I analyzed Encanto from a Family Systems perspective,
but there was more to say.
I analyzed Encanto from an enneagram perspective,
but there was more to say.
Y’all, I’m losing sleep over here. I have to get it out.
I still have more theories about Encanto.

Camilo Was Afraid of Bruno.

I haven’t found any official word from Disney on the Madrigals’ ages, but Camilo can’t be much older than Mirabel. (Incidentally, the age order seems to be Isabela as the oldest, followed by Dolores, Luisa, Camilo, Mirabel, and then Antonio, but even that is a guess on my part.) Mirabel is very young at the time of her traumatic gift ceremony, and this is the same night Bruno fled into the walls, so the last time the family saw Bruno, Camilo couldn’t have been older than 8 or 9. In “We Don’t Talk about Bruno,” Camilo gives a terrifying and inaccurate description of Bruno as “seven feet tall with rats along his back.” Bruno is actually the shortest of the triplets, so where would this description come from? When Camilo was much smaller, Bruno would have towered over him, and with Bruno’s eccentricities, unkempt appearance, and glowing eyes (when using his powers), it makes sense that Camilo would remember him as monstrous. It doesn’t help that, for close to a decade, the subject of Bruno has been off limits, leaving Camilo with no way to unpack his childhood fear.

Pedro Is Casita.

In Encanto‘s prologue, Pedro Madrigal’s sacrifice by the river gives rise to a miracle: the preservation of Abuela’s candle, the arrival of the Madrigals’ gifts, and the appearance of Casita, the sentient house who helps care for the family. Casita is vivacious and nurturing, displaying a sense of playfulness and humor with its occupants, and located right in the middle of Casita’s courtyard is a portrait of Pedro. While we don’t get much description of Abuelo Pedro’s personality apart from one extended flashback, it seems like he shares these traits. Given Pedro’s death right as Casita arises, could it be that Pedro’s spirit animates the house? Through the Madrigals’ miracle, has their deceased patriarch found a way to continue looking after them? Given the affection between the family and the house, it sure felt like that many times throughout Encanto, and if this really is the case, it makes the loss and resurrection of Casita all the more powerful.

Bruno Is Autistic
(or at least has severe OCD).

In my previous posts, I went with the more general term “neurodivergent,” but since I’m theorizing here, I think Bruno may be on the autism spectrum. It seems like his difficult gift is only half the challenge he faces; he also struggles to communicate the things he’s seen, and he usually winds up enraging others (especially Pepa). He invents extra personas to entertain himself or feel braver while he’s living in the walls (which he attempts to play off with humor), and he often retreats into the hood of his poncho to comfort himself. There’s a lot about Bruno’s rituals and communication challenges that indicate he might be on the autism spectrum, but given the events of Encanto take place in secluded mountain town in an unknown time period, autism diagnoses and interventions may not be available for the Madrigals.

Abuela Is the Family Seamstress;
Mirabel Is Learning How.

I love the attention to detail in the character design and animation— especially the costumes on the Madrigal grandkids. The hem on Luisa’s skirt has a pattern resembling barbells. With all the frills and ruffles on her dress, Isabela actually looks floral. Dolores’s dress sports semicircle patterns that resemble sound waves, and her large bow conjures images of a radar dish. The spirals on Camilo’s poncho correspond to the fluidity of his appearance, and his clothes seem extra loose and flowing to allow for his transformations. While it’s less apparent in the second generation of Madrigals, Julieta’s dress and apron have leaflike designs to reflect her cooking and healing, while the weather-controlling Pepa’s dress resembles a sunburst around the neckline (clear skies, clear skies, clear skies…). While we never see this onscreen, I wonder if Abuela has made these garments for her children and grandchildren. For Abuela, so much of the family identity is tied up in the gifts, so it makes sense that she would enforce them even through clothing.

