Megan Miranda

The spirit that was so bright and prevalent in the first movie is completely missing in its sequel. For me the glaring absence of Lin Manuel Miranda's music was the hardest thing to overcome. The music in this one is completely forgettable and missing soul. I also wonder if they had culture guides in this one as they did the first because I felt like there was less of the beautiful culture aspects in this one. It felt like it should have been a direct to Disney+ movie...or kept as the series is was meant to be. The one thing that I enjoyed was that the animation was still lovely and Moana's little sister was precious.

I have always been a child of Disney, growing up with Beauty and the Beast, Lion King, and other timeless classics. But as I got older, I found myself being frustrated that Disney never came out with a movie that I could relate to as a Cuban-American woman. There is no Latina Disney princess. With the changing times, I was pleased when new cultures were being explored (looking at you Moana). Pixar's Coco blew my mind, touched my heart in so many ways, and I could relate to so much of it even if I was raised in Cuban culture and not Mexican. But Encanto hit me on another level. Not only is it another incredible representation of a Latino culture but it showed the family dynamics and struggles of being Latino in an insightful way. Maribel is the Latina Disney representation I always wanted to see. I see myself in her and I see my family in the Madrigals.