Encanto

[bluebeardswife7]

The golden child and the scapegoat

Me too! It’s such a wild choice- it’s like the execs at Dreamworks sitting around going “ok, Shrek was great, what’s next? What if we did Anna Karenina but the trains sang?”

and yes @NeverDropYourMooncup ethnic cleansing, young woman fleeing with her baby in her arms (she dies holding the crying baby!) etc all very much applies to Hunchback too. The mill gets set on fire with all the millers children in too iirc. I’m not saying this is appropriate because I honestly think whoever greenlit that film may have been on shrooms, but Disney definitely has a history of fairly intense scenes!

I agree with a pp that as a child the more immediate personal scenes (like Dumbo and his mum) upset me more than any more abstract overarching evil, like war or racism. I don’t think children really have the capability to grasp it, and the grandmother in Encanto clutching her three babies probably upsets me much more than it does my 5yo. She’s much more upset by the penguins in Happy Feet who won’t let him dance- because that’s within her sphere of understanding.

The fact that it bears more relation to true life I’m sort of 50/50 on- it’s not really what I think Disney is for so I do agree with you there, but then I think if kids gain a little more understanding or see themselves or their family histories a little more represented, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

I enjoyed it but much preferred Coco which. I think is one of Disney’s best films.

Films like Encanto work because there is something there for the adults as well as the children. So many films are now designed to be 'family' films, not just children's films. The first Paddington film was the same with its themes of immigration and homelessness.

I had teary eyes over the scenes of grandma's history - knowing that this kind of thing happens for real in many parts of the world. But as has been said, young children don't really understand it, so are not traumatised.

And Bruno with his plate drawn on the table peeking through the wall - adults can relate to complex emotions in a way that perhaps most children don't.

I loved it. I am a big fan of nearly all family animations.

I’m saddened by people who think Disney films are just for children.

Great animated films are for everyone. Brave, Tangled, Wreck It Ralph, Big Hero 6, Up, Inside Out, Coco, Moana, Encanto all have a lot to offer.

Storytelling shouldn’t have an age limit.

I think Encanto is a grower. First time watching it I was a bit meh about it, couldn’t remember the songs etc and then my daughter watched it on repeat and had the soundtrack on loads. I’ve grown to love it and think it can be enjoyed at multiple levels. I think children often don’t fully get the darkness. I adored Matilda as a child, knew the story backwards etc but now my daughter is at the same stage and loving it, i’m seeing it quite differently. The neglect and cruelty is something that hits me quite differently as an adult. That I think is why certain books or films have been enjoyed for a long time- they have depth and complexity that can be understood at different levels.