Encanto: 10 Questions Fans On Reddit Still Have About The Disney Movie
With the success of Disney's Encanto, fans have gone to Reddit to discuss their unanswered questions - like why wasn't Mirabel given a power?
Following the success of Disney's latest animated fantasy-comedy Encanto, fans have flocked to public forums, like Reddit, to discuss their favorite parts of the film. But, as well as recounting their favorite musical numbers and vivid characters, Reddit users have noticed that, on reflection, certain things about the movie didn't make total sense.
As fun and colorful as the film was, telling its story of a magical Colombian family through song and plenty of action, fans still had some questions about character traits, scenes, and entire plotlines.
When Mirabel needed answers on the candle's dwindling magic, she figured there was no better place to look than Bruno's room. Although Bruno's room was off-limits, she snuck in to find answers. To her surprise, there was sand, cliffs, stairs, and dangerous terrain.
Mirabel eventually found what she was looking for and was seen simply walking out of his bedroom door as nothing happened. WickedThing asked Reddit, "How did Mirabel get out of Bruno’s room?" The rope Mirabel used to swing over the cliff had fallen, leaving her stranded. And yet she wasn't. Encanto fans on Reddit theorized how Mirabel escaped but it was never explained in the film.
At the start of Encanto, it's noted that after Abuela Alma's husband died the candle she was holding on that night became magical. She and the Madrigals were then blessed with a magical home that bestows them all with their own unique powers.
It's never discussed what made the candle magical or why it only became magical after Pedro's death. Scocopat asked Reddit, "Anyone else feel like casita and the candle are Abuelo? His spirit?" This question is valid considering the details that surrounded Encanto's characters when Pedro died. However, it's not answered in the film - leaving fans to assume that the magic is the love that Alma and Pedro shared.
Antonio was one of the most likable characters because he was pure and kind to Mirabel when many were not. On the night of his ceremony where he was given his power, he received the power to speak to animals. Accompanying him in a few scenes was a friendly jaguar, which raised an important question.
This_broccoli-101 asked, "What does Antonio's jaguar eat?" In one scene, he tried eating Bruno's rats but Antonio told him not to. Other fans, like SharpshootinTearaway, theorize that perhaps the jaguar is allowed to eat wild rats found outside, just not the ones that Antonio considers his friends. Nevertheless, the depth of Antonio's magic, his relationship with the animals, and the workings of their day-to-day lives aren't fully explored.
On the night Isabela was to meet the man she was meant to marry, her cousin Dolores told her that she heard Mariano, Isabela's potential fiancé, say that he wanted five babies.
It alluded that Dolores was in love with Mariano in one of the more popular Encanto musical numbers "We Don't Talk About Bruno." In it, Dolores sang that Bruno saw in a vision that the man of her dreams would be betrothed to another (i.e. her cousin). In light of this, Celeb-sev asked, "Sometimes I wonder if Dolores lied about Mariano wanting to have 5 babies so Isabela would say something about not wanting to marry him?" It's a valid question. Dolores could have easily said this because she knew it would scare Isabela out of marrying him.
In Casita, each member of the family with a magical power has their own door. The door has the image of the person, their name, and enters into a magical room designed around their gift. However, the concept of the doors led to a few questions from fans.
With Alma being the first member of the family to witness the magic and theoretically get a door, it makes more sense that her door would say her name instead of Abuela. Cj_Cassettetape asked, "So, did her door originally say Alma but changed after Mirabel and her sisters were born or something?" Other fans theorize that the doors change, and even move, as the person grows older and new family members are added to the Madrigal clan, but there's no concrete evidence for this in Encanto.
Luisa gives off strong Capricorn vibes on the zodiac because she tends to push things aside and appear strong for the collective good. But Luisa could only hide her true feelings for so long - she needed help.
An ongoing duty of Luisa's was collecting the donkeys that escaped from the barn. Rozman629 asked a good question to fellow Redditors: "Why didn't Antonio just tell the donkeys to get in the barn?" Since Antonio was given the power to speak to animals, he could have easily told the donkeys what to do and saved Luisa a lot of trouble.
Since Mirabel didn't have powers at the start of Encanto, she never got her own room and slept in the nursery with the youngest member of the family, Antonio. It was an unpopular opinion about Encanto to think Mirabel wouldn't have wanted her own room, regardless of how much she loved Antonio.
At the end of the movie when Casita is rebuilt, it's made apparent that the front door was dedicated to Mirabel. However, fans wonder if that means she still didn't get her own room even though she helped bring back the magic. CarrotsForever asked, "Everyone else gets an amazing fantasy world bedroom, and she is stuck in the nursery? You would think that since she IS the magic, she would have the most enchanting room."
Throughout Encanto, viewers saw Isabela's room, Bruno's room, Antonio's room, and the nursery, but this left fans wondering about other rooms in the Madrigal's magical home.
SonOfASlurpee asked, "What do the rooms look like for the characters we haven’t seen?" This question is hypothetical, of course, since the rooms weren't shown, but it does make fans wonder what a character like Lusia's bedroom would be, or even Mirabel's mother, Julieta.
During Antonio's ceremony where he was given his gift, Mirabel felt left out. Yet again, she was the only one without a power. That night, Mirabel saw cracks forming in Casita - as if she were falling apart. When Mirabel cried out for help, no one else saw the cracks.
There were a few Encanto Easter eggs that pointed out Mirabel's unique personality that separated her from the rest of the Madrigals, but it's not spoken in great detail. But the cracks she saw were not in her mind - they were real. SamSmokin asked, "During Antonio's ceremony when Mirabel sees the cracks, is she causing them or Alma? Why do they all of a sudden disappear when Mirabel brings attention to them?" One fan theorized that the cracks were a result of Mirabel feeling left out of the family and the family's problems surfacing, but, unless Disney releases a follow-up to the film, fans may never know.
Mirabel wasn't given a specific gift like her siblings and cousins, but she did realize at the end of the movie that she had the magic within her all along. However, this notion was confusing for some.
BrotherOfTheLeafMTL wrote, "I was scratching my head as to why they never explained why she wasn't given powers like the rest of her family." This is perhaps the biggest unanswered question in the movie, leaving fans wondering what separated Mirabel from the other Madrigals.