On Thanksgiving Day in 2021, Disney premiered the movie “Encanto,” which represents Colombia, a South Latin American country.
When I think of “Encanto,” I automatically think about “Coco” because they both have a representation of Latino culture.
“Encanto” is about the Madrigal family which lives in a small mountain village in Colombia. Each member of the family was gifted with a magic gift except for Maribel, the main character of the movie.
The movie “Coco” is about a boy named Miguel, who dreams to become a singer like his idol Ernesto de la Cruz but is forbidden because his family does not allow music to be played in their family. “Coco” is a representation of Mexican culture.
Regardless of both having a presentation of Latino culture we need to remove the representation for a second and think about how movies have a different narrative.
“Encanto” does not have much of a meaningful message because having magic gifts is not a realistic scenario that many can relate to. The movie does not go into full details about Colombian culture besides the character and aesthetics.
I think the Madrigals having magic gifts puts the movie into a very fictional setting that can more easily be compared to another fictional movie like the Disney movies “Luka” or “Frozen.”
On the other hand, “Coco” goes more into detail about Mexican culture. For example, celebrating Dia de Los Muertos is something that is celebrated in Mexico every Nov. 2 to honor the death of their loved ones.
Also, “Coco” has a plot many other Latinos can relate to. For example, Miguel is not supported by his family to follow his dreams to become a singer — something that can be very common in a Latino household.
On a Delta San Joaquin College Facebook page of 6,000 members, when asked about their thoughts of “Encanto,” students automatically respond with “‘Encanto’ is a better movie than ‘Coco’” or vice versa.
I do think both movies are put in a box because of what they represent which easily leads to comparison on what movie is better than the other one. This does a disservice to both movies.
For “Encanto” it unfairly removes the fictional creativity that is put into the movie. For example, the magical powers that each member of the family inherited were creative and so was the plot of the movie. For example, Maribel being the main character but not inheriting any powers is very different from any fictional Disney movie we have seen.
However, in my opinion, “Coco” is a better movie than “Encanto.” The movie is separate from any other Disney movie out there. It teaches the audience a glimpse of what Mexican culture is as a country and its morals.
Just like any other Disney movie, the movies both come with their own songs. Encanto’s song “We do not talk about Bruno” has become a very popular song that I enjoy.
The music choice genre “Mariachi” represents Mexican music. The message of the family holds an impact on the decisions Miguel wants for his future self. Also making the whole movie based on an event that is highly celebrated in Mexico teaches others about Mexico’s culture.
