#Bruno Madrigal analysis

[foggyfanfic]

Bruno's Health After the Walls

This has probably been done before, in fact there's an analysis of the long term effects Bruno's terrible posture has probably had on his spine out there somewhere, that lives rent free in my head. But I wanna do it anyways!

So, let's talk about how living in the walls for ten years probably affected Bruno's health.

First and foremost, let's talk about what isolation does to a person, particularly lack of human touch. Because Bruno was probably ok listening in on his family's conversations, but he has gone a decade without a single hug. I'm sure most of us have heard of that one study where they took a couple of orphaned babies and just didn't give them any physical contact. The babies almost died. So yeah! Bruno is not ok.

Then there's lack of sunlight. It's possible that he's been sneaking out to get fresh air every once in a while, so we'll say this is minimal. But a slight vitamin D deficiency still means lethargy, insomnia, bone/muscle pain, and his OCD would be worse (sunlight helps boost serotonin). So, Bruno is not ok.

He's probably malnourished, even if he's stealing enough food from the kitchen quantity wise, his cooking limitations and reliance on scraps probably means he's not getting a balanced diet. Depending on what nutrients he's not getting this could lead to muscle loss, decrease bone density, affect his immune system, and cause heart problems. And if he's relying too much on a certain food group that could lead to all sorts of long term damage to his digestive system, think things like an overworked liver. Bruno is not ok.

Sanitation is another thing, we see that his living space is overrun with rats. They are a remarkably clean animal, but they still have to poop and stuff. Overexposure to feces of any animal exposes you to all types of disease, viruses, bacteria, mold, you name it. Combined with how dusty it is back there and Bruno is probably breathing the grossest air in human history, possibly doing permanent damage to his respiratory system. Bruno is not ok.

Finally, add in the physical activity required for him to navigate in the walls. There's that big ass hole in the floor that he's apparently been vaulting over for years now. While running is good for your cardiovascular health, it is hell on your joints, and if he already has all of the problems listed above it’s a miracle his knees haven’t given out. Some have suggested that Julieta’s food only heals people if she’s the one giving it, let’s hope for Bruno’s sake that’s not the case, because otherwise… Bruno is NOT ok.

In conclusion, Bruno is not ok after spending ten years in the walls and he is going to need some serious rehabilitation. Honestly, realistically, I would expect him to have scurvy, or be missing hair and fingernails, or something; but it’s a kid’s movie so let’s just handwave a little and say the miracle has prevented the worst of it. The good news is he seems to have held up remarkably well mentally speaking, and is only a little crazy, so with some love and support (and healing magic) he’s still able to have a happy life.

[encantobrainrot365]

Julieta Madrigal

Ok, I was inspired by a previous post to write a character analysis of Julieta.

So, the deal with Julieta is that she’s not exactly the golden child, at least not at first. It’s more like she’s the Good Girl of the family. The one that Alma doesn’t have to worry about because she’s so mature for her age. She’s quiet, humble, and kind. The one who may have been overlooked in favor of her louder and more boisterous siblings.

She can heal people with the food she makes and the love she carries for everyone in the Encanto. So therefore, no, she’s not the golden child, she’s the Caretaker.

The extra set of hands Alma needed when things were too much for her. If Alma was feeling down or depressed, or too busy, and Julieta’s siblings were anxious or upset, Julieta would take care of it. No need to bother their mother unless it’s an emergency, right?

It’s been said she was born to be a mother and that’s because she’s been mothering her family and half the town since she was five. Those are the sort of expectations she carries around.

I think that’s what allows her to relate to her older daughters and sobrinos who fill a similar role of support within the family. She’s the healer, the caretaker.

She lends a listening ear; she tries to make you smile with food and words of affirmation; she shoulders the family’s burdens; she sees their hurt and tries her best to lighten the load.

She was probably the one Alma was eager to marry off first, because she would make such a good mom and matriarch to the family, kind of like Isabela. So good for the Encanto.

But instead of marrying the perfect guy, like Isa planned to, she married the perfect guy for her, Agustin.

I also think she blames herself for Bruno leaving. He was obviously hurting and she feels she failed him because she couldn’t fix it.

That’s why she parents Mirabel the way she does. She sees a lot of her brother in her daughter and that’s why she tells Mirabel not lose her way in this family the same way her brother did.

She always tries to reassure her daughter that she is perfect, that she’s enough, just the way she is. She doesn’t have to try so hard. She showers them all, with unconditional love and affection. (Something Alma wasn’t very good at doing that much growing up.)

And as great as those things are it wasn’t always what her kids needed. She’s a caretaker, but she’s also very passive. Unlike her siblings, she’s the “unproblematic” one. “Señorita Perfecta” in that she avoids making waves and causing conflict. She tries to be a good daughter, and not give her mother a hard time. That’s what I think she has someone like Agustin for. A husband who stands by her and will firmly stand up for his family, and always support them, no matter what. And that’s exactly what he does. So yeah, I think she’s an amazing mom, and a great role model with her own flaws and problems just like everyone else.

