Isabella is the oldest sibling within Augustin and Julietta's family. Isabella's ability to grow flowers and other plants on a whim are explored fairly well, but her development as a character is just as interesting. One thing that makes me relate to her on a very small level is how the pressure of expectations can either make or break you over time. The pressures that are put onto her revolve around perfectionism, and with my Astrological sign being a Virgo, I very well understand how perfectionism is a hard thing to combat or deal with sometimes. In the case of this movie however, the standards or excuses for Isabella's situation stem from Abuela Alma and her need to preserve the magical candle that harnesses the family's powers, which subconsciously made her seek the need to give an overbearing amount of responsibilities to those whose powers seemed to be the most useful to the family and the community.
It's somewhat implied in the script that Isabella's powers have left her feeling isolated, sad and eventually resentful, but she would always cover this up with a smile. Given the situation that she was forced into, one conclusion that could be made is that because she is one of the older grandchildren that Alma had, upon receiving her power growing up, Isabella only took at the chance to be "perfect" because she loves her Abuela and wanted her approval, and any other feelings she had of her own were just hard to navigate or deal with. If all she wanted was for her Abuela to approve of her, then why did she spend so much of her life putting on a facade to the point that no one ever questioned if she herself truly felt happy on the inside? A lot of fans like to debate on other points of emotions like jealousy of her sister or some other notion that has to do with Mirabel, but any history between the two characters when putting them side by side just doesn't seem to be well fleshed out. The only reason that Isabella has for "hating" on her sister would be that she continuously messes things up for her, but within the context of the entire movie, we only see this happening twice, and the reasons in each situation are different.
In reality, a dynamic like this between two sisters is very much common, and while things in reality may work a little different (or maybe not), you really can't expect much realism from a Disney movie in this current era at least. That's like expecting the players in a sports show to be less gritty and dirty with each other, but when everything's said and done, Encanto does a great job of portraying different themes that all connect together.
To tie this in with my next analysis, the dynamic between Luisa and Mirabel is definitely less catty, but it still holds a lot of interest for me. Mirabel's gift, if anything, is her ability to bring the family together through empathy, kindness and understanding, and she gives plenty of that after the song Surface Pressure comes to a close. Like Isabella, Luisa is handed over a lot of pressure. Some of it obviously comes from Abuela Alma since Luisa is seen as "the strong one", being able to lift basically anything, but a lot of it also comes from the community and the many duties that they can't seem to fulfill on their own, like rallying up a bunch of donkeys or re-shifting the structure of a church building. Speaking of the song that spotlights Luisa's struggles, it's pretty telling that she struggles with seeing her own sense of worth or purpose because of her gift, thinking that her strength is the only thing that makes up her identity. When Mirabel runs up to hug her after the song is over, saying "I think you're carrying way too much", this very quickly leads to the two of them bonding, which makes for a very sweet and vulnerable moment, especially on Luisa's end.
Another thing that makes Luisa's relationship with Mirabel feel different from the other people in her family is that Luisa still tries to hold onto whatever youth she has, even with all the responsibilities that get pushed onto her. Not once does she display any signs of anger or resentment, and even when she does blow up the one time when Mirabel asks about Luisa's eye twitching, she's quick to apologize, even in the face of her struggling to keep her pride. Even in the beginning song ("The Family Madrigal"), she doesn't hesitate to do what she's told of Abuela or even the townspeople. Another thing to note is that during the chaotic dinner proposal scene, when Abuela asks Luisa to get the piano, her lip starts to quiver and she starts to feel sad, but once again, she does what she's told do anyways. She has a strong sense of duty and does what is asked of her, even if she doesn't feel happy doing so deep down. The amount of love that Luisa has for her family is apparent and that trait alone makes me not only appreciate her character more, but it's something that even I can relate to on a small level, working in retail where the staff is small and "like family" in some ways.
With both of these analyses on the table now, I think it's safe to say that I'll be making more Disney-related content this year than I have in the past. It's just a lot of fun to watch these movies for pleasure, and then sharing my thoughts and opinions on the different themes or topics that are represented in each one. Encanto has gotten so much attention and appraisal since it aired last year, and to me at least, it's well worth every nomination it's gotten so far. Thanks for reading this post from start to finish and have a great day!
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