How a trip to Colombia gave rise to ‘Encanto’, the new Disney animated film

The way to produce Charm has been as captivating and exciting as the visit that part of the film’s creative team made years ago to Colombia to familiarize themselves with its culture, faces and landscapes, which today are reflected in the new Disney film, next to premiere this November 25.

The curious travelers were the director Byron Howard (Zootopia, Tangled) and co-writer Jared Bush (Moana), who arrived in the South American country accompanied by Luis, father of the composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton).

“We went to Colombia and it was amazing, learn about the country with people who treated us like part of their family, while sharing their cultural heritage with us, its human warmth and its diversity ”, commented Howard during a press conference prior to the premiere of the film and to which La Revista was invited.

“It was a great moment for us, because Colombia is a meeting of culture, dance, food and tradition, and everything captivated us. We visit very small towns and also big cities, like Bogotá and Cartagena, which have a different vibe., but we always think about how to include those particularities and contrasts in ‘our family’ ”.

The family Howard is referring to are the Madrigal, whose members are the funny protagonists of the film. Them they live under the loving care of grandmother Alma, the matriarch of the home and connoisseur of the secrets of the magnificent house that brings together children and grandchildren under the same roof.

“I remember that during the trip my father told us a story about his grandmother in Puerto Rico that ended up being invaluable to the film”, He commented Lin-Manuel Miranda. “She loved her family members deeply and was also very close to them, and that’s basically how our story begins.”

On this occasion, the movie Yes, it would highlight the strong bond that unites Latin American families. “It’s something we’ve tried many times at Disney. We thought, ‘Maybe we should include more family members,’ but finally decided, ‘No, it will be just one person.’ As it happened with Moana, who goes alone in the boat, she does not go with her family, “said Bush. “But from day one we knew that in Charm family would be priority, So what if we were to have twelve members, they had to differentiate, you know, the black sheep, the golden child or the mother who heals with her food ”.

Thus, the story follows the adventures of the Madrigal family in a vibrant town called Encanto, hidden in the Colombian mountains and whose magic has blessed all the children of the family with a unique gift (from super strength to the power to heal), except for one, Mirabel. But when she discovers that magic is in danger, she decides that she too may be her family’s only hope.

The Colombian Carlos Vives is the interpreter of the central theme of the film, Colombia, my charm, while Sebastian Yatra put his voice for the soulful song of the oruguites, which also reflects the variety of butterflies that inhabit Colombia.

“Lin allowed himself to be touched by our music and there is something of my music in what he did to Charm, so They wanted me to sing it, to put that feeling Colombian, and the result is there“Vives commented as he passed through the red carpet of the world premiere, on November 3 at the El Capitan theater.

Furthermore, it was confirmed that all the voice actors for the Spanish version of the film are Colombian.