Review: Disney’s “Encanto” shines with Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical brilliance, character depth

Three stars. Rated PG. 1 hour, 49 minutes. In theaters.

Mirabel Madrigal is an average child in a magical family — a feeling many adolescents can no doubt relate to.

In Disney’s new computer-animated movie, “Encanto,” the curly-haired, bespectacled Colombian girl suddenly finds herself struggling with her family’s approval as the Madrigals near an important rite for all young family members: the discovery of their unique powers, symbolized by a glowing door that leads into a fantastical realm (or their bedroom, as it were).

Well, all except Mirabel, voiced by Stephanie Beatriz (Det. Rosa Diaz on “Brooklyn Nine Nine”). She has no magical powers, a fact that everyone’s happy to remind her of. Fortunately, Mirabel’s not a boilerplate teenage outcast. She’s a little weird and insecure, but also funny and sensitive and headstrong in ways the people of her village aren’t. That makes her the right focal point for an epic, family-friendly tale with a surprisingly intimate feel.

With typically tender, stirring music from Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Surface Pressure” is destined to become a YouTube banger) and an unprecedented investment in its South American characters and Spanglish dialogue, “Encanto” also represents another jump forward for a company that’s found success with diverse protagonists (see recent MCU, Star Wars and Disney+ releases). “Encanto” works, however, because it’s a universal fable about failing to live up to standards amid long-held secrets, family spats and selfish myth-making.

With the warm, earthy color palette for its mountain-jungle setting — reminiscent of the island paradise in “Moana,” which also featured Miranda’s original music — and fetching character models, the film is a grab-bag of eye candy. Its bubble-eyed cuteness and lack of obvious stakes can feel glazing at times, but its supporting characters (all of whom get an impressive amount of screen time and depth) feel more fleshed-out than in most animated films.

The gorgeous, lilting Isabela (Diane Guerrero) leaves a trail of intoxicating flowers wherever she goes. Luisa (Jessica Darrow), on the other hand, possesses Herculean strength (which also reads as “less femininity”) and uses it to keep all manner of crises in her enchanted, agricultural village at bay.