‘Encanto’ is one of Disney’s best animated films in years

Posted on December 3, 2021

By MARK VIOLA

This past spring, Disney gave us “Raya and the Last Dragon,” and I appreciated the studio’s attempt to do something different more than I enjoyed the execution.

Well, now they’re back with “Encanto,” which hits pretty much all of the right beats — pun intended — easily becoming my favorite Disney movie since 2016’s “Zootopia” and my favorite Disney musical since 2010’s “Tangled.”

When I reviewed the animated film “Vivo” in August, I noted that while I’d been underwhelmed by the songs from most of the animated musicals we’ve been given over the past several years, I really enjoyed the music in that film, which was composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton”).

Miranda, who helped with the songs in 2016’s “Moana,” is back working with Disney for “Encanto,” and he once again delivers a wonderfully entertaining score, complete with the stylings we’ve come to expect from him. However, as good as it is, there is a lot more going on in this movie than just the music.

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