Critic Reviews

Vibrant visuals, a stack of stellar songs, and a story with real heart make for another Disney banger. Sixty films in, the Mouse House still has that magic.

Enchant it does, in ebbs and flows, mostly when relatable human ache peaks through the razzle-dazzle.

For all its compelling individual elements, Encanto doesn’t quite manage to weave them together into something greater than the sum of its parts—which is especially frustrating given that the idea of communal support is a driving ethos of the film.

For films like Encanto to truly stand out, instead of being content with being good enough, they need to push storytelling limits as much as they push cultural ones.

Encanto feels like one of the Mouse House’s more emotionally complex animated features, even if its story ultimately tries too hard to wrap up that nuance in a very tidy bow.

There is so much to enjoy about Encanto — the songs, the gorgeous animation, the cultural traditions. All of which make the script’s serious shortcomings all the more surprising and disappointing.

Encanto ends up being overwrought rather than enchanting.

There are some nice moments and sweet showtunes, but Encanto feels like it is aspiring to exactly that sort of bland frictionless perfection that the film itselfis solemnly preaching against, with a contrived storyline which wants to have its metaphorical cake and eat it.