The trailer for Disney’s Encanto brings the magic, adds Leguizamo, and curiously hides Lin-Manuel Miranda
Perhaps sensing a little Lin-Manuel Miranda backlash, the Encanto trailer is story first
The trailer for Disney’s Encanto is here, and it’s surprisingly light on songs for a movie featuring new songs by musical theater powerhouse Lin-Manuel Miranda. In fact, the trailer doesn’t even mention Miranda, who previously wrote for Disney’s Moana, and, of course, wrote and starred in Hamilton. Instead, we’re treated to the lush animation and story of a young Colombian girl who wants to restore the musical magic of her home.
Here’s the synopsis:
The film tells the tale of the Madrigals, an extraordinary family who live in a wondrous, charmed place called an Encanto. Each child has been blessed with a magic gift unique to them—each child except Mirabel. But when the family’s home is threatened, Mirabel may be their only hope.
Curiously enough, Encanto was supposed to be the capper on Lin-Manuel Miranda’s cinematic hat trick in 2021. But after the disappointing box office of In The Heights and the seeming non-existence of Vivo (remember Vivo?), Disney doesn’t mention the Hamilton superstar in the trailer for Encanto. We’ll know for sure when they start advertising the next Disney x Miranda collaboration: The Little Mermaid.
What Disney isn’t hiding, though, is that John Leguizamo has joined the voice cast, which already features Stephanie Beatriz, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, and María Cecilia Botero. In a statement, Leguizamo warned audiences that Miranda wrote a rap for him, so get ready for that. It’s also got some Disney vets behind it, too, with co-screenwriter Charise Castro Smith joining Byron Howard (Zootopia, Tangled) and Jared Bush (Zootopia) to direct the movie.
Also, according to IMDB trivia, Mirabel is the first Disney Princess to wear glasses, which can’t possibly be true because Chicken Little wore glasses. So maybe IMDB’s trivia page can knock it off with the Chicken Little erasure. Someone, please start a Change.org petition to canonize Chicken Little as a Disney princess.
Encanto dances into theaters this Thanksgiving.