#the point is that mirabel’s family especially her abuela needed to learn how to treat her better

[mime-rodeo]

still mad about how media illiterate people were when encanto came out

[vaguelyominouscoconuts]

Let's talk about how adults other than Abuela Alma contributed to the generational trauma.

So it's pretty common knowledge at this point that the only "villain" in Encanto is generational trauma, but people only seem to recognize Abuela Alma as perpetrating it. Yeah, maybe she's the biggest culprit, but she's not the *only* culprit. With that in mind, let's talk about the triplets.

Pepa

Pepa is volatile, highly emotional. And while that can be difficult on the best of days, it's made even worse by the fact that her being upset could cause a literal hurricane. Her children have probably learned that they need to tiptoe around her. They wouldn't want to risk upsetting her in case they cause a hurricane. And when she *is* upset, it falls on them to calm her down (as we see Camilo doing). I do think that Felix has done a great job trying to take that burden off their shoulders, but he can't do it completely. He's the only adult that listens to Pepa and tries to help her instead of telling her to bottle up her emotions. He's only one man, there's only so much he can do by himself.

Pepa has also unwittingly taught her kids to bottle up their emotions. They've grown up seeing that getting upset not only causes bad weather, but also incites the displeasure of Abuela. So they learned that "for the sake of the family," they need to keep it to themselves. This doesn't seem to affect Antonio so much as it does Dolores and Camilo. I mean, they don't even get songs about their problems like the other kids do. With Dolores especially, we see that she's kept quiet about how she's in love with Mariano, and how seeing him court Isabela really hurts her. And for someone who tells everyone everything and can barely keep a secret, keeping something like this to herself is a big deal.

Julieta

I wouldn't be surprised if Julieta feels like she's under a mountain of pressure. I mean, she is single-handedly responsible for the health of an entire community. Imagine how much food she has to cook, and how long that takes. Now, we never really see Abuela scolding Julieta like she does the others, so I think that Julieta is sort of the Isabela of her generation. She's perfect, her gift is useful, she lives up to Abuela's expectations. I think that she's unknowingly passed this pressure onto her daughters. She doesn't want them to end up being treated like Bruno or Pepa, so she's probably pushed them towards doing everything they can to meet Abuela's expectations. And this has obviously taken its toll on them. Isabela feels like she has to be perfect like her mother, Louisa feels like she has to do everything like her mother, Mirabel is trying so hard to meet Abuela's expectations like her mother and sisters.

And when Mirabel talks to her mother about her problems, confesses how unspecial she feels, Julieta sort of brushes her off (I mean not exactly brushes her off, but you get it. "You have depression? Here, let me tell you a joke. Are you happy yet?" vibes). She obviously wants to help Mirabel and make her feel better, but she's not going about it the right way. When Mirabel says "I'm not special," Julieta just says "Yes you are" and basically leaves it at that. That's not what Mirabel needs nor wants to hear. She doesn't want to be told pretty lies and placations. I don't know how to put it to words, but it's like she's trying to get Mirabel to not think about her problems or something. If anything, this probably makes Mirabel feel even *more* unspecial, like her problems don't matter. I think Julieta just doesn't understand what Mirabel is going through, no matter how hard she tries.

We don't talk about Bruno

Bruno disappeared without a word. While it would have been hard for his mother and siblings, imagine how traumatizing it would have been for Isabela, Dolores, and Louisa (especially the first two, since they are the oldest and remember him the best). Imagine you're a child who has spent your *entire* life with someone, only for them to disappear without a trace. It would have been earth-shattering, confusing, unbearably upsetting.

Bruno showed them that if they weren't good enough, if they didn't live up to Abuela Alma's expectations, if they weren't useful to the family, they'd be *shunned* from the family. They'd be treated as if they never existed. Bruno confirmed for them that there were *real* consequences for not being perfect, which put more pressure on them to not make the same mistakes as him. Of course, Dolores could hear him in the walls. Knowing he was still there, that he hadn't just gotten eaten by a leopard or something, probably taught her that running away from your problems is an option. We don't see her doing that in the movie (we barely see her at *all* in the movie, which I will forever be upset about), but I think it's a possibility. And it definitely served as further confirmation that she needs to keep her issues to herself or risk having to run away.

So, yeah. The triplets aren't perfectly innocent either. But like Abuela, that doesn't make them villains. It just makes them deeply damaged people who need a chance to heal.

[toothlesshat]

I think that I like Encanto so much (besides feeling very represented) is because Mirabel’s conflict is so good and well written and unique. Like, they easily could’ve had her go on a mission to “find her gift” or just said “she’s worked so hard here have a gift” at the end of the movie as a reward, but they don’t! Mirabel actually seems pretty okay without a gift, she doesn’t resent the magic or her family for what happened and has so much pride in them not because she’s trying to show off having an important family, but because she genuinely loves them. When she sings about wanting a gift, it’s different because she’s not singing about wanting the power that comes with it or the fame her family members get, but she wants them (mostly Abuela Alma) to see her worth and, when her Abuela only seems to value the gift rather than the person, she thinks that she’ll always be overlooked. Instead of seeking out the answer as to why she didn’t get a gift, she tries to make them see her for her. She sets out to show them that she can be just as useful being herself and essentially gain their respect.

But the beautiful part of this is that she never needed to do any of that!

Mirabel was always valuable, she had worth just by being born, it was up to her family (MOSTLY AND ESPECIALLY ALMA) to see it. I think the scene where Alma yells at her to stop is really powerful because Mirabel realizes that she’s been seeking out approval from someone who’s determined not to give it to her. She realizes that even though she’s done nothing but protect her family, Alma is never going to see that, she’ll only see what she chooses to and she is worth so much more than that. And the story doesn’t stop with Mirabel either! She sees the way her sisters are overworked and the way Bruno was unfairly ostracized- but I’m talking about Mirabel here so I’ll save that for another rant lol.

And the Dos Oruguitas scene is really beautiful for her too because Alma really does see Mirabel for who she is. She holds Mirabel close and tells her that when she asked for help “[Abluelo Pedro] sent me you” finally recognizing Mirabel for who she is!! She’s a blessing to their family!! She doesn’t need a gift and never did to help her family and she is finally seen.

In the end, when everything is said and done, the magic returns to them not because Mirabel was secretly magical all along or something convoluted like that, but because they learned to value each other as people. Mirabel is finally seen for who she really is and is loved all the same because her and her family are miracles that in of themselves.

Side tangent, but I also like how Mirabel is told a fair amount of times that she’s special just how she is but she never truly believes it. Her parents are extremely supportive of her and they, especially her mom, are always reaffirming her that she has nothing to prove but she never takes it to heart. To her, they’re empty words because nobody else treats her like that. The townsfolk are inconsiderate and her family tiptoes the issue or ignores it altogether. When she tells the kids she has no gift, she understands that they’re young and have no filter but she’s obviously upset to see their disappointment. Hell, she even tries to reassure herself at times but we can tell she’s having trouble believing it. I think the only time before the finale that she’s reminded of her worth and seems to actually be moved by it is when Bruno tells her. He tells her that she’s exactly what her family needs and that it’s up to her to see. She looks visibly moved at that point because, well, nobody who isn’t her or her parents has ever told her that before. You can tell she really starts to believe in herself there! It’s a little detail but I like how grounded it makes her feel as both a really well written character but also a teenager trying to understand her self.

Just!! Ugh!! I love this movie so much :)