Gospel Review: Disney’s Encanto and the Gift of Miracles

Gospel Review: Disney’s Encanto and the Gift of Miracles 

Written by: Tyler Hawkins

Disney’s latest animated release, Encanto, is a refreshingly splendid family film free from any progressive agenda. More than that though, Encanto is based on a gospel principle addressed by Jesus (Luke 11:29) and Paul (1 Cor 13). Before I get into the gospel connection, heed this SPOILER WARNING, major plot details and twists will be discussed in this review.

Setting and Plot

Encanto takes place in a fictional South American village that was born through the miraculous gifts of the Madrigal family. When the matriarch of the family, the grandmother, was young and had recently given birth to triplets, a group of murderous marauders began ravaging her hometown. She attempted to flee into the wilderness, but the marauders quickly caught up with her. That’s when the Encanto (enchantment / charm / magic) happened in a “parting of the Red Sea” moment. The Earth miraculously sprouted a mountain range separating the new mother from the violent troop. The result was a newly created fertile valley protected from harm by the mountains and the magic. As part of the Encanto, all members of the Madrigal family were given a specific miraculous gift to be used for the protecting, preserving, and building of the community. Over time the village and the family grew.

The Main Character

            The protagonist of the story is the granddaughter Mirabel, who is the only family member to never receive a miraculous gift. As the movie plays, the magic of the family starts waning for an unexplained reason. Mirabel does her best to solve this mystery, but seemingly only quickens the dissipation the harder she tries. Through her exploits she discovers many family secrets, each based on an unspoken yet shared insecurity her relatives share – doubting their self-value because of their miraculous gifts. Mirabel learns the magic is fading because the gift of miracles had secretly been causing increased division and doubt within the family for many years. By the end of the story, Mirabel brings healing to her family, both individually and collectively, by helping realize that love is the greatest gift. Which is where the gospel truth shone brightly through the plot to these Christian eyes of mine (I’m currently preaching through a sermon series on 1 Cor 13).

The Biblical Concepts

            The repressed insecurities of the Madrigal family members arose from a two-fold pressure on their lives. First, the people in the community began seeking their fellowship for the abilities and nothing more. From children in the square fascinated by the magic to hardworking adults seeking ways to make their lives easier at every turn, the love for the Madrigal’s was based on their miracles and little else. This is acutely similar to the followers of Jesus during His ministry. How many followed him only for a sign (Luke 11:29)? How many followed only for a healing? How many followed only for physical bread and not the bread of life (John 6:26)? How shallow are we humans to always assign worth to what a person can “do for me” rather than who they truly are? Is it not common for us to do the same today? Think of those who call on Jesus’ name in earnest prayer…only when they need something. Think of how many times you have thanked God for physical blessings in comparison to how many times you have thanked Him for trials and hardship (James 1:2). I’m afraid that many of us today are as guilty as the hungry crowds in John 6 who disbanded the moment Jesus stopped feeding their bellies and attempted to feed their souls. Back to the movie, the Madrigal family struggles with the enormous pressure of shallow love.

            The second burden on the Madrigal family came from their grandmother. Her once soft heart became hardened by an unshakable need to “earn” the gifts given to the family. Her stern instruction further encouraged the family members to place their self-worth in how hard they worked to use their gifts for others. The problem with this emphasis became abundantly clear by the end, when all focus was on accomplishing a work, none was left for considering the motivation behind the work. They strove for a works-based salvation that left constant doubt and insecurity. Sound familiar (Eph 2:8-10)? As Paul would say, the Madrigal family had forgotten that the greatest gift of all is love (1 Cor 13:1-2). While the Corinthians argued over whose gift was superior, the fictional Madrigals worried over which gift could produce the most “good.” Paul’s exhortation to the Corinthians served as a tender, yet stern, reminder that no miracle, no deed, no act of “love” is worth a grain of salt if it is not performed with a truly selfless heart and desire to reflect God’s nature. Can we be guilty of this same flaw? Anytime we work for the Lord with a heart that says, “I do this because I have to” instead of “I do this because I get to” we are in danger of going down a stream of shallow faith. A repentant and faithful heart may rightly start from a spirit of recognizing a need to obey, but such faith must also grow beyond a rote, disgruntled obedience, and bloom into a faith that “rejoice[s] always” (1 Thess 5:16) and relinquishes feelings of self-righteousness (Luke 18:9-14).

The Lesson

            Bottom line – Encanto is one of the best parabolic teachings on the value of love, family, and serving others that I have seen from cinema. With a diverse set of characters, it has a little something for everyone. There is the strong one, the pretty one, the quirky one, the nosy one, the aloof one, the high strung one, the stern one. Odds are you will be able to identify with qualities from at least one character, but more importantly, I hope that you will be able to relate to the gospel principle of love. In Encanto, it took the one without miraculous gifts to teach others that such gifts were not necessary to show love. Genuinely, my first thought after the climax of the plot was, “that’s exactly what Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 13!” Maybe you will think so too. Whether blessed with much or little, may we always seek to use what God has given us to celebrate His love for all His creation. Love God, love others, rejoice always.

“The Gospel Review” is the first in a potential news series in which I seek to review secular entertainment from a gospel perspective. If feedback is generally positive and there is a desire for more articles such as this, then “The Gospel Review” will become an on-going series.