[yellowcry]

Now this might be a hot take but...

I don't think Julieta was Señorita Perfecta)/the golden child like Isabela nor insanely overworked like Luisa

Just look at how shocked she is. She had no idea of the fact that her older daughters suffered too. But, if she had the same trauma, I feel Julieta would at least suspect that something was wrong. But she doesn't.

[jacarandaaaas]

sometimes I feel bad for talking about mirabel so much then I remember how she used to be so ignored in the fandom people didn’t even know she was the main character

[phoenixlionme]

Encanto: Madrigal Family Relationship Analysis Part 28 - Antonio and Bruno

This is my favorite moment between this uncle and nephew duo; admittedly, it's one of the very few scenes they have together, but I still stand by my point. Antonio offers his stuffed jaguar, made by Mirabell (his favorite relative), to Bruno (a man he's just met and only heard about through his family and town's bias opinion). Jared Bush as confirmed in a twitter post that Antonio considers Bruno his pal. And I can understand why - given his gift, Antonio was told by Bruno's rats not only of the future teller's true personality but also the lengths the latter went to, to protect Mirabel, who Antonio greatly loves, cherishes, and admires. Of course, he would think of Bruno as his pal. And while it wasn't seen in the movie (which should've been), Bruno definitely returned Antonio's jaguar and genuinely thanked his young nephew for the help. And they would develop a tight bond because they are both shy but helpful guys who have an affinity towards animals more than people, and would do anything to help Mirabel, the person in the family who helped them the most (not hating on the Madrigals but the way Mirabel helped them was more beneficial). I can totally imagine Antonio cheerfully dragging Bruno along to play with him and his animals and Bruno happily agreeing since he loves being an uncle in general. I can also see Bruno trying to give good advice to Antonio that it's okay to prefer animals to people, a similar convo like the one Mirabel and Antonio had before his gift ceremony. In conclusion, these are PHENOMENAL PALS FOR LIFE.

[weirdagnes]

okay okay so i’ve been listening wayyy too much We Don’t Talk About Bruno. I can’t help but listen to all English, Spanish and Filipino version (im so surprised i didn’t cringe at Filipino dub?? they all sounded so close to the original voices and the singing voice is damn impressive)

The differences in mixing is interesting! Here’s what I’ve noticed (focusing only on the final verse):

We Don’t Talk About Bruno

Official audio and the audio in the movie have different mixing.

Official Audio:

There’s no moving pans. Everyone’s on the exact same pan where they began.

Pepa on the right, Felix on left.

Camilo on left-center (-20 or so).

Dolores on far left.

Isabela on right-center (+20 or so).

Movie Audio:

PEPA & FELIX

(“It was my wedding…”) Felix is on the left pan. Pepa comes from right pan then glides over to left pan when she and Isabela held hands and Pepa moved stage right.

(“Bruno walks in…”) Pepa is back on right pan but more center, somewhere +10 probably.

(“Thunder!”) Felix is on far right pan now.

(“You telling this story..”) Pepa is on center now.

(“I’m sorry, mi vida…”) Felix is back on far left.

(“Bruno says it...”) Pepa and Felix comes from far left slowly panning to right, matching their animation moving from stage right to left.

ISABELA

(“The life of my dreams...”) Isabela is all over lmao. She starts on left pan (-30) then pan max left as she exits stage right. Then when she and Pepa switched stage sides, Isabela’s track pans very fast to the right.

(“My power would grow...”) She’s back on left pan (-30).

(“He told me…”) She’s on right pan now.

(“And I’m fine…”) She pans further to the right (+40 or so). But on the last “I’m fine”, she pans fast to the left (-20) as her animation also move stage right.

CAMILO

(Camilo’s 1st Stanza) Camilo is on right pan (+40 maybe)

(Camilo 2nd Stanza) Camilo is on left pan now (-40 or so).

DOLORES

(Dolores rap) Dolores is very hard to hear but she very slowly pans from far left (-40 to -50) to center-right (+20 or so) until her rap ends.

(Dolores Verse 2) Dolores stays on right pan.

Overall:

(“Time for dinner!”) Pepa and Julieta are on left and right on both official and movie audio.

The original version is second best in balancing. Dolores is very hard to hear, took me many replays to hear her clearly. Isabela’s “I’m fine” also went over my ears until I heard the stem tracks. Pepa and Felix’s audio dominates most of the first verse.

No Se Habla De Bruno

Official Audio: Same positions as the English and Filipino version. Doesnt move.

(“A la mesa!”) The voices are on center and right pan.

Everyone is perfectly balanced imo. No one is overpowering one another. Amazing! Better than the original.

Movie Audio: Has the exact same panning as the English and Filipino version.

(“A la mesa!”) The voices are separated far left and far right.

