When planning their next animated feature, Disney looked to Latin America for inspiration. That drew them to Columbia, often described as The Crossroads of Latin America. “Columbia (is) a melting pot of Latin culture, music, dance, art, and food, with some of the greatest biodiversity on the planet, and also the home of magical realism,” says Encanto writer and director Jared Bush.
While researching the film in Columbia, the filmmakers came across special locations that were areas of heightened spirituality and magic. Those areas were often called encantos. “Hence the name of our movie,” according to co-director Byron Howard. “These are all over Latin America, usually in areas of natural wonder. Our friends in Colombia told us that magic happens in these places and always has.” He draws a clear distinction between the European-style magic involving witches and wands and the magical realism in Encanto. Here, magical realism is magic tied to emotion.
Charise Castro Smith, the film’s co-writer, was thrilled to be part of creating the world of Encanto. “It means the world to me to be a part of this project and to have been in the trenches with Byron and Jared and this whole incredible team to make this movie.” She’s also excited about the incorporation of Columbian-style magic woven into the story. “When we infused magical realism into our story of family and thought about those magical places, those Encantos, everything just came alive.”
You can see this magic come alive for yourself when Encanto enters theaters on November 24, 2021.
This November, find your magic. 🕯✨🦋 Watch the brand-new trailer for Disney’s Encanto, coming to theaters this Thanksgiving.
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ upcoming feature film “Encanto” tells the tale of the Madrigals, an extraordinary family who live in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. Each child has been blessed with a magic gift unique to them—each child except Mirabel. But when the family’s home is threatened, Mirabel may be their only hope.
The voice cast includes Stephanie Beatriz as Mirabel; María Cecilia Botero as Mirabel’s grandmother Alma aka Abuela; John Leguizamo as Bruno; Angie Cepeda and Wilmer Valderrama as Mirabel’s parents, Julieta and Agustín; and Diane Guererro and Jessica Darrow as Mirabel’s sisters, Isabela and Luisa. Also lending their voices are Carolina Gaitán and Mauro Castillo as Mirabel’s aunt and uncle, Pepa and Félix; and Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz and Ravi Cabot-Conyers as Mirabel’s cousins Dolores, Camilo and Antonio, respectively.
The film features all-new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “Moana”) and is directed by Byron Howard (“Zootopia,” “Tangled”) and Jared Bush (co-director “Zootopia”), co-directed by Charise Castro Smith (writer “The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez”) and produced by Clark Spencer and Yvett Merino. Bush and Castro Smith are screenwriters on the film.Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Encanto” opens in theaters November 24, 2021.