Encanto

(PG) ★★★★★

Director: Jared Bush, Byron Howard and Charise Castro Smith

Cast: (voices of) Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, Rhenzy Feliz, Ravi Cabot-Conyers, Adassa, Maluma.

Little did she know the killer donkeys were right behind her.

Disney's willingness in recent years to expand the horizons of the typical Disney film is commendable. It's generated some intriguing films with compelling ideas. From 2010's Tangled through to the Frozen and Wreck-It Ralph films, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, Moana and last year's Raya & The Last Dragon, Disney's gone to fascinating places and shown us new types of princesses, heroes and anthropomorphic animals.

Amid the pro-active princesses and buddy comedies, one fascinating new trend has been the ability for Disney (and Pixar for that matter) to make the occasional movie without a nominal villain. Frozen doesn't pit its heroines against Big Bad Evil Guys/Gals, but rather against each other, the world at large and their own inner worlds (also check out Pixar's Inside Out for the greatest example of this). To a lesser extent, Moana and Raya & The Last Dragon do this too, with the BBEG being a world in decline. The likes of Scar, Shere Khan, and the various evil stepmothers of the past are nowhere in sight.  

Encanto is another magnificent version of this new (for Disney) type of storytelling. It enhances the drama, downplays the action, and finds a beautifully rich world full of compelling characters, culture and self-discovery.

Set in a magical Colombian enclave shut off from the outside world (an encanto), it centres on the Madrigal family. Each member has incredible superpowers except for 15-year-old Mirabel (Beatriz), who is convinced that the family's perfect existence is on the edge of disaster. 

Encanto bursts with energy and life - it's in its songs, its characters, and its production design. It's Colombian setting infuses every element, making for a rich lived-in world that's engaging, exciting and fascinating. Mirabel's journey of self-discovery rarely take her outside her own home, but that's cool because even the house is overflowing with personality, culture and magic.

Amid a cast of incredible characters, Mirabel is a marvel. She's determined yet nervous, strident yet confused, and strong yet powerless. Her journey of self-discovery is delivered beautifully and poignantly, and her relationships with the rest of her family, particularly her grandmother, are rich and propel the story forward in wonderful ways. 

There is so much to love about Encanto, although for such a fresh story it feels weirdly predictable in some ways. While it manages to subvert expectations on the whole, it still feels kinda obvious in places. Still, the way it gets where its going always feels honest, real and captivating, and there are enough little surprises to keep you guessing.

It's also great fun. The bouncing and colourful songs from Lin-Manuel Miranda are joyous but also keep the story moving, there is humour everywhere amid the heavy themes of self-discovery, family and expectation, and there are enough action beats to keep the pace up.

Encanto is bound to be remembered as The Colombian One, but that shorthand will fail to fully capture the richness of storytelling and absolute joy and heart inside this tale. Come for the culture and songs, but stay for everything else.