There’s no question that Encanto is surely going to be seen as one of the best Disney movies of the last decade. Though it has many of the traits of the studio’s other offerings, it also turns some of the genre conventions on their head. What’s more, it is also a deeply resonant movie, and it deftly weaves together both laughter and sorrow.
As a result, it is worth looking at the various sad quotes that appear throughout the movie, which help to shed light on just how well the movie makes use of life’s sad moments.
“You’re Just As Special As Anyone Else In This Family.”
There have been many great Disney parents, and Mirabel’s mother Julieta is sure to join their ranks. She goes out of her way to be kind and compassionate to everyone in the family, and that includes Mirabel. What’s especially notable, however, is how poignant this line is, and how desperate she is to make sure that her daughter knows that her lack of a gift is no reason to see herself as unworthy of the same love as everyone else.
“What I Think Is That Today Was Very Hard For You.”
Time and again, Julieta reaches out to Mirabel and lets her know that there will always be someone in her corner. This quote in particular shows that she is the type of person that believes in giving a helping hand at desperate moments. While it is certainly encouraging, it also reminds the viewer of the sad reality that Mirabel repeatedly has to deal with the fact that she doesn’t have the magical gifts of the rest of her family and that this may always set her apart.
“If You Weren’t Always Trying Too Hard, You Wouldn’t Be In The Way.”
In a normal Disney movie, Isabella would be the main character, since she has all of the traits of a great Disney Princess. However, she is also quite capable of delivering lines that are both biting and rather mean. This quote is doubly sad, then, because it not only reminds Mirabel that her family sees her as something of a burden but also reminds the viewer that the two sisters aren’t nearly as close as they should be as members of the same close-knit family.
“The Last Gift Ceremony Was A Bummer. The Last One Being Yours.”
One of the best things about Encanto is that it so skillfully combines moments of great comedy and great pathos. In this instance, the line can be read in two ways. In one sense, it’s the sort of deftly delivered throwaway line from a minor character that’s guaranteed to get a laugh.
On the other hand, it’s yet one more reminder to Mirabel, and the audience, that she is an outcast and that the entire village knows of the shame of not having a gift.
“I Will Never Be Good Enough For You, Will I?”
Mirabel’s relationship with Abuela is one of the most difficult and fraught in the entire movie, since the latter sees her as something of an embarrassment and, as the movie goes on, a danger to the rest of the family. This quote thus takes on special resonance, since it’s clear just how much her grandmother’s dislike of her has affected the way she looks at the world and her place in it. All she wants is to be loved, and it’s one of the things she finds hardest to attain.
“My Gift Wasn’t Helping The Family, But I Love My Family, You Know?”
Bruno is one of the best characters in the movie, and he is also one of its most tragic. Unlike the rest of the family, who find their gifts being celebrated, his is seen as a cause for misery. It’s for this reason that he decided to exile himself to the walls of his own home, condemned to see his family but not interact with them. The fact that he did so because he felt that his gift had become a burden for them is part of what makes his story so deeply and wrenchingly affecting.
“I Wish You Could Have A Door.”
Mirabel’s cousin Antonio is one of the movie’s most likable characters. For one thing, he loves Mirabel unconditionally and doesn’t see her lack of a gift as something that she should be ashamed of. That doesn’t stop him from wishing that she had a magical door of her own, however. This line, then, is very sad because it shows just how much he loves his cousin and wants her to have the one thing that she has never possessed.
“I Was Given A Miracle, A Second Chance. And I Was Afraid To Lose It. I Lost Sight Of Who The Miracle Was For.”
Even though she can be a very unkind character, it is still clear that Abuela does genuinely love her family and wants to keep them, and the magic, safe from harm. However, she ultimately starts to lose sight of the truth: that she’s hurting those that she seeks to love and protect.
This quote is an especially sad one, but it is still a good thing that she realized what she was sacrificing with her behavior toward her granddaughter.
“You’re Going To Say Bruno Makes Bad Things Happen. Oh, He’s Creepy And Killed My Goldfish.”
There are many funny quotes in Encanto, and some of these are delivered by Bruno. In this case, he once again acknowledges the fact that the rest of the family sees him as nothing more than a harbinger of doom, and that his visions are actually brought to pass through his own actions. At the same time as it is clearly designed to make the viewer laugh, it’s also true that it’s another sad expression of his sense of alienation and distance from those that he loves the most.
“I Didn’t Want To Hurt Us. I Just Wanted To Be Something I’m Not.”
Mirabel is one of the best characters in a recent Disney movie, and she continues to fight for her family, even though they have shown themselves less than kind to her in many ways. However, she also has her fair share of sadness that she has to shoulder during the movie, as she makes clear in this quote. It’s an indication that she knows how much harm she has inadvertently caused, all because she was truly trying to do the right thing for everyone in the family.