Imperfect Catholic Mama

I’ll be the first to admit that I thoroughly enjoy family films, including animated ones. In fact, the only films I pay to see at a Theater when they come out are animated family films (Inside Out 2 being the most recent one). While many of Disney’s recent films have questionable themes and scenes, Encanto is not one of them; it is a gem! If you haven’t seen it, stop reading and go watch it.

I found that explaining the entire film, scenes, songs, and nuances while also writing a reflection was a little too much, and constant diversions to explain the movie interrupted the flow of the reflection. So while I will give a little plot summary and explain a few things throughout, I imagine it will be hard to follow if you haven’t seen the movie. So this is your last order to go watch the film! (Warning: you will have the songs stuck in your head for days afterwards.)

Summary

In a nutshell, the film is about a magical family where each member receives a gift when they “come of age” (8 or so, I think). The family miracle (represented by an ever-burning candle) was first given to Abuela in a time of need and brought about her and her children’s salvation, gifting each member of her family since then with a magical gift with which they help the people of their community. 

After a fun song at the beginning, “The family Madrigal”, the audience knows each member and his/her gift, with the song concluding that the singer and protagonist, Mirabel, never got a gift, ten years or so ago at her ceremony. 

Early on in the film, it is realized by Mirabel that the Miracle is in danger, and she makes it her mission to find out why and to fix it; to save the family Miracle.

This mission has her discovering that each individual “star” of her family isn’t perfect. That each of her sisters, vanished uncle, and other members feel as she does, that they’re not enough.

In the end, Mirabel brings her family back together, but only through a lot of hard stuff for everyone.

Reflection

The turning point for Mirabel is when she finally admits that she’s not fine.

In the beginning of the movie she’s saying to herself and all those around her that she’s fine. That she is not upset about not getting a gift, that it doesn’t matter, because she is still a part of the family. The little girl speaks the truth saying “I would feel really sad if I didn’t get a gift” and Mirabel responds that “well, I’m not.” The audience can feel that this isn’t true though.

It’s only when she admits that she’s not fine, in the beginning of her song “Waiting on a Miracle” that a change finally takes place.

When Mirabel admits that she is not fine, that there is something broken, that she longs to be seen and loved by her Abuela, only then does Caseta (the magically “alive”/personified house) show her the cracks, which almost extinguish the candle. Caseta shows her that the home, and her entire family, is in danger; That she has a place in this broken family and something she needs to do. For you see, the house did not give this vision to everyone. It did not show its cracks and brokenness to the family when Mirabel warned them. It only showed her, and only once she was ready; Once she admitted that things were not fine.

She couldn’t see the brokenness of her home and family as long as she was in denial of her own brokenness. Her feelings had been telling her that she wasn’t fine, and only when she allowed herself to feel them, and ceased shoving them down, did she see the cracks.

In her mission to discover what’s wrong with the Miracle she discovers a lot about her family. Beginning with her oldest sister, Luisa. 

Mirabel confronts Luisa about her feeling weak the night before, when the candle wavered. Luisa sings a song, and the visual aspect is just as important as the lyrics are for understanding Luisa. During Luisa’s song “Surface Pressure” you get so much more out of watching it then you would just listening to it. She says she feels pressure, but in watching it you see what kind of pressure. She feels that if she were to slow down and take care of herself, that those around her (her sister, family, the community, the Titanic, the WORLD) would perish.

Luisa feels a crushing pressure to be perfectly strong and carry the weight of the world (an image used in the song); She feels responsible for that which she can’t even be responsible for. To Luisa, this perfect strength means that she should never need time for herself, and so the fact that she just longs for a break has her thinking she is weak. That to be strong means to carry all the family burden without complaint and to never cease, even to the detriment of self. Luisa feels that she should be strong enough to carry all the burdens without faltering; To falter is weakness.

So she feels inadequate, because she wants a break and feels weak at times. But who is she if she can’t carry it all? Her self-identity is directly tied to what she can do, and if she can’t do it all, then she’s not enough.

Mirabel doesn’t see Luisa this way though. She sees that Luisa is carrying too much, and needs a break, that she needs to take care of herself. Mirabel hears Luisa and expresses empathy; She accepts Luisa for who she is, even though she sees her weakness and “imperfections.”

This empathy is Mirabel’s gift throughout the movie, it is what she brings to the family. Empathy, understanding, and believing in those around her, magical gifts or not. She gives them unconditional love, not tied in any way to what they can do.

