Like many Disney films, Encanto can be categorized as a fantasy musical, but Encanto fits comfortably under the magical realism umbrella.
As Pedro and Alma are forced apart, the song tells of the chrysalis. The devastating song, “Dos Oruguitas” (Two Caterpillars) tells the story of Pedro and Alma falling in love and protecting their family. Luisa has the weight of the town on her shoulders, moving churches and donkeys and redirecting rivers. By surrounding this story with the story of the Truebas and the supernatural, the political is somewhat hidden. While I do not believe the magic held by the Madrigal family of Encanto is meant to be political, I do think it’s a reflection of their family trauma, which is also comparable to contemporary family stories. Their safe little town, the Encanto, is thanks to the Madrigals. The town of Macondo in Garcia Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude is similarly founded. The supernatural elements are proportional to the world. Magic and supernatural abilities are commonly connected to emotion in Magical Realism. Where the European taken on Magical Realism was made of things that were too strange to be real, Latin America’s Magical Realism incorporated the “strange” as part of reality. We don’t need to know to understand the story. Like many Disney films, Encanto can be categorized as a fantasy musical, but Encanto fits comfortably under the Magical Realism umbrella. The magic of Encanto flows like the river in the film: strong, ever-present, and able to be re-routed.