Is there no Encanto thread?!

[Anonymous]

Every Disney movie has an element of parental abuse or neglect but I thought we could move past that in 2022 but guess not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Listen, i get it. some of you love the movie. But some of us expect more from Disney and LMM at this point. I think it had promise and could have been a pretty good film but it spent way too long showing how all of these family members are special compared to the 'others' who don't have the special gifts. When you spend a good 15 minutes on a guy living in the walls but not one family member coaxed him out, showed care/love/sympathy, just "we don't talk about him' and only a few minutes with the matriarch who started this entire abusive circle saying "oopsies, sorry'. Yeah. That is not an ok way to resolve what is now decades of abuse.
Each person thought they used their gifts for good but really they were just selfish and liked the attention. Instead of building a room for Maribel, who i guess could only get a bedroom if she was special enough and the house deemed it so, they kept her in a nursery.
And yes, that little kid was scared to not get a gift because he saw his 20 year old aunt living in a baby room and his uncle was basically ostracized from teh family all related to this 'gift' business.
The film could have held promise had they come to the realization they all sucked at around the mid point and spent the rest of hte movie showing how every person in that town was great. NOT just this family. If someone, anyone other than Maribel had shown an ounce of humainty to Bruno, I don't know, if we found out they were secretly feeding him, communicating with him, begging him to return. Nope. Instead we get a 5 minute song saying they don't talk about him. That is not a way to handle any situation and can be a really unhealthy message for any person or child feeling alone and not like everyone else.
And for those defending this movie and NOT showing abuse, i do feel for you because you may have been in abusive relationships and were gaslighted to think they weren't.

Well, we all have our own interpretation. I actually think this was a much healthier depiction of trauma, abuse, and recovery than the black and white hero versus villain depictions that are in most kids’ movies. I think whether or not we find the resolution to be satisfying is very much a reflection of our own experiences. It certainly seems to have struck a chord with you. I hope you have found emotional resolution you need elsewhere.

I know the other thread was locked because there was already an Encanto discussion thread, but I wonder if we could split into “why I hated it” thread and “other discussion” threads.

To switch subjects, the soundtrack is now the #1 album on the Billboard charts, as well as #1 streaming. Sorry Adele! As someone who knows not a word of Spanish I have to say that “Colombia, Mi Encanto” is a total bop.

[Anonymous]

I think subjects of abuse and neglect are triggers for most. Likely our pasts do play a part in how we recognize and resolve abuse in our lives now. I do wish Disney had done a better job showing and handling that aspect of the movie for kids/families who are going through abusive situations/relationships because an apology and song is not the way to heal or move on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think subjects of abuse and neglect are triggers for most. Likely our pasts do play a part in how we recognize and resolve abuse in our lives now. I do wish Disney had done a better job showing and handling that aspect of the movie for kids/families who are going through abusive situations/relationships because an apology and song is not the way to heal or move on.

I posted before that I thought the movie was okay but just not that well written, plot wise, because this was such a predictable and poorly executed conflict/resolution—I’m not from a dysfunctional family and have no triggers there. I just want a better plot! The dialogue was cute, songs were snappy, animation was phenomenal. This needed the Pete Doctor touch on the plot, or someone like him, and then it could have been amazing. As it is, doesn’t make my top 5 disney movies, maybe not even my top 10.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every Disney movie has an element of parental abuse or neglect but I thought we could move past that in 2022 but guess not. [/quot

Did you read the news? Has parental abuse or other horrors stopped just because it is 2022?

[Anonymous]

Why didn't Isabella want to marry the guy at the end?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think subjects of abuse and neglect are triggers for most. Likely our pasts do play a part in how we recognize and resolve abuse in our lives now. I do wish Disney had done a better job showing and handling that aspect of the movie for kids/families who are going through abusive situations/relationships because an apology and song is not the way to heal or move on.

I posted before that I thought the movie was okay but just not that well written, plot wise, because this was such a predictable and poorly executed conflict/resolution—I’m not from a dysfunctional family and have no triggers there. I just want a better plot! The dialogue was cute, songs were snappy, animation was phenomenal. This needed the Pete Doctor touch on the plot, or someone like him, and then it could have been amazing. As it is, doesn’t make my top 5 disney movies, maybe not even my top 10.