Camilo is noticeably quieter all throughout than in the official audio.

Overall:

imo the Spanish version has the best balancing out of the three. You can hear everyone very clearly, especially Dolores whose track is often too buried under in other versions (even the original).

On the final harmonizing “Don’t talk about Bruno” line, they seem to back up the voice actors with choir and it seems to have more wider acoustics on it in the movie audio but not in the official audio? Unless it was super nerfed in the official audio.

Wag Ikuwento si Bruno

Official Audio:

Same positions as the English and Spanish version. Doesnt move.

(“Hoy ang mesa!”) Pepa and Julieta are both on center and the voices that harmonize are on the far left and far right - which is not good imo bc (1) the harmony is too spread out; (2) there’s not much difference in timbre between Pepa and Julieta and they’re both singing the main melody so the center is overpowering and monotonous.

Camilo and Felix are loudest, Pepa’s track is more quiet than Isabela. Dolores’ track is super muddy but can be heard in the first repeat of the final chorus, but on the second repeat, she is as loud as Camilo and Isabela’s track while Pepa and Felix are subdued.

Movie Audio:

Has the exact same panning as the English and Spanish version.

(“Hoy ang mesa!”) Pepa and Julieta’s voice is separated on left and right, but the left side is louder than the right. But it’s so much better than the official audio because they’re on stereo with the harmonizing voices instead of clashing in center.

Felix, Pepa and Isabela are the loudest all throughout. Dolores can’t be heard at all start-to-finish, and Camilo is quieter than in the original and Spanish version.

Overall:

The worst balancing out of the three imo. Dolores’ track is practically non-existent (except maybe the Official Audio, at least she sounds better there).

However, I like this version’s final harmonizing “Wag Ikuwento si Bruno” better than the English and Spanish. I like that the higher register seems to be heard more, and generally the way it was sung felt more powerful.

I also want to note that in Camilo’s verse, Dolores’ last “We don’t talk about Bruno” is noticeably very quiet; I thought it wasn’t sung until I amped up the volume.

Conclusion!

I assume they have like an official guide or notes for how they did the panning for both the official audio and the movie audio. Maybe because the panning had to follow the character animation on where they move on screen so the audio experience matches the visual.

But they didn’t seem to have an official guide on mixing and balancing, probably because of different recording equipment and studio environments.

My ranking based on balancing and mixing:

Spanish

English

Filipino

My ranking based on best harmony:

Filipino

English

Spanish

These rankings also remains the same for other songs (yeah i listened to them all). If a music student or professional comes across this post, I might’ve used incorrect terminology and analyzed the panning incorrectly, so I don’t mind being corrected!

alr yapping’s over

[izavella21]

The Use of Color in Character Design

One detail in character design that I’ve grown to really like is when certain colors, and sometimes patterns or accessories, are used to convey or hint at some type of connection between the characters involved. 

Here are some examples that I really like:

(Please note that a lot of these are my own speculation. I have no idea if these details and meanings were the artist’s and designers’ intentions when designing these characters, so please take this with a grain of salt)

Sonic The Hedgehog

Tails looks up to Sonic, and they’re close friends. Sonic and Tails both wear red and white shoes, as well as similar gloves. (I love that most of the Sonic characters’ gloves look like the basic cartoon white gloves at first glance, but they’re stylized to fit that character’s personality)

Later in the Sonic IDW comics, we get Surge and Kit, who are based on Sonic and Tails. Obviously, they wear the same shade of yellow, and their gloves and wrist bracers are identical. In this case, they were literally made for each other, so I think it would make sense for Starline to have them be matching to a degree. 

Encanto:

Encanto is full of examples of color used like this! A lot of details in the Encanto characters’ character designs show their connection. But for now, I’m going to focus on color specifically.

Okay, first, all the Madrigals are shown wearing white at their gift ceremony, before switching to a more colorful outfit afterwards. This is most prominently shown with Antonio, and briefly in Mirabel’s flashback.

Pepa’s side of the family wears warm colors. Mostly shades of yellow and orange. 

Dolores is shown wearing mostly red, which makes her stand out, but also blend in with her parents and siblings, at least to me. I’m not sure if that means anything. Antonio also wears a red scarf, so in that regard, Dolores matches her brother. 

Julietta’s side of the family wears shades of blue. 

Everyone except for Isabela that is. I’ve seen some people say that Isabela’s dress is pink, and I’ve heard others say that it’s purple or lilac. I think both make sense for her. Pink is Abuela’s color, and Isabela is shown to be the favorite grandchild. And if you really look into it, Abuela Alma seems to try to live her ideal life through Isabela, hence she might have influenced Isabela’s wardrobe, hence them both wearing pink.

Or, if you think Isabela’s dress is a pale purple, that also works, because purple can be made by mixing pink, Alma’s color, and blue, Jullieta’s color. 

