The biggest mystery in Disney’s Encanto is why Mirabel didn't get a gift, and a theory suggests it’s all due to Abuela's previous mistakes. Years ago, while fleeing from an armed conflict in Colombia, Alma Madrigal a.k.a. Abuela (María Cecilia Botero) lost her husband and was left alone with her baby triplets (Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno). Through an unexplained miracle, Alma's candle attained magical qualities, keeping them safe from their pursuers and building a sentient house — Casita — for them. Since then, the candle has burned 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 without a gift made Mirabel feel left out of the family and led her to discover many family secrets, especially those about her mysterious uncle Bruno (John Leguizamo). Surprisingly, Mirabel wasn't granted a gift like those of her relatives by the end of Encanto, but it can be argued that her gift was different as she’s on her way to taking over leadership of the family. Still, the question of why Mirabel didn’t get a gift during her ceremony remains, making way for different theories. Among those is one that suggests that it’s all due to Abuela and her past actions and mistakes.
Casita May Be Punishing Abuela For Past Mistakes
The theory, posted on Reddit, goes some years back to explain why Mirabel didn’t get a gift, suggesting that Abuela pushed Julieta and Agustín to have a third child, even though they were already happy with two. Abuela was insistent on them having another child to add more powers to the family, as she was obsessed with her family’s legacy and protecting the town through their unique abilities. Abuela, then, doesn’t see her family as individuals and family members but more as powerful gifts that add to the Madrigals' legacy and role in the town.
Mirabel didn't get a gift because that would have rewarded Abuela for her manipulation, as she pushed for Mirabel to exist just to add more powers to the family. Not giving Mirabel a gift was Casita’s way to “punish” Abuela, forcing her to reflect on what she had done to her family. At the same time, as Casita also loved the family, it didn't leave Mirabel entirely powerless, and it gave her its own magic, allowing her to communicate with Casita.
When Mirabel’s door disappears during her ceremony, it was a message from Casita to Abuela — but like Bruno’s bad visions, it was misinterpreted. The theory also posits that the candle wasn’t the source of the Madrigals' powers, but rather the representation of Abuela’s connection to them. Therefore, when Casita is rebuilt and the family finally sees Mirabel for what she is instead of what she didn’t have, she gets her door, which is the door to Casita, as the space meant for her wasn’t just a room but actually the entire house.
According to this theory, Abuela’s influence and leadership role in the Madrigal family might have been stronger and gone a lot deeper than Encanto showed. The reason behind Mirabel’s lack of a gift (or at least, powers similar to her family’s) might be more complex than it seems. This theory fits well with Encanto's themes of generational trauma and finding a unique individual voice that the movie dealt with.
How The Abuela's Mistake Theory Makes Mirabel's Journey Even Better
This theory about why Mirabel didn't get a gift is certainly dark, as it casts Abuela in an even more negative light. It also makes Casita more of a vengeful god than a playful, enchanted house. However, it also adds an interesting angle to Mirabel's story. This theory illustrates that Mirabel never needed to prove herself to Abuela, but rather only to herself. Mirabel's lack of powers is instead Abuela's problem, and the spirited teenager Mirabel is even more admirable for believing in herself and growing as a person when the hardship she faced was somebody else's fault entirely.
This particular Encanto theory may not be provable, but it does add interesting depth and heart to the film's story. The film is ultimately an uplifting tale about self-worth, so it's unlikely that these implications would be intentional on Disney's part. However, the wealth of Encanto fan theories shows just how much there is to unpack in this deceptively layered and insightful movie.
Encanto 2 Needs To Be A Prequel About Abuela
Even if she isn't directly responsible for Mirabel's lack of powers as the theory suggests, the fact is that Abuela Madrigal's backstory and the unexplained magic of Casita were the most interesting parts of Encanto. They not only laid the entire groundwork for the journey of the Madrigals, but also gave weight to Encanto's overarching narrative by connecting it to Colombia's real history.
While viewers would definitely tune in to see more of Mirabel's adventures, Encanto 2 could leverage the first movie's greatest strengths by explaining Abuela's powers in Encanto, and revealing more about her story before and after Abuela's time as a war refugee. This would also be consistent with how Encanto cleverly unwraps generational trauma by combining history and fantasy.