New Character Details Revealed for Disney’s ‘Encanto’

Disney’s next animated film will be “Encanto”, set in a magical Colombian town and focusing on Mirabel Madrigal, the only member of her family without magical power. Via an interview with the film’s writers and directors, Good Morning America revealed more details about “Encanto” and its characters.

“It started very personal. [Directors] Jared [Bush] and Byron [Howard] are the ones who came up with this idea, and they started by researching their own families, ”co-author Charise Castro Smith told Good Morning America. “One of the big questions in the film is, ‘Do I really see my family as they are?'”

“I think this is the first time we’ve really tried to manage a big extended family,” added Byron Howard. “We have about a dozen main characters who are very, very important to the story, and it was extremely difficult, but the whole team was really committed to it from the start.”

Here are the main characters of the film:

• Mirabel (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actress Stephanie Beatriz): Mirabel is a young girl Bush described as “flawed, strange and quirky, but also deeply emotional and incredibly empathetic” – a character that required a multi-faceted performance. “There are so many improvised moments in the film; we were really lucky to have someone who could be so improvised, ”said Bush. Castro Smith added, “This was also reflected in her vocal performances. She has incredibly vulnerable times to sing, incredibly funny times to sing – there was nothing she couldn’t do. Mirabel’s parents , Julieta and Agustín, are voiced by Angie Cepeda and Wilmer Valderrama respectively.The actress María Cecilia Botero brings Mirabel’s grandmother, or Abuela, back to life.
• Isabela (“Orange is the New Black” actress Diane Guererro): Isabela is Mirabel’s older sister and, like so many siblings, they have a complicated relationship. “Isabela is smart and bright and so perfect that flowers bloom in the footsteps. Everything she tries to do is success, which is the opposite of what the Mirabel experience has been in this family, ”Howard said. “She is in an extraordinary family where everyone is extraordinary, but Isabela is extra, extra extraordinary. It’s a delicious conflict. For Guerrero, the challenge was to play both a lovable character and an antagonist. “Diane nailed this,” Bush gushed.
• Luisa (actress Jessica Darrow of the Festival of the Seven Fishes): Bush joked that Luisa, Mirabel’s other sister, probably has “the biggest biceps in Disney history!” “Mirabel is counting on her,” said Castro Smith. “She’s in the family who carries all the burdens and never complains.” Castro Smith, who said Darrow was perfect for the role “because she’s tough but also [can be] really funny and vulnerable, ”added that the character’s song is one of the stars of the film. “It’s a crazy visual centerpiece,” Howard noted. “It’s just beautiful and colorful, and Jess really owns it.”
• Pepa and Félix (“Narcos” actress Carolina Gaitán and singer Mauro Castillo): Pepa and Félix, Mirabel’s aunt and uncle, form a couple rooted in balance. Pepa is “too dramatic, too emotional, and for better or worse, her magical gift is that her emotions control time,” Bush said. “It ranges from sun to hail, snow to rainbows… and her husband loves it about her. He’s just here to have a good time! Bush added that the voice actors were “hilarious together.” “They make a fantastic and fun combination,” he said.
• Dolores (singer-actress Adassa): Adassa made Dolores, the daughter of Pepa and Felix, an “extraordinary character,” said Castro Smith. “She’s the one who’s a bit quiet but also knows everyone’s dirt,” she continued. “Lin fell in love with the character and he made room for her in some of these songs.”
• Camilo (actor from Marvel’s Runaways Rhenzy Feliz): Camilo’s character was born because “we were interested in a teenager who doesn’t know who he is yet and is trying out a lot of different characters,” Castro Smith said, adding that his power was shaping up. “Rhenzy is just perfect,” she continued. “He was really funny.”
• Antonio (actor of “#BlackAF” Ravi-Cabot Conyers): “In this amazing family, when you receive your magical gift, it is a new room in which you can use your gifts. As a family member who did not receive a gift, Mirabel did not graduate from the nursery so she lived [there] with Antonio, his younger cousin, ”said Bush. “They have this really, really sweet and amazing relationship. She’s almost a big sister to him. Bush added that Conyers makes Antonio “a character people are going to really fall in love with.”

According to Howard, Lin-Manuel Miranda was “very keen to make it a definitive Latin American Disney musical.” They finally decided to shoot the film in Colombia.

“It was the homeland of magical realism, which we love and which really influenced the storytelling of the film, but also because Colombia is the crossroads of music, culture and ethnicity,” Howard continued.

Bush said that “every executive has something to find for people” when it comes to country and culture. “There are a lot of textiles throughout the movie, which is great, but there are also tiny ways that I hope people [who] are Colombians see and go, ‘I know what that means.’ ”

According to Castro Smith, there are also Colombian terms of affection and phrases included in the dialogue.

Miranda wrote several new songs for “Encanto”, and composer Germaine Franco wrote the score. Two songs are entirely in Spanish and there are different styles of music.

“So many songs are so specific to a character, and the musical styles he chose are [as well]”Castro Smith said of Miranda.” One of the first songs Lin wrote for the movie was about [Mirabel’s] very strong sister, and he chose a kind of reggaeton-inspired music. It really influenced his character. Jared and I picked up this character creation in the script.

“We worked with him very closely and in a very transparent way,” she continued. “He didn’t just write the music; he really influenced a lot of the characters and a lot of the story as well.

Regarding the message of the film, Howard said, “Everyone fulfills a goal in this family, and that’s one of the beautiful things you find in the film.”

“Encanto” will be released in theaters on November 24, 2021.

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