In Disney’s latest animated flick Encanto, it seems that the seemingly benevolent Madrigal cousin Dolores may have actually lied to Isabella about Mariano’s romantic intentions with her, but why? Throughout the film, Dolores is often portrayed as loving and thoughtful, even counseling her cousin Mirabel and other members of the Madrigal family. However, during an Encanto watch party, it seems that director Jared Bush may have confirmed a theory that Dolores was lying to her cousin Isabella about her boyfriend Mariano’s proposal and desire to have 5 children with her after marriage.
Throughout Encanto, Dolores, whose magical gift bestowed upon her by the family’s ancestral candle gives her the ability to hear things at a great distance, often uses her powers to inform the family and the magicless Mirabel’s decision making. In one such instance, Dolores tells Isabella and the rest of the Madrigal family that Mariano, Isabella’s boyfriend, is planning to propose to her, and that he’d like to have five children with her. However, an eagle-eyed fan pointed out that Isabella’s facial expression at this moment might imply that she’s lying, as she accompanies the comment with some suspicious side-eye.
Since this scene is shortly followed up with Dolores’ confession that she wants to have a life with Mariano rather than Isabella, it’s highly possible that Dolores made up Mariano’s intentions in order to try to cut the stem off their budding romance. Perhaps, jealous herself, the occasionally squeaky Dolores pretended to use her gift to hear Mariano, knowing that the family Madrigal would believe anything she’d say. In this way, Dolores could possibly be trying to break up Mariano and Isabella, and took her first steps towards breaking out of her familial role.
In other scenes in Encanto, Dolores uses her gift to help the family to the best of her ability. However, as the film is all about breaking out of the strictures familial roles can put on a person, perhaps Dolores’ white lie about Mariano is the start of her break from convention. Encanto is a film about chasing what you want, regardless of your family’s expectations, and by the film’s end, Dolores eventually confesses her affection for Mariano, overjoyed to begin a relationship with him.
One of the directors of Encanto, Jared Bush, even seemed to partially confirm this interpretation of Dolores’ lie. Bush cited Dolores’ villainous, shifty expression in the scene where she explains Mariano’s intentions with Isabella as evidence that she’s lying to help herself. Though Bush may have been joking, it seems likely given Dolores’ progression towards being more outspoken and her secret affection for Mariano that she might have been trying to drive a wedge between Mariano and Isabella at this moment.
Since its release, dedicated fans of Encanto have spent hundreds of hours dissecting the film’s detailed, intricate moments for insights into the film's characters and plot. As many Disney films in the past have had dozens of easter eggs and subtle details that drive plot and character, their efforts are definitely not in vain, particularly when it comes to Dolores and the other members of the family Madrigal. And, when it comes to Dolores in Encanto, it’s possible her amicable exterior may just be a front for a slightly more mischievous interior.