In her song “What Else Can I Do?” Isabela’s dress gets painted with several colors, the most prominent of which being blue, yellow, and red, which are the colors of the Colombian flag, where Encanto is based.

At the end of the movie, Isabela’s dress is colored mostly blue, the same color as her parents and sisters.

Bruno wears green, which is yellow and blue mixed together. In other words, Bruno’s color is his sisters’ colors mixed together. 

And Mirabel’s dress contains lots of images that relate to her family’s gifts, but there’s no image relating to Bruno. However, Mirabel’s connection to Bruno is shown by her glasses being green, Bruno’s color.

Danganronpa:

The most obvious one: Junko’s outfit is black and white with red details. Similar to Monokuma.

Mukuro’s outfit when she’s disguised as Junko has a similar color palette. Makes sense. She’s in disguise, so she’s supposed to look identical to Junko at first glance. Does this count as foreshadowing to the mastermind reveal?

Chiaki’s design shares multiple elements with Usami/Monomi, including a similar shade of pink.

Not sure if this was intentional or not, but Hajime and Nagito have similar colors in their designs (mostly white and green). They are very much foils for each other.

Kaede and Kaito have similar colors in their design. There’s a lot of parallels between them and they play similar roles, particularly when it comes to supporting Shuichi. This one might be coincidence, but still.

Last but not least, Kaito’s associated with the color purple, Shuichi is associated with blue, and Maki is associated with red. Blue and red mixed together makes purple. In other words, Kaito’s color is his sidekicks’ colors mixed together. 

I think this is my favorite example on this list because it's subtle, and it doesn't register until well into the game.

At the start of V3, Shuichi Kaito and Maki have no meaningful relationship with each other, so you don’t think the colors used in their designs have any meaning. Then as the story progresses, their friendship gradually forms and develops. Key word being GRADUALLY, until you get to the scene in chapter 4 where they sit down and chat, and that scene has a dedicated image of them sitting together in a circle (also, Kaito is pictured between Shuichi and Maki, which makes the detail of their colors even more apparent). And you can look at that image and go “oh, that detail makes so much sense now!”.

Thank you for reading!

[thelegendcreator]

Alright, time to add to the tradition of analyzing random scenes and making meta posts!

I was watching a GIF over and over again when I noticed a couple things. It might not be much, but they’re there.

First off is this little picture of a rat in what seems to be gladiator armor (or Viking clothes), on the floor at the bottom right when Mirabel first sees Bruno’s wall room.

In fact, in 1893, a book titled Beric the Briton was written by a man named G. A. Henty. It’s about the son of a very influential woman that feels ostracized by his own tribe, but trains them to be able to fight a foreign enemy—which, in this case, are the very Romans that taught him. He later goes on to be a, you guessed it, gladiator. By the end of the book, he falls in love with a Roman named Amelia after saving her Christian sister from being killed by a lion in the Colosseum.

Does that first part—the son of an influential woman being ostracized by his own tribe because he knows things they don’t—sound familiar?

Who knows, maybe I read way too much into it. But maybe he really did relate with Beric to the point of drawing a rat AU. The blurry drawing on the left side of the paper does look suspiciously like a well-off Roman woman…

On another note, I really hope he uses some kind of bookmark, because this:

this is downright sacrilege.

I hope, for that poor book’s sake, that it was just an accident.

And Jorge’s bucket is hung right next to his hammock, just in case there’s some spackle to be made first thing in the morning! It even has the same dent.

[noperopesaredope]

The Encanto Neurodivergent Discourse: A Retrospective (Kinda)

So I was thinking back on the Encanto neurodivergent discourse that occurred after the movie came out, and I realized that there was a huge misunderstanding between the two sides that caused the main part of the discourse. So I decided to do a small retrospective type thing on this discourse, my opinions, and where each side went wrong/misunderstood the other’s argument.

So, first let’s start with the elephant in the room: Bruno. If you’ve seen some of my posts on this topic, you know where I stood/stand. Of course, my opinions have slightly altered to become more neutral (or at least softer) on this particular point, but I would still like to explain and unpack where each side went wrong here.

In my personal experience, the reason that multiple neurodivergent people believe/believed that Bruno is neurodivergent isn’t because of his superstitions, but because of multiple of his other mannerisms, as well as how it ties to one of the themes of the movie, or at least what he represents in terms of the main theme. I originally thought to myself, “oh my god, this bitch be autistic,” not when he started doing the rituals, but actually when he was first introduced and how he spoke to Mirabel. He stared at her for a few seconds before abruptly saying “bye,” and brushing past her. I (and others) have actually done this in real life, sometimes mid conversation.

His speaking mannerisms are also very familiar, with the way he rambles and how his phrases things, as well as how his sentence structures flow. And when he was explaining stuff about his visions, we realize that many of the visions mentioned in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” were likely just regular predictions, showing that he is likely very blunt. The wedding incident, as he explained, was mainly just him not at all reading the room or knowing how to properly comfort his sister. This is common for people with things like autism, and likely other neurodivergent things that affect socializing. It’s less about the rituals, and more about the socialization style.

