Encanto has various Easter eggs scattered throughout the whole movie, especially in the dialogue in Spanish, and one line said by Bruno makes his tragedy even sadder. Although Walt Disney Pictures has explored a variety of characters, stories, and styles for decades, it continues to be best known for its animated movies with a family-friendly tone and with a heartwarming message at its core. Falling into this category is Encanto, an animated musical fantasy directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard.
Set in Colombia, Encanto introduces viewers to the Madrigal family, led by matriarch Alma Madrigal a.k.a. Abuela (María Cecilia Botero). Years ago, while fleeing from an armed conflict, Alma lost her husband and was left alone with her baby triplets (Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno), and by a miracle, her candle got magical qualities, keeping them safe from their pursuers and building a sentient house (Casita) for them. Since then, the candle continued to burn and protected Casita, the family, and the whole town, while also granting special gifts to each Madrigal descendant – except for Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). Being the only one to not get a gift made Mirabel feel left out of the family and led her to discover some family secrets, especially those related to her mysterious uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo).
Bruno’s gift is seeing the future, so he delivered many prophecies to the family and the town’s residents over the years, but his gift also made him an outcast. Bruno was constantly blamed for the bad things that happened in town, and when he had a vision of the destruction of Casita and Mirabel being at the center of it after she didn’t get any powers, he destroyed the prophecy and left his family in order to protect them. However, it was later revealed that Bruno never really left, and he had been hiding in the walls of Casita to keep a close look on his family and make sure they were ok. If Bruno’s story wasn’t sad enough already, a Spanish line spoken by him makes it even sadder: “sana sana, colita de rana”.
When Mirabel comes across Bruno inside the walls of Casita in Encanto, she starts talking about his prophecy, triggering Bruno’s superstitious practices. After knocking on wood multiple times and throwing salt and sugar over his shoulder, Bruno says “sana sana, colita de rana” as he jumps over some of the cracks, which he had already fixed. “Sana sana, colita de rana” is a popular chant in Latin America said to children when they get hurt, as a way of reassuring them they will heal and will be ok. Through this chant, Bruno is telling Casita that everything is going to be fine, and it’s even more symbolic as he says so while jumping over the cracks he fixed. This is also Bruno’s way of telling the family that there’s nothing to worry about, as he’s still watching over them and making sure they are all ok. Bruno was unfairly judged by Abuela and the town’s residents to the point where no one was allowed to talk about him (making way for the very popular and catchy song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”), when in reality, he never stopped caring about and protecting his family.
Encanto is full of small, more culture-related details that elevate the story and add extra layers to its characters, either making their stories more entertaining or sadder, as is the case of Bruno. Luckily, by the end of Encanto, Bruno’s name was cleared and he was able to properly return to his family, and a new chapter in the history of the Madrigal family began.