Something we talked about a lot as we were developing this film was how everyone is so invested in these personas on social media right now, and how we all have this pressure on us to project these perfect lives. Often the main character is the one with the power who may feel like an outsider. My family immigrated from Cuba in the 60s, and my mom came when she was a kid. My grandmother was sweet, very encouraging, not like “abuela” - but that feeling of precariousness, that feeling of pressure to succeed was definitely a part of my family’s story. Mirabel also has a relationship with her “abuela,” or grandmother.

I read a statement from you that your maternal grandmother really encouraged you to pursue a career in the performing arts. She’s the first Latin Disney musical lead, and that was one really important aspect of the movie. It was really important to me, from the very beginning, to put on screen Mirabel doubting herself, misunderstanding her worth, and going on this journey, where she really recognizes her own worth and knows it and believes it and her family sees it and she doesn’t question that for herself anymore - especially as this really fallible, human protagonist of color. As soon as Byron and Jared told me that they were making a movie about the one girl in a magical family who didn’t have any magical powers, I was like OK, I know how that girl feels. Yes, there’s a lot of aspects of the film which feel really, really close to me personally. How did you imbue Mirabel with your own experiences as a Latina woman, daughter, and granddaughter? The following interview has been condensed and edited. In a conversation with The Credits, Castro Smith spoke about relating to her main character, collaborating with Howard and Bush, and conveying the story through the music of Miranda. 24, 2021, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Encanto” features songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Voiced by Stephanie Beatriz, Mirabel is determined to prove she belongs within this extraordinary family.

The lush, authentic animation is complemented by catchy, original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. When the extraordinary gifts of the Madrigals and their hidden life in the mountains of Colombia are threatened, it is Mirabel who may be the only one with the ability to set things right. It is very exciting.”Įncanto, Disney’s 60th animated feature, centers on 15-year-old Mirabel, the sole member of her magical family to not inherit a special power. “My hope is that the membership of this very exclusive little situation I find myself in will expand rapidly. I wish it had been reached earlier and I wish this weren’t such a small club,” said Castro Smith, who worked on the movie for a little over three years, co-directing it with Zootopia’s Byron Howard (also Tangled) and Jared Bush (also Moana), and co-writing with Bush. “I am glad this milestone has been reached. With the release of Disney’s Encanto, Charise Castro Smith ( The Haunting of Hill House, Devious Maids) has broken through not one but two ceilings: as the first Latina to receive a directing credit on a Disney animated feature, and only the second woman ever to do so.

Encanto song writer