Now onto to talking about how OCD works and why Bruno’s rituals are seen as parts of OCD. I myself have OCD (very mild in terms of most rituals, but very intense in terms of intrusive thoughts, so highly stressful) and a good understanding of the disorder, so I believe I can add my two cents in a credible manner.

OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) is a neurological condition in which an individual will experience unwanted, excessing, persistent, recurring thoughts that will cause the person to engage in repetitive behaviors in order to diminish the amount/intensity of the thoughts.

The reason people felt that Bruno likely had OCD was not really because of the rituals themselves, but how often Bruno did them and when. 

Most people would perform good luck rituals if they saw a sign that something bad was going to happen. For example, breaking a mirror is bad luck, so it would be reasonable to do something that would ward off that bad luck. You could also do such rituals if you needed extra good luck for something, like an important test. I myself do this sometimes (I’m not superstitious, but I’m also kinda superstitious), and it has nothing to do with my OCD.

But Bruno doesn’t seem to just do it when bad luck comes around, or when he needs good luck. He seems to do it a lot more excessively than most people, and it seems that he believes that there is always bad luck in the air. He seems to be doing these rituals repetitively.

And I honestly think that, because his rituals originate from his culture, it makes for better representation. You see, OCD rituals typically aren’t completely random. While things like counting tiles can be “random” rituals, the most likely way OCD will manifest is tied to the nature of some of the intrusive thoughts, as well as some of the individual’s other fears. Their rituals will then often be tied to something familiar or even something comforting. While this is not always the case, it can be. For example, say someone has OCD, and a majority of their intrusive thoughts revolve around germs. This may cause them to persistently clean their hands, and they will do this repetitively, even when they have no reasonable reason to believe that they are “contaminated.”

In Bruno’s case, his thoughts most likely seem to be that he is bad luck, causes bad luck, or bad luck is at every turn. These thoughts are likely constant and persistent, so he feels a consistent need to ward off bad luck. This is why he will perform rituals known to cause good luck and ward off bad luck, just like washing your hands will make germs go away. That’s why I think he has OCD.

It also adds to his theme in the movie, which a lot of neurodivergent people can relate to: being an outcast in the family, the one who acts strangely, the one who seems to be “embarrassing” to the family, the one that no one talks about (or they talk too much about). I have family members who can relate to this, because though we have multiple autistic folks in the extended family tree, not many in said tree seem to fully understand what it is like to be on the spectrum or generally neurodivergent. I see multiple of my family members who are like Bruno in that specific way, and it kinda made me cry.

So it makes a lot of sense why people would view him that way.

But here’s where things went wrong. First, many neurodivergent people got so excited about the prospect of having good representation, they got a bit carried away, and, from what I’ve heard, started saying that the movie was about neurodivergent representation, or they completely ignored the Colombian representation. This was obviously very irritating to many Colombians, as this movie was very significant in terms of Colombian representation, and to ignore that was insulting.

When some Colombians started telling people that these rituals were actually a part of Colombian culture, a small, yet significant miscommunication/error occurred. Some of the more (I’m assuming) neurotypical Colombians seemed to assume that those headcanoning Bruno as neurodivergent were basing it solely on his rituals. From that assumption rose a (pretty reasonable) assumption that others saw Colombian superstitions as a whole as solely an OCD ritual rather than a cultural one. 

However, though these superstitions originated from Colombia (and I’m assuming other Latin American countries?), they are not unfamiliar to other countries and cultures. Even the least-Latino people I know were familiar with knocking on wood, crossing your fingers, or throwing salt over your shoulder for good luck. Many of them did it themselves. So I’m pretty sure that most people making the headcanons didn’t see the rituals as “exotic” or “strange”, but it is perfectly reasonable to assume that they did. 

A lot of non-Latino and non-Colombian folks were not completely familiar with Colombian culture or some little details they added to the film, and people who aren’t familiar with certain cultures tend to do that, which is frustrating. And there were definitely quite a lot of people in the fanbase who were constantly ignoring and brushing aside the Colombian aspects of the film.

But instead of trying to clear this matter up and explain why many neurodivergent people saw Bruno’s rituals as OCD rituals, most people immediately jumped to a defensive position, and became dismissive of their concerns over how people were portraying Colombian culture and even ignoring very valid points on how people were brushing over the importance of cultural representation in the film, because whether you like it or not, I will say that the primary representation in the film was cultural.

So many Colombians ended up feeling frustrated, because instead of having a proper conversation about how to interpret this part of Bruno’s character and see why people are perceiving him that way, many Colombian voices and concerns were drowned out, ignored, or even dismissed. Some people even dismissed Colombian culture entirely, and I remember seeing a few people basically say that those rituals weren’t actually a part of Colombian culture, which is a horrible thing to do/say.

