Encanto is a 2021 American animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, co-directed by Charise Castro Smith, and produced by Yvett Merino and Clark Spencer, with original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The screenplay was written by Castro Smith and Bush, both of whom also conceived the film's story with Howard, Miranda, Jason Hand, and Nancy Kruse. The film stars the voices of Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, John Leguizamo, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, Carolina Gaitán, Diane Guerrero, and Wilmer Valderrama. Encanto follows a multigenerational Colombian family, the Madrigals, led by a matriarch whose children and grandchildren — except for Mirabel Madrigal — receive magical gifts from a miracle, which they use to help the people in their rural community, called the Encanto. When Mirabel learns that the family is losing their magic, she sets out to find out why and save the family and house.
Encanto premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on November 3, 2021, and was released in the United States on November 24 over a 30-day theatrical run. It was also released in RealD 3D, Dolby Cinema, 2D and D-BOX formats. Although it underperformed at the box office, grossing $256.8 million worldwide against a $120–150 million budget, it achieved wider commercial success after its release on Disney+ on December 24, 2021. The film received acclaim for its characterization, music, animation, voice acting, emotional depth, and cultural fidelity; reviews named magic realism and transgenerational trauma as the film's core concepts. Publications have described Encanto as a cultural phenomenon. The film was nominated for three awards at the 94th Academy Awards, winning Best Animated Feature, and received numerous other accolades.
The film's soundtrack also became a success, reaching number one on the US Billboard 200 and UK Compilation Albums charts; "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and "Surface Pressure" were its two most successful songs, with the former topping both the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Chart for multiple weeks in a row.
