(WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD)
For this semester I decided to analyze the Encanto characters and why I love them. I’m starting off the blog with Mirabel Madrigal. Mirabel is the youngest daughter of Julieta and Augustine and is the only Madrigal cousin that did not receive a power. Mirabel was often overlooked by her grandmother and other members of the family, solely because she did not have a gift like the rest of them. She faces backlash from Abuela because the gift is deteriorating and Abuela believes that the root of all if the Madrigal family’s problems is Mirablel.
Despite the family’s harsh treatment, Mirabel is still happy and bubbly and she cares deeply for her family. She helps both of her sisters to embrace themselves and be who they are. She teaches them that they are more than just their powers. Her sole goal in life is to make her family proud, in fact she says it many times throughout the film.
Mirabel is an amazing example and role model for young boys and girls everywhere. Being powerless, she has nothing but her kind heart and her wits to guide her throughout the entire movie. Her family makes her feel inadequate on many occasions during the movie and at one point she even speaks on how nothing she ever does will be good enough for Abuela. Mirabel is not extraordinary, especially compared to the rest of her family. She is the one ordinary character in a family full of amazing gifts and talents. However, she never lets the fact that she’s powerless stop her. If anything, this is her driving force throughout the film. She knows that she is just as special as the rest of her family, in fact she says it multiple times throughout the film. She doesn’t let not having a gift stop her from achieving her goals.
Later on in the film, the family’s gift–and all of their powers–are in danger. With the threat of losing their gift, Mirabel devises a plan to save the miracle. She teams up with Bruno, the family outcast who can see the future, to find out what’s happening with the miracle and work out how to save it. Unfortunately, in the end, the candle that gave them their gift does end up blowing out and the family loses their powers.
However, even throughout all of this, Mirabel still doesn’t lose her hope or her love for her family. In the end, the whole town comes and helps the Madrigal family rebuild their house from the ground up, as it had been destroyed from the loss of the miracle. At the end, her youngest cousin hands her a doorknob with her initial on it, telling her that it was made specially for her. When Mirabel puts the knob on the door, the entire house lights up with gold, glitter, and magic. It ends up being Mirabel, the one that does not have a gift, to be the one to restore the gifts and save the miracle.
Hello, Billie! This was so fun to read about! Although I have never seen the movie, I now feel like I have watched it. I enjoyed the descriptions you used in order to make the film come to life!
As a HUGE Disney fan, I’m very annoyed with myself for not having seen this movie yet. That said, I love that this is your topic. Your description of mirabel was very well-written. When you mentioned how Mirabel is someone that the viewers can understand and look up to, I think you hit the nail on the head. Most, if not all Disney movies make the protagonists relatable and admirable. Your analysis makes me want to watch this movie. Hopefully I can by next week!
I really enjoyed the blog post. The idea that being someone without powers is can still have a large impact is a lesson that is hard to learn. This made me think about “powers” in the real world. While I realize everyone has powers, some powers are not useful in some situations and being able to overcome the lack of powers is a power on its own.
Hey Billie!
This was such a great analysis of Mirabel. (Also highly appreciate the spoiler warning even though I’ve already seen the movie). Encanto has been one of my favorite movies recently and a lot of the points you bring up in your analysis are part of the reason why. I especially like how you highlighted the perceived powerlessness of her and how that’s the main conflict.