Every family member has neat, orderly, monochromatic clothing except one: Mirabel. Julieta and Agustin’s branch have their purples and blues; Pepa and Felix’s branch have their yellows and oranges and reds. Even Abuela sports a dress with only two colors: red field with black stitched butterflies. (For more on the butterflies, go hit up the Family Systems post.) Mirabel, however, has a dress that may have started out blue and purple but now sports bright pops of pink and yellow and neon green. This doesn’t fit the Madrigals’ overall aesthetic, so I wonder if Mirabel made these additions herself so she could stand out. Early on in Encanto, we see Mirabel sporting a bag with her name stitched brightly across it, and she gives Antonio a homemade stuffed leopard soon after. She also wears a homemade yarn broach of a butterfly on one shoulder which regularly tears— in fact, the loose yarn is how Abuela locates Mirabel after Casita’s collapse. Of course, the biggest clue is the sewing machine in her room which appears for a split second as Mirabel gets ready in the film’s first big musical number. Mirabel seems to be learning Abuela’s craft, and she even imitates Abuela’s signature pattern: the butterfly. Perhaps all of this is to impress Abuela (as with so many of the things Mirabel does in Encanto), but it also prefigures Mirabel’s role in bringing the family together and helping Abuela explore her trauma.

Abuela Is Trying to Recreate Her Marriage Through Her Descendants.

I touched on this in the enneagram post, but let’s dive a little deeper.

The loss of Pedro colors so much of Abuela’s world, and in her grief, she leans hard into perfectionism. Because Pedro’s only scenes are silent, we don’t see many details of his personality, but in Abuela’s flashbacks, Pedro appears nurturing, funny, compassionate, and protective— personality traits which Abuela’s sons-in-law seem to echo. As such, I wonder if Abuela may have steered her daughters toward them.

That being said, so much about Abuela’s relationship with Isabela is surface-level. Abuela knows so little of Isabela’s actual desires and only sees the “perfection” on the outside. As such, Abuela attempts to pair Isabela with someone who bears a physical resemblance to Pedro but may or may not have any resemblance to his personality. Mariano shares Pedro’s eyes, hair, facial hair, and even style of dress. The animators have even chosen to light the two characters similarly in many of their scenes. Yet Mariano’s dramatic and romantic persona seems to bear little resemblance to the bits and pieces we see of Pedro. Abuela’s mismatching of Pedro and Mariano’s personalities suggests Abuela has also misjudged Isabela. Coincidentally, Isabela looks very similar to Abuela when she was younger, so Abuela has effectively set up a couple who physically resemble her and Pedro, but at the same time, have completely different personalities.

Nate Is Dying His Hair Grey.

Due to a slip of the tongue in season two, Ted’s assistant coach and protege Nate “the Great” Shelley winds up with an unfortunate nickname: “Wonderkid.” Nate has already shown deep insecurity about his age and social status, and he begins to lash out at others over their use of the name (especially the team’s new manager, Will, who is frequently the target of Nate’s rage). As Nate undergoes a personality transformation in season two, his hair goes noticeably prematurely grey. In fact, Nate’s hair goes from fully black to fully gray suspiciously fast— in only a year. Perhaps Nate isn’t actually going grey but has been dying his hair to distance himself from the “Wonderkid” nickname and reputation, all of which reflects his intensifying vanity.

Wait, no! That’s a Ted Lasso theory. Don’t know how that one slipped in there. My bad. Anyway, back to Encanto…

Julieta Is the Favorite Daughter.

Abuela confronts a lot of mistakes at the conclusion of Encanto, and while some of the most obvious center around Mirabel, Abuela also addresses some relationship challenges with her own children. Bruno enters this scene expecting a fight. He has clearly psyched himself up to confront his mother, but he’s caught off guard when Abuela hugs him and welcomes him home. What must Bruno’s childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood have been like that he would expect Abuela to fight with him after his decade-long absence and the loss of their home?

We have stories in Encanto of Abuela being cold or condescending to 2/3 of her children. Not confident in her daughter’s control over her powers, Abuela had umbrellas at the ready on Pepa’s wedding day. After Mirabel’s gift ceremony, Abuela made Bruno use his gift when he didn’t want to. But you know which member of the second generation of Madrigals doesn’t appear to have a story like that? Julieta. I mean, in Abuela’s defense, she’s doing her best as a widowed mother of triplets with a magical house as her primary partner. On top of that, 2/3 of her children have absolutely terrifying gifts. Bruno is predicting doom all over the place, and Pepa makes monsoons when she gets upset. By comparison, Julieta definitely seems like “the easy kid.” Julieta’s gifts involve cooking and healing, so she must have been a big help to Abuela, and her siblings seem to realize all this. Bruno is deeply insecure; Pepa is deeply angry; only Julieta seems really comfortable in Abuela’s house. It seems like Abuela must have shown her some favoritism growing up.