What does Pete doctor touch mean?

I liked the movie the first time and liked it more after listening to some of the songs separately. It was hard to catch all the elements the first go through.

I do wish they had spent more time getting a sincere acknowledgement from abuela that clearly explained that sweeping problems under the rug doesn't make them go away. That was clear in the broken foundation metaphor, but overall the apology seemed to move too quickly for so many years of problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why didn't Isabella want to marry the guy at the end?

Seemed like she wanted "more than this provincial life" or at least to explore her potential beyond being perfect and pretty. She also said to Mirabel that she was really only marrying him for their families, not for love. She also probably only knew him in a shallow sense, whereas Dolores, through her listening, understood that he had a kind and sensitive side.

Just a guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why didn't Isabella want to marry the guy at the end?

I got major lesbian vibes from her.

[Anonymous]

For everyone upset over the abuse - you do realize parental abuse is part of pretty much every Disney movie, yea?

Cinderella - evil stepmother, no punishment or redemption or apology, Cinderella just gets saved by a prince.

Tangled - evil woman kidnaps baby and locks her in a tower

Moana - parents abuse her for wanting to live her own life, rather than obeying them

Frozen - parents abuse Elsa by expecting her to just suppress her feelings and hide who she is. Abuse Anna by not explaining the situation and letting her grow up alone and isolated.

It goes on and on. It’s just part of Disney movies. Why so upset over *this* abuse?

[Anonymous]

I did think it was interesting that it was basically the same plot as Coco. Latina matriarch loses a husband and so forced everyone in the family to live their lives the way she wants in an attempt to control any future loss. In the end gives her blessing for grandkids to live their own lives.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why didn't Isabella want to marry the guy at the end?

I got major lesbian vibes from her.

Lesbian here, can confirm that lesbians really like succulents.

I did get that vibe too, especially after she ended her big power ballad physically covered with rainbow colors! and I thought it a bit clever that it was feminissima Isabela and not butch-appearing Luisa.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For everyone upset over the abuse - you do realize parental abuse is part of pretty much every Disney movie, yea?

Cinderella - evil stepmother, no punishment or redemption or apology, Cinderella just gets saved by a prince.

Tangled - evil woman kidnaps baby and locks her in a tower

Moana - parents abuse her for wanting to live her own life, rather than obeying them

Frozen - parents abuse Elsa by expecting her to just suppress her feelings and hide who she is. Abuse Anna by not explaining the situation and letting her grow up alone and isolated.

It goes on and on. It’s just part of Disney movies. Why so upset over *this* abuse?

You have a very low bar for what you consider abusive. Moana and Elsa's parents were protective, not abusive. Elsa's parents didn't understand her poor and were afraid that people would be hurt by it. Moana's parents didn't want her to drown in trying to pass the reef, as her dad's friend did.

Abuela wasn't abusive, either. Have none of you lived in a family where a couple of kids were literally gifted but not all? I did. I wasn't abused by my parents, nor were my gifted sisters. My parents just had way higher expectations for them than they did for me. They still loved me just as much. We all try to please our parents, and that doesn't make us all the victims of abuse. Abuela thought they had a higher calling, and her family members tried to live up to that. That's what Mirabel's sisters literally sing about - pressure to be perfect and letting go of that.

That said, it's not a great movie. I'm just tired of reading all these "Abuela was so abusive and such a villain" posts. She was neither.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why didn't Isabella want to marry the guy at the end?

Seemed like she wanted "more than this provincial life" or at least to explore her potential beyond being perfect and pretty. She also said to Mirabel that she was really only marrying him for their families, not for love. She also probably only knew him in a shallow sense, whereas Dolores, through her listening, understood that he had a kind and sensitive side.

Just a guess.

That is what I gleaned too but didn't know if I missed the explanation in a song. Poor Luisa was pretty much ignored except for her song.

[Anonymous]

My kids like this movie, but none of us think the plot makes any sense. I really wish they'd done a better job with making it clearer. It doesn't need to be dumbed down, just clearer.