Can Somebody Answer My 10 Questions About Encanto?

We don’t talk about Bruno.* In fact, we haven’t talked about Bruno over the past 2 weeks. That’s all we’ve been doing – not talking about Bruno, no, no, no.

BUT!

It was our third time watching Disney’s Encanto, and I’ve got questions. Now I obviously LOVE the film – it has exceeded my expectations with the animation’s life-likeness, incomparable soundtrack, and intrinsic character developments – and I also love that it triggers these questions. Maybe some of them will be addressed in the sequel that’s sure to happen – until then, perhaps you can spare your two cents.

1. Is Mirabel the Successor as Head of Familia Madrigal?

Abuela Alma was the first first-generation Madrigal blessed with the magic candle and Casa Madrigal. She does not possess any special powers herself, but is the vital leader of the family. She is, no doubt, the Madrigal-in-Chief, and the undisputed village boss. Mirabel seemed to have taken on an equally vital role as her abuela, what with the main door of their home being HER door and Casita responding to her emotions. This means Mirabel is going to take over as Madrigal-in-Chief, right? That’s what we’re going to see in the sequel, yes?

2. Can Dolores Keep a Secret?

So towards the end of the movie, it was revealed that Dolores knew Bruno had been hiding in the walls all along. Has she been feeding him food through the walls all this time? If she really can’t keep a secret, how come she kept Bruno’s secret? Is it because she “grew to live in fear of Bruno stuttering or stumbling” and just wanted to stay out of it?

3. Why Hasn’t Isabela Grown any Produce?

Isabela’s gift is arguably one of the most powerful gifts there is – the power to grow plants anywhere. If all the gifts in the Madrigal family serve a role for the community, wouldn’t Isabela’s duty be to grow food (fruits and vegetables) to feed everyone? Even if she hasn’t figured it out, wouldn’t one of the adults have had that epiphany by now?!

4. Is Antonio a Vegetarian / Vegan?

Antonio is our animal guy. Now that he has the gift of being able to communicate with the entire animal kingdom, does he still eat meat (if he had been all along)? Now, much of the animal kingdom is certainly not herbivorous, so would it be ‘natural’ to the chickens at the farm to treat Antonio as a predator? Would they even know he’s a predator? Do all preys and predators alike just magically get along whenever Antonio is around?

5. Can Pepa Prevent Natural Disasters?

Pepa managed to gift herself (see what I did there?) a hurricane wedding. Can she also stop a tornado from coming to destroy someone else’s wedding? And does her ability to control and manipulate the weather limited geographically (e.g. within a certain radius of where she is located)? Or can she make it rain around the world if she so desires (that would be so helpful to our California drought)? If she watched Frozen and became completely obsessed with Queen Elsa, would it be winter wonderland every day?

6. Is Julieta Able to Self-Heal and Cure Everything?

So if Julieta sprains her ankles, can she just cook herself lunch and be completed cured by the first bite? Is her healing power limited to only physical ailments? It seems she can cure beyond broken bones because she can reserve her husband’s allergic reaction to bee stings. So, can she cure cancer and all variations of COVID?

7. Does One Need to be a Blood Descendent to Receive a Gift?

Okay, so those who married into the family obviously didn’t receive a gift, but what if someone adopts a child? How about a baby born via surrogacy? Is there an age cut-off? All the kids received their gifts on their 5th birthday – does that mean it won’t happen if Bruno adopts a 6 year old kid?

8. Is Pedro in the Magic and is Mariano Abuelo His Incarnation?

We saw abuelo Pedro, abuela Alma, and their triplets fleeing from big, bad horsemen. Then, all of a sudden, Pedro decided to make a U-turn and ultimately sacrificed himself in order to save others. Did his sacrifice spur the magic? Also, my son kept insisting that “the grandpa didn’t die”. During the second viewing of Encanto, he pointed to Mariano and proudly exclaimed, “See mommy! I TOLD you the grandpa is still alive!” Is this why abuela wanted him to marry into the family so much?

9. Can Camilo Shape-Shift into Anything?

Camilo is clearly the entertainer Madrigal with his flair for dramatic shape-shifting antics. But! Can he turn into anything? How about inanimate objects? Animals? Mythical creatures? If his shape-shifting is bound to humans – can he change into someone he’s never met before, or even someone who doesn’t exist?

10. How About That Bruno? I Really Need to Know About Bruno.

It seems Bruno can harness his gift at will (i.e. when Mirabel made him look into his vision again), so how come he can’t seem to see anything beyond Mirabel and Casita? Can’t he focus farther into the future? Or do his visions come randomly much like Raven’s? Did he not see himself living in the walls beforehand? And while we’re at it – what’s with the rats?

Give me the truth and the whole truth, Bruno!

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*Lies. All we talk about is Bruno.