Walt Disney Animation Studios released the trailer for the upcoming Latinx-led film Encanto on Wednesday.
Encanto tells the story of the Madrigals, a family imbued with magical gifts who live in the titular enchanted place in the mountains of Colombia. Each Madrigal is blessed with a power at age five that’s tied to their personality. Fifteen-year-old Mirabel is the only family member who didn’t receive extraordinary abilities, but she also may be the family’s only hope when their home is threatened.
The film features the who’s-who of Latinx voice talent, including Wilmer Valderrama of That 70s Show, Diane Guerrero of Orange Is the New Black, and John Leguizamo, who voices Mirabel’s uncle Bruno, a recluse with the power to see the future. Encanto features music from Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, who also provided music to Disney’s 2016 film Moana.
Encanto has a bent toward magical realism, or supernatural elements existing within a grounded reality, which stands in contrast to the purely fantastic conventions of most Disney films. Co-writer and co-director Charise Castro Smith told The Verge that she believes that the filmmakers’ approach, including a research trip to Colombia, helped provide Encanto a different feel from other Disney films.
“This movie is really bright and colorful, and funny and wonderful, but it does have some more grounded, different themes than traditional Disney movies,” she said. “There are some more challenging human elements to this movie. We did try to keep in mind that it is a tradition that is born out of the need to tell tall tales, sometimes about difficult things. This movie is not devoid of that.”
It was important to the filmmakers to make sure that the world of Encanto was grounded enough to play off the magical realism elements, said co-writer and co-director Jared Bush.
“It absolutely has to be grounded; otherwise, it’s pure fantasy, where anything can be happening at any time,” Bush told The Verge.
“I think the notion of why this family was given a miracle, how that happened, why it’s important; those have to be based, at least in our story, on something that is very concrete and feels visceral and emotional. That allows you to then have the contrast of the whimsy and the fun and this amazing fantasy that happens. But you have to have both of those pieces to function correctly.”
Encanto hits theaters on November 24.
Watch the trailer below:
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