Analyzing Disney

 I have always been a Disney fan and this is not the first time that I have had to look at Disney through a critical lens. I have seen Encanto a few times and have had sing along parties with my students, who were HUGE Encanto fans. Watching the movie and analyzing it in a new way really opened my eyes to some things that I had not noticed before. 

One of the discussions we had after watching the film was if this was a Princess movie. This got me thinking about the idea of Princess and what that means. This film challenges the traditional princess characteristics. For example, Luisa is portrayed as strong and with more traditionally masculine features. She has a deeper voice and feels a lot of pressure, as described in her song. However, she is also quite sensitive and starts to crack when she starts to lose her power. Isabella, the more traditionally seen Princess character has a complete transformation. She changes from dressing beautifully and being viewed as "perfect" to having a more colorful outfit and not caring what others thought of her. She transforms from the typical Princess into someone more comfortable in herself. 

Many people have also noticed the absence of a "villain." There is no clear identified character that is the bad guy that needs to be stopped. We discussed how Bruno could be seen as the villain. When he is first shown on screen, he has an ominous look about him and is dressed in all green. But, as we meet him, we realize he is not the villain. I have also seen people on social media saying that Abuela is the villain because she is only worried about the magic. She puts a lot of pressure on her family to be perfect and provide for the community. When the magic starts to fade, she does not seem to care about her family, but rather in how to save the magic because that equates to the worth of the family. However, in an article, they describe Dolores as the villain. She is the oldest cousin with supersonic hearing. She can hear everything and everyone miles away. This theory about Dolores explains that she is the villain because she is miserable with her gift. Being able to hear everything and everyone has put her into a sensory overload, resulting in her wanting the magic to disappear. Whether or not this is true, there are some supporting details that could portray Dolores as the villain. 

Overall, it was very interesting to view Encanto through this new critical lens. It has helped me to see that there is more to these films that just watching them at surface level. I am excited to analyze more films, even if it "ruins" Disney. 

Here is the link to my Princess Conventions Chart.