In & Out [post]: Encanto

You're exactly what this family needs.

Rating: PG Runtime: 102 minutes (appreciated)

With: whole squad (this now includes a 7th grade boy, so...minor miracle here)

What's it about? An extremely magical family that lives in an extremely magical house...starts to lose their magic...and their house. The outcast of the bunch, the muggle-ish Mirabel, must solve the mystery before the foundation of her family, and their casa, cracks and crumbles beyond repair.

What works: Whoa, whoa, whoa...perhaps shockingly, a lot. I don't think I ever saw a commercial for this one, and the poster politely informed me, hard pass. Turns out? That would have been a huge mistake, as this story about finding your place in the world (and the world of your family) is brilliant. The songs, the characters, the completely welcomed (and fairly consistent level of) silliness all dovetail with a fantastic story that recaptures some of that old-school Disney charm in a decidedly new-school way. 

What didn't: The roster can a get a little overwhelming at times, but otherwise, there wasn't a bit of this one that I didn't enjoy. 

Yays: While the family is full of top-tier goofballs, the yayest of yays goes to the perfect sister, Isabela Her power is consistently amazing/hysterical, but even better? So is her plight (even if it's pretty cliche at this point, I didn't mind). Though, the muscles of the operation, Luisa, shouldn't be left out either, nor should the sister with super hearing (I have this power, and it's a friggin' curse). But the biggest Yay of all? The ending. Holy moly, that sucker went straight into my heart. You're telling me we've got a Disney movie about a matriarch that in an effort to save her family is actually destroying it? Um, Walt, has you been talking to my mom?

Boos: Man, the way they exiled Bruno was so sad (and seeing how he's dealt with it...aww). And I wanted to hate Mom, but by the end, I'm not sure that you can. Those three village kids were kind of annoying, especially Coffee Kid, but not deal-breakingly so. Even though it's a new movie, which is great, it's also kind of a greatest hits collection of every great Disney film swathed in kid-friendly superhero themes. The thing I hated the most, and this is a common thread when watching a new animated film at home, was not seeing this on the big screen. I'm convinced that this one would have been enchanting.

Dimple or no dimple? This one is definitely dimple.