The aggressive backlash to the points on cultural representation caused a responsive backlash from particularly frustrated Colombian voices. Though the loudest voices were likely the minority, they still had a strong negative impact. The loudest and most extreme voices essentially began dismissing neurodivergent voices, and even made some very ableist comments. This particular backlash (at least in many of the circles I was in) eventually began drowning out neurodivergent voices who were more willing to explain their stance, which caused its own wave of frustration, etc.

That was the main issue with that particular discourse.

Now for Dolores, that is a whole other story. From what I could find, the main (and lowkey only?) reason that people believed Dolores is neurodivergent is because of her “hm!” that she makes throughout the movie. Some say that this is a tic, others that this is a stim. I think some of us jumped to that conclusion way too quickly. Multiple Colombians explained that that is actually a cultural thing, something that many people do quite often. And they are likely right that this is not a sign of Dolores being neurodivergent. First off, she only makes this noise during very specific moments. If you replaced the sound with “huh!” or even “oh well!”, it wouldn’t feel that out of place. 

It is a response to situations, and specifically when she ends certain statements. So it is less random than a tic. She also never really uses it as a self soothing mechanism or a way to express certain emotions, which is what stims are mainly for. So we can likely rule out stimming. So it is perfectly reasonable for many Colombian folks to be frustrated about this, because it takes one trait and turns it into something else rather than a cultural element.

I think the reason some people may have jumped to the conclusion that it was a stim is because it is actually a very soothing sound that actually became a minor stim for me after I heard it. I don’t quite “copy” some people’s stims, but I may see/hear one, think it looks calming, do the thing, and then it becomes something that evolves into a stim. This is likely the reason that people thought that Dolores is neurodivergent: because they have/like that particular potential stim (or tic). 

Doesn’t really make it any better though, and it is probably pretty annoying to those who know that it’s most likely not a stim or tic in Dolores’ case. Especially since some neurodivergent folks were dismissing Colombian culture in the Bruno discourse, and it gets really frustrating and annoying after a while (or even the second it happens). Having every aspect of one’s culture be labelled as something else is uncomfortable, especially when (I assume) many of the people making these headcanons were White Americans who know nothing about Colombia or even Latin America.

So that is where the neurodivergent side of the discourse were the most in the wrong.

For little things like Neurodivergent Mirabel headcanons? Eh, they seem to be more obscure and are truly just headcanons. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone try to actively prove that she or any other characters are neurodivergent, it’s more just a basic neurodivergent headcanon like any other.

I won’t even get into what went wrong with the “Lesbian Isabella” discourse (especially since I didn’t really pay attention to that one, and this post is about the neurodivergent discourse), but all I’ll say on that is that Colombian lesbians should probably be the ones to decide whether or not we should write Lesbian Isabella stuff. I personally think it can be harmless to portray a character as queer whether they are actually queer or not in canon, but for cases like Encanto, which takes place in a specific country with a specific culture, I think we should always consider what it is like to be queer in that specific country and culture. Not every queer community across the world is going to be the same, and we need to respect that. A queer Colombian will have a very different experience from a, for example, queer American. 

This can honestly apply to all the discourse. The main reason I like the idea of Bruno being neurodivergent is because, as I said in a poem I wrote here on Tumblr, I have an autistic Colombian American older cousin, and her heritage affects her experience with that part of her identity. Most autistic portrayals we see in the media are from a White (and non-Hispanic) lens, and most of the time, they’re not even that good! So for a Colombian person to be seen in that way is amazing. But that type of representation is mainly for those whose intersectionality is never represented. We need to show and respect that intersectionality as much as possible, and should be careful with how we portray someone with that type of intersectional experience.

But enough on that. If you’re reading this part, thank you for reading this giant post analyzing and explaining this specific subject. I hope you enjoyed, and please add your thoughts in the replies and reblogs!

[thisstableground]

Hi, I'm curious about something and you're like the one person I know who knows both characters so what would a meeting between Usnavi and Bruno be like? Just wondering

(this is broadway usnavi btw, i haven’t seen the movie)

okay! so, i actually think that bruno and usnavi have way more in common than you’d think just from a quck glance.

usnavi is clearly deeply loved by his community, whereas bruno is shunned by his, but (at least before usnavi’s character arc in the show) both of them feel on the outside of things. it’s probably not a coincidence that usnavi’s the only one breaking the fourth wall in ITH. he’s really no more the main character than, say, nina, but he is the one who chats with the audience directly, and i think that reflects the fact that he feels, like the audience, that he’s watching everyone else’s lives rather than participating himself. the world spins around while i'm frozen to my seat. and isn’t that so similar to bruno, sitting isolated in his room, watching visions of everyone else’s lives but never getting out himself, or putting on his rat plays in his space behind the wall? they both view themselves more in the role of narrator or observer, not a character with their own arc.