Pepa’s Pregnancies Must Have Been Terrible.

Look, this isn’t so much a theory as an observation. Pregnancy does so much to mess with emotions, and Pepa’s power depends on her ability to control hers. The town probably had blizzards, hurricanes, and heatwaves with all three of her pregnancies, and I’m sure they complained about it the whole way. You’ve got to feel for Pepa!

Julieta Doesn’t Play Favorites; Agustin Does.

Julieta seems to interact with all of her daughters in a fairly similar fashion: consistent support and listening. Whether it’s Luisa working hard to gain more strength, Isabela seeking to express herself, or Mirabel trying to prove herself, Julieta is always there and usually with food. She continually reiterates that their love is not conditional and is freely given equally. Agustin though…

Look, as a fellow clumsy nerd dad with a penchant for vests and married to a 2, I relate a lot to Agustin, and I’ve probably been pretty nice to him in past analyses. That being said, Agustin clearly has a favorite daughter, and it’s Mirabel. She’s the youngest. She’s the one without powers (like him). She’s creative and has an independent streak. The two of them just seem a little extra close by comparison to Agustin’s relationships with Mirabel’s sisters. Like, Agustin doesn’t seem super invested in the proposal dinner despite the fact that his eldest daughter’s future is involved, and we see very few interactions between him and Luisa.

So yeah, Julieta doesn’t play favorites, but it seems like Agustin does.

Many of Bruno’s “Prophecies” Were Just Casual Observations Presented Awkwardly

In “All of You” as Bruno reconciles with the family, he mentions to Pepa that the incident on her wedding day had nothing to do with a vision:

Pepa, I’m sorry ’bout your wedding, didn’t mean to be upsetting
That wasn’t a prophecy, I could just see you were sweating…

This got me wondering: what if some of Bruno’s other “prophecies” were really just things he noticed, but because of his gift and his socially awkward demeanor, people blew his comments out of proportion? In “We Don’t Talk about Bruno,” as other residents of the Encanto share their experiences with Bruno, we get three specific examples:
1) Bruno tells a woman her fish will die, and the fish dies the next day.
2) Bruno tells a man he’ll develop a gut, and he does.
3) Bruno tells the town priest he will go bald, and he does.

Let’s start with the middle one: eating habits are an observable phenomenon. If Bruno has been present with this man at many meals, he would have seen him eat, and since town-wide parties seem like fairly regular occurrences in Encanto, there’s a high probability of this. Did Bruno go to his vision cave and specifically see this man put on weight in the future? Eh, it seems more likely the socially awkward Bruno just made a poorly-timed comment about this man’s eating, which he then internalized as a “prophecy.” (In fact, maybe this is a reach, but because eating habits are something often within our control, I wonder if this was more of a self-fulfilling prophecy, with this man overeating more after Bruno’s comment to him.)

Okay, the priest. Similar scenario here. Receding hairlines are observable, so again, odds are the very awkward Bruno noticed this and made a comment about it. The priest then remembered Bruno’s comment as a “prophecy” later on.

Lastly, the fish is tricky. Bruno himself mentions this incident when Mirabel asks him to look into the future. Imitating the townspeople, Bruno says, “Ah, Bruno makes bad things happen. Oh, he’s creepy, and his vision killed my goldfish.” Maybe Bruno really did see this woman’s fish die in a vision, but alternatively, he could have noticed dirty water in the fishbowl or that the woman was feeding the fish too much or too little or that the fish was starting to need a bigger tank or any number of other factors. Even with his awkwardness, Bruno appears highly observant. Again, knowing Bruno, he probably made a poorly-timed comment which this woman believed to be a prophecy and then held against him.

We see Bruno use his gift for prophecy multiple times in Encanto, but I can’t help but wonder how many of his other minor “prophecies” were really just a socially awkward person making a logical observation at the wrong time.

Conclusion?

Okay, that does it for now. I know I’ll have more thoughts on Encanto, but I really need to move on to another topic! The fact that, four viewings later I’m still finding more details and dynamics really speaks to how much thought and love went into this movie. It’s a masterpiece.