‘Charme’ review | New animation brings South American union to Disney +

Released in theaters in late November, Encanto sparked some controversy abroad as some Americans accused the film of being racist for bringing white characters to South America. Well, that’s weird. However, this controversial beast provoked by their ignorance highlights the main characteristic of this animation: the portrait of family and cultural plurality in Latin America.

Set in Colombia, more specifically in the Colombian Amazon, Encanto tells the story of the Madrigal family, who suffered a tragedy in the past and, from the pain of this traumatic event, received a mystical gift from the forest to rebuild and to survive. Thus, over the years, a magic candle influences family life and confers special powers on all the new members of the Madrigal clan, with the exception of Mirabel, the current protagonist.

So, she ends up being somewhat left out by the family matriarch, despite the fact that she always tries to make an effort to show that she is also special. Then, when the magic candle begins to go out, Mirabel goes on a trip to try to save her family’s magic.

While the plot isn’t entirely original – and somewhat reminiscent of Hereditary, but without being a horror movie – it is skilled at creating a fun and adventurous journey through Colombian lands. And it is precisely at this moment that his greatest asset lies: moving to South America.

Even being located in Colombia, bringing typically Colombian cultural elements, one notices to what extent there are socio-cultural elements common to the Latin American peoples, such as the architecture of certain houses, the warmer demeanor, the family relations, the fauna depicted in the film is found in almost all of South America. And it’s not absurd to say that there are times when, in case we didn’t know it was a shoot in Colombia, it feels like a Brazilian adventure.

The soundtrack is perhaps the one thing that doesn’t quite match the Brazilian rhythm, despite recalling musical styles from other South American countries. And even so, she’s engaging, fun, and very impressive.

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If the soundtrack shows, Disney animation follows its very high standard. Unlike Pixar, which was looking for a more cartoonish animation style, Disney continues to seek the realistic, very faithfully recreating the flora and fauna, in addition to representing all the plurality of possible colors and bodies, not sticking to it. only to white characters. or just indigenous peoples, as the gringos thought.

Finally, attention should be drawn to the short film that precedes the film. He uses raccoons on a beach to approach familiar topics with great sensitivity. It’s almost like an introduction to the family issues that dictate the plot of the Madrigal family in the film that follows it. Ah, the Brazilian dubbing brought in very similar voices to do some of the characters, which ends up compromising the musical sequences. So if you are used to watching dubbed animations, it might be worth making an exception in this case.

Rating: 9

The enchantment is available on Disney +.

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