In the beginning she believes in Antonio. It is Mirabel that knows where he is hiding, she understands and knows him. It is Mirabel that walks with Antonio to his door, despite her family’s fear of Mirabel hurting the miracle. She does not believe she is responsible for her lack of magical gift and cares about Antonio and his needs. She puts her family’s feelings of fear aside and supports Antonio, because he needs her and she will support him, no matter what the rest of her family thinks.

She believes in Bruno. That he is not responsible for bad things, that he is not the sum of his gifts, but a person. She believes he can give her the answer she needs, rather than then the gloom and doom of her future. And that regardless of what the vision is, it’s not his fault. She believes in his worth outside of his gift.

She expresses empathy to Luisa, understanding the pressure she is under. She has empathy for Isabella, understanding the pressure she lives with to be perfect and the feelings, and beauty, that she’s been suppressing and hiding.

Empathy is Mirabel’s gift. And we see this play a fundamental role later on. So let’s continue.

In Mirabel’s mission to discover what is wrong with the Miracle she discovers a vision from her disappeared (and estranged) uncle Bruno. This vision shows two pictures: An unbroken house with Mirabel in the foreground, and a cracking, crumbling house with Mirabel in the foreground. It is immediately interpreted by Mirabel that she is the cause of Caseta’s brokenness. And one can’t blame her for this, as Abuela has been blaming Mirabel for the lack of her gift, and is constantly telling her to stop what she’s doing and let the others (who have gifts) help and do the work. Mirabel believes the worst of herself in this vision because her Abuela believes the worst about her.

A later vision from Bruno shows that in order to save the miracle, Mirabel has to hug Isabela. Which doesn’t sound hard, but they kind of hate each other. In a touching song “What Else Can I Do” where Mirabel sees that Isabela is also living with an immense amount of pressure to be perfect, and that she’s been hiding beautiful parts of herself to keep up this portrayal, they are reconciled. Mirabel sees Isabela for who she is, imperfections and all, and she loves her. She sees that the carnivorous and non-symmetrical plants which Isabela can grow are just as beautiful as the roses.

However, despite this small reconciliation, the house cracks, falls and dies. The candle burns and dies. This immediately seems like a bad thing, that Mirabel failed to save the miracle. But is it? Did the vision portray an either/or? Or did it portray a both/and?

The house would crack, but it would be rebuilt. And Mirabel would be at the center of both things. She would cause the healing. And healing always begins with pain. 

She calls her Abuela out on her unrealistic expectations and conditional love. Her sisters feel the same way as Mirabel, that they need to be perfect for their Abuela, that they need to please her despite their own feelings and wants and needs. But it is Mirabel who tells Abuela how she feels; That she will never be enough, that her Abuela is blind to her (and ultimately her family’s) happiness and needs. Even when she tells Abuela that Isabela does not want to marry Mr. Handsome, Isabela does not say anything. Similarly Luisa with her own struggles.

But Mirabel has the courage and strength to share her feelings. This brings about the destruction yes, but ultimately the healing. And isn’t that really how healing works? 

Healing is most often not a fun, easy, enjoyable process. It involves pain, and hurt. It involves bringing up the big, hard, unresolved emotions, of bringing up the bad memories and the dysfunction. We cannot achieve healing without bringing up the hurt and pain.

That vision of Bruno’s was not an either/or. But a both/and. It showed that Mirabel would discover and expose the cracks, but that she would also bring about healing. 

The collapse happens. Mirabel leaves. Abuela finds her at the river where it all happened years ago. Abuela had been unable to return to this place where so much hurt and sadness happened until now; This place where she lost the love of her life. She was only able to come back to this place because of the crack that happens in the mountain as a result of the rift in the family. But Abuela needed to come back to this place in order to find healing. Coming back she recalls her life, her home, and her love prior to receiving the miracle. She remembers the young, carefree woman she was before she lost everything. She remembers happiness and, most importantly, safety and security.

However, she also remembers the pain of losing it all. Abuela never let herself reflect on this, to “go back”, mentally or physically. But she needed to go back, to recall those wonderful and terrible times in order to process it and move on. Abuela’s recalling and sharing these memories, going through the pain again with Mirabel, being vulnerable with her, leads to her healing.