it’s obviously got a different vibe. i don’t think usnavi realises quite to what extent he’s loved by the people around him (he seems absolutely baffled by sonny and vanessa being upset about him leaving) but he definitely does not feel unloved. i think bruno also doesn’t realise how loved he is, but in his case he also has very good reasons to feel unloved, and is much less welcomed by the wider community (though perhaps when he was younger, this was different). and i definitely get the impression that usnavi’s relationship with his parents was an affectionate one, not a fraught one like bruno’s.

but there is that sense, for both of them, of having lost the thread of their individual identity under all the pressure of legacy and lost parents and their role and duty to their community. and both of them are stuck. they're living a life that isn't where they want it to be, there are things they want and relationships they crave but they can't move out of the place they're trapped in. there is also the sense that some part of is their own subconscious doing.

i always interpret usnavi’s as a result of anxiety that largely comes from losing his parents, a past that he can't change but wishes he could: what if he makes a wrong choice and something else bad happens, what if he loses someone else or loses his memory of his parents? better keep things exactly the same, to be safe. and bruno's as a result of seeing futures that he can't change but wishes he could, and what if he is cursed? what if he is the reason things go wrong? better knock on wood, hold your breath, spin in a circle, to be safe. when your life throws you a pain that you can't control, you create a routine that you can control, even if it eventually takes over and controls you.

usnavi's goal for a long time is to go back to the dominican republic, apparently, but until abuela claudia wins the lotto it really doesn’t look like he’s got any intention of taking steps towards that. and bruno is very similar - doesn’t actually manage to run away, because he’s too connected to his home and his family, but he doesn’t know how to change things so he just hides, stays the same, watches everything else grow and change without him. i’d bet that usnavi and bruno have had similar thoughts so many times of like “oh i’ll ask vanessa out, i'll sell the store, i'll move to DR. one day. probably. not yet.” and “i’ll talk to my sisters, i'll leave the encanto properly, i'll go outside. at some point. probably. not yet.”

and part of that pressure is external circumstances, but part of it is self-imposed, as a defense mechanism. if you lose yourself in your work or your duty to that extent, if you hide behind the things that are honest about it, then you always have an excuse to tell yourself for the rest. someone does always need coffee or a vision or a stable job or to be protected, that's true, so you can pretend that you're putting that big plan off because you're just too busy with all that other stuff, not because you're scared to do it. stay in the store. stay behind the walls. part of it is kindness, or duty, or practicality, yes. part of it is fear.

oh and speaking of abuelas! (though, again with a very different vibe depending who we're talking abut) i think both of them are very led by their love and respect for the respective maternal figures in their lives, but that this clouds their own desires/goals. claudia says to her own mama, "i spent my life inheriting dreams from you", and i think that without meaning to, the same happens with her and usnavi about moving to the dominican republic. as soon as it was him making the choice alone, he realised that it wasn’t what he wanted. i think there’s always some part of him that does want that a little, i doubt claudia picked that up from nothing, but it’s possible that she read usnavi's vague ideas of going to DR more strongly through her own experience of missing where her family came from, the part of her that regrets not going back to cuba, and didn’t recognise that the indecision probably meant part of usnavi felt it wasn't right for him.

and that’s so similar for alma, though it's much more harsh and hurtful in this instance: she parents her children and grandchildren based on her own history and regret and fear and wishes. she wants a safe place to hide, she wants outsiders not to find them or cause them harm: bruno lives up to that and then some when he goes into the walls. and he convinces himself it's the best choice for himself and for the family, but it isn’t. they probably don’t even realise that it’s something he learned from her example.

neither claudia nor alma mean any harm by this, they try their best, and they sacrifice for it: alma locks away her own grief and her trauma to build a whole community from the ground. claudia could use her lotto money to go back to la vibora after days into weeks into years away from home, but it’s puerto plata that they’re getting a plane ticket for, usnavi's island, not hers. they’re both misguided, their own pasts biasing their perception, but they do love their kids.

anyway!! you asked what it'd be like if they met, not for a list of things they have in common or for an extensive meta about abuelas. tough shit i guess you got that too.

so. i think that usnavi may see the similarities between himself and bruno, but he doesn’t strike me as the kind of person who dislikes people who he can see his own flaws/insecurities in. if anything it just makes him reach out to them more. i think he would want to help. he’s been scared and lonely and saddled with too much responsibility from too young an age and felt like he lost everything before, too, but he’s doing so much better now, and he'd want to extend that hope to anyone else who is struggling similarly. and what bruno needs more than anything is to be shown kindness and acceptance, both things that usnavi can very easily give. i also think usnavi has absolutely no concept of people being weird, he’s extroverted and makes friends easily but he’s not exactly Mr Social Cues himself. bruno could say the most absolute batshit thing you’ve ever heard and usnavi would just be like “lmao yeah i get u :)))"

bruno, on the other hand, probably would struggle to like someone who he felt was too much like himself, but i don’t think he’d see usnavi that way. someone who has struggles, fears, insecurities that bruno does relate to, but who unlike bruno is also bubbly and bouncy and chatty, and who is trying so, so hard all the time to be positive (even when it would be healthier to let themselves feel angry, or sad, or hurt, even when it's blatantly obvious that they are feeling those things), someone who helps other people when they're in the middle of their own crisis and who thinks of themselves as just a totally unremarkable, ordinary, nothing-special person because they don’t see the way that everyone gravitates towards their warmth and kindness. he’s not going to see himself in usnavi. he’s going to see mirabel.

they’d get along great.

