!’”