When Abuela finds Mirabel here she is sad about herself. That she “tried to be someone she wasn’t”. As her Abuela shares what happened, Mirabel is drawn out of herself and has empathy, her gift, for her Abuela. She is able to see why Abuela acted the way she did, able to love her despite the fear that caused so much hurt, and to accept her as still being her Abuela, as still loving her family, and trying her best. Mirabel expresses empathy. 

And this is what brings about the healing. Returning to the hard stuff in life, going through it again, accepting the emotions and reflecting, combined with empathy from a loving ear that will accept you unconditionally without judgement, brings healing.

And in turn, Abuela understands herself deeper and the wrong she has done to Mirabel. That Mirabel is a miracle. That life, her life and the life of all the individuals in her family, are the miracle. Not this candle of magic to be protected at all costs, but life. Abuela was given a miracle, she was given life, and the life of her babies. And it was because of Pedro, Abuela’s husband. His act of sacrificial love brought about this miracle; He gave his life for his wife and children, for all the people; he loved them.

We need safe spaces to go back to the hurt; To unpack the hurt and move towards healing. We can’t skip the hard stuff and go right to the easy stuff. We have to go through the hurt to get to the healing. The big, hard feelings need to come out; They cannot remain suppressed, for we cannot heal with suppressed feelings. And we cannot feel love and happiness without feeling fear and hurt. To suppress any feeling ultimately suppresses all feelings.

Abuela could not find security and happiness with her suppressed fear. Luisa could not find relief from the pressure while suppressing her feelings of inadequacy, but “sometimes I cry” she admits in the end. Isabela could not find the acceptance of being imperfect without expressing her feelings. And expressing her feelings is something beautiful. It’s not symmetrical or “perfect”, it may be prickly or carnivorous, but it’s still beautiful. “It didn’t need to be perfect, it just needed to be.”

And it’s ultimately Mirabel admitting that she’s not fine that a healing begins in herself; a change is set in motion. And sharing her feelings of inadequacy, and those of her family, with her Abuela, lead to healing. But only after the rift and pain. Healing will cause pain. Pain will always precede healing. There is no easy way around it. Healing is hard.

But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it. The Madrigal family is in a better place, and has a new, solid foundation after all the hardship. They are reunited with their lost brother/son/uncle. They are a happier, healthier family. They take care of each other (Antonio puts Luisa in a hammock with a drink, helping her learn to take a break and relax), listen to one another, express themselves, and share themselves with each other.  

Mirabel is the one who believed in her family even without their gifts. That they could build a new foundation, helping each other out, working together. They rebuilt because of Mirabel. 

Mirabel didn’t need a magical gift to be a star. In the beginning she longs to shine like all of them shine. But “Star’s don’t shine, they burn.” Being a star doesn’t mean shining, merely being glorious, as Mirabel thinks in the beginning. Being a star is burning. It’s giving yourself to others. It’s not about shining, it’s about love. Love is burning for others; being a gift to others. Love is a gift of self to others. Pedro is a star, he burned (died) for his family. Love doesn’t mean giving yourself to the detriment of self, as Luisa learns. Neither does it mean hiding the “imperfect” parts of yourself or “bad” feelings, as Isabela learns.

But to give yourself as a gift for others, to give your life for the life of others as Pedro first did, that is love. Love is accepting and understanding those around you, even though they have faults and failings and imperfections. However, it isn’t dismissing their wrong behaviour. Mirabel calls out Abuela on her wrong doings, on how it’s made her feel. She forgives and loves, and seeks to understand Abuela, but she doesn’t sugar-coat the hard stuff.

Back to the Star stuff. Stars are beautiful on their own, but they are even better as part of constellations. And “Constellations shift . . . And glow.” Stars are more spectacular when viewed together. Any individual star in the Big Dipper or Peleides is a star just like any other one in the sky. But all those individual stars make up the constellation, which is more spectacular than just the single star would be. The Milky Way is beautiful because of the multitude of stars, not because of any one star.

“We see how bright you burn!” Says Mirabel’s family to her. They see how hard she loves them all, how brightly she burns with love. She’s beautiful, she’s a star. A bright star of love. 

All the doors to the rooms have the person’s first initial. The family gives Mirabel a doorknob for the newly built house. It’s got her first initial on it. And what does she see when she looks into it? She sees “me. All of me.” As she places it in the door, the house comes alive. The family is healed and they have their miracle back (in everything that means and represents), because of all the pain they had to go through to grow in love.