Songs 5-7: Encanto

*Spoilers.*

The music is so great in Disney films that it often feels like any given film has more songs than it actually does. For Encanto, it’s just seven, so we’re already coming to the end. But these are great numbers as well, and I love listening to them, singing them, and geeking out over them.

“What Else Can I Do?” – Isabela has always made Mirabel feel inadequate, but in this song, she learns how constrained Isabela feels to stay in the persona of the perfect little princess growing beautiful flowers. The “you can’t believe how hard it is to be pretty and popular” theme can feel like a trope, but I appreciate that this song isn’t about Isabela wallowing in how hard it is to be the perfect one. Instead, it’s about seeing a sudden moment of imperfection, recognizing the beauty of it, and imagining what all she can be capable of if she lets herself go.

Best lyric: “I wanna feel the shiver of something new. / I’m so sick of pretty, I want something true, don’t you?”

“Dos Oruguitas” – A non-diegetic song, playing over a montage of Abuela’s past—meeting and falling in love with Pedro, the birth of the triplets, having to flee their home, and the creation of the miracle. It’s a beautiful, simple melody that complements the images onscreen wonderfully, wistful and searing. Even better, the soundtrack includes the English version of the song, and now that I know what the lyrics mean, I predict the scene will make me cry even more.

Best lyric: “Ay, mariposas, no se aguanten más. / Hay que crecer a parte y volve, hacia Adelante seguirás. / Ya son Milagros, rompiendo crisálidas. / Hay que volar, hay que encontrar su propio futuro.”

And again in English: “Ay, mariposas, don’t you hold on too tight. / Both of you know it’s your time to go, to fly apart, to reunite. / Wonders surround you, just let the walls come down. / Don’t look behind you, fly ‘til you find your way toward tomorrow.”

“All of You” – And the finale! While it weaves in bits and pieces of other musical and thematic elements from the movie, it introduces its own lovely melody as well. This is Mirabel’s story, but as she says at the start of the film, it’s about her entire family too, so the song wraps up a few plot points and offers up a little resolution to a handful of the characters while maintaining the central throughline of bringing Mirabel’s journey to a close. It’s a beautiful song that comes at my heart in multiple moments.

Best lyric: “And I’m sorry I held on too tight. / Just so afraid I’d lose you too. / The miracle is not some magic that you’ve got— / The miracle is you. / Not some gift, just you, the miracle is you.”