[imaginationfanstar]

So I was listening to We Don’t Talk About Bruno with my headphones in and I noticed something. So obviously everyone repeats their verses at the end of the song but usually I can only make out Pepa, Camilo, and Isabela. While Dolores is drowned out. However, she too is singing you can make her out when she says: betrothed to another. However, I also noticed that she along with Isabela sings: And I’m fine, I am fine, yes I’m fine, I am fine; before Everyone calls out: he’s here!

It’s a blink and you miss it detail that’s really interesting. Especially if you were to put the lyrics into prose. It’s also a significant call back to Waiting on a Miracle when Mirabel says she’s fine before admitting she’s not fine. Another crack hiding Under the Surface. 😏

[youhaveadamproblem]

Due to my annual rewatch I finally need to say something I haven't read anywhere:

Bruno's Vision about the Dolores shows that he didn't see far enough. He also did this with the vision that Mirabel sees, because he broke up before he could see the whole thing, or the true ending.

With Mirabel, he first sees her breaking (or not breaking) Casita, then she's there with him 10yrs later and tells him to see more, so he sees the butterfly and the Isabela Hug.

With the vision for Dolores he probably saw her being sad while looking at Mariano (or "A guy"), and probably COULD have seen more, if he just waited.

And that may be true for more than just these two visions.

[yellowcry]

I've seen people saying that Mirabel has a bit greening skirt as a reference to her similarity with Bruno

But, honestly

Julieta has way more teal clothes. And I think Mirabel's color referring to her mom

[jacarandaaaas]

ooh its 2023 and I’m still seeing the WORST takes on alma. I swear people pick and choose what to say to justify her being a “villain”. Oh she “never apologized” she actually did twice 🤨. “mirabel should have ran away forever” mirabel is a 15 year old girl who was willing to be crushed by her own house for the sake of her family what sense does her running away forever make? yes it makes sense in the movie because she was at her lowest but her family do actually care about her??? Bruno also got an apology it was just shorter because people don’t understand that animated movies cant have as large run times because they are primarily catered towards young children with very small attention spans. I’m sure there was loads of reconciliation cut out because of that reason only. Anyways it’s 2023 and I’m tired of people still somehow misinterpreting such a simple message with alma and her story. I’ve seen CHILDREN young CHILDREN analyze encanto better than a lot of bitches on tiktok

[phoenixlionme]

Encanto: Madrigal Family Relationship Analysis Part 30 - Isabela and Bruno

Both are the golden child of their respective generations/sibling groups. Both always under the ever-demanding pressure of strict matriarch, Alma. And both, in their own ways, emotionally drifted away from their families, even having a strained relationship with one of their sisters. Despite their outwardly different demeanors, both uncle and niece have much in common. And I believe this is one of the reasons why Isabela was one of the few who spoke highly of him during WDTAB; he was one of the few who could truly understand the pressure she was under. On his end, Bruno deeply loves his niece, just as much as he does his other nieces and nephews. And I think Bruno would be one she would listen to with utmost reverence (possibly only seconded by Dolores and Mirabel). Bruno, like with all his nieces and nephews, loves Isabela with all his heart; I believe he would help give her advice on how to better cope with the trauma of being the "Golden Child". Like with Pepa, Bruno would encourage Isabela to explore her powers while Isabela would encourage Bruno to pursue his own personal passions (i.e., acting). While Bruno and Isabela are closer to Mirabel and Pepa, respectively, the uncle and niece have a quiet understanding of one another and are all about supporting each other in being their genuine selves.

[pinkytoothlesso11]

What are your thoughts on Encanto?

I mean I only watched it once, and that was quite a while ago, so some of my thoughts might be a little vague...

Overall it was a good film, I wouldn't say its the best Disney film, cause it had some issues, but most of the songs were really, really good. And I enjoyed them immensely, this from someone who doesn't love musicals.

Bruno and Mirabel were my favourite characters, but I hated how the rest of the family generally treated them. With Bruno literally exiled, and Mirabel looked down on because she didn't have a gift. I wish that was addressed more at the end, especially in relation to Alma.

Otherwise, story was engaging, the animation smooth and nice to look at, and most of the characters were unique and memorable.

Although I do feel like the ending should have been either Mirabel gets a gift finally, or the rest of the family don't gain them back. Because Mirabel deserved a gift that suited her generous and kind personality.