Disney's Encanto tells the story of the family Madrigal, a multi-generational Columbian household blessed with magical powers by a candle originally carried by the family's matriarch, Abuela. Abuela's blessing is the magic and sentience of the family's house (referred to as "Casita"), along with the emergence of the valley that protected her and dozens of other refugees fleeing violence in their hometown. The film begins decades after this original event, with a fully-fledged town supported and protected by the Madrigals' magic powers. Each member of the family receives their own blessing when they turn five, reflecting their unique personality/characteristics.
But the film's protagonist, Mirabel, doesn't have any sort of magical power. She's completely ordinary, and the film follows the conflict between her and her family, especially with her Abuela and Isabela, her eldest sister. Mirabel is the only one who's willing to acknowledge how Casita is starting to crack and break down, weakened by the resentment each family member feels towards the stifling expectations of being the town's patron family. That metaphorical tie between the strength of the Madrigals' miracle and the health of their family bonds is the heart of the film, and hints at what their powers are really representative of: tradition.
The Madrigal miracle benefits all of its family members, but it also comes with a binding set of roles and responsibilities. Each character feels like they have to always do their best to uphold the name of the family. It's important for all the members of a family to stick out for one another and the larger community, but the issue comes when those duties start to interfere with the happiness of individual family members. Mirabel represents new ideas, a nonconformist approach to otherwise-stagnant traditions. But she's shamed for her differences, seen as a bringer of bad luck even as she does her best to help her younger cousin Antonio live up to the same expectations she's failed to meet.
And Mirabel isn't the only one harmed by the family's strict adherence to tradition and sensitivity over their own reputation. The film's first moment of emotional catharsis comes when Isabela finally admits that she's tired of being the perfect child. She's betrothed to a man she doesn't want to marry, only going through with it because of the narrow category she's boxed herself into. And her powers mirror this, only creating flowers and other picture-perfect flora when she's capable of so much more. It's when Mirabel finally gets through to her and makes her admit how she's really feeling that she creates a small succulent. By letting go of family expectations, she's able to fill the Casita with a diverse range of vines, leaves and trees.
There's also Bruno, Mirabel's uncle and the black sheep of the family. His ability lets him see prophecies of the future, but his inability to actually change any of the negative events he predicts draws a lot of resentment. The final straw that breaks the camel's back is Mirabel not receiving her gift. Abuela pushes Bruno to look into the future and try to figure out what it means, and he sees Mirabel standing in front of either a broken or unbroken Casita. Instead of telling the rest of the family about his prediction and stigmatizing the then five-year-old Mirabel, he vanishes into the walls of the house. He's literally driven off by the family's stigma towards those that aren't "helpful," even as he's protecting one of its most vulnerable members.
But Encanto's most important not to tradition comes at the film's climax after the entire house collapses and Mirabel runs off. She's found by Abuela, and the two share a tender moment as Mirabel realizes how their miracle was born from Abuela's grief over the death of her husband. In doing so, the film acknowledges how tradition is important, and how younger generations are often only free to challenge older norms because of the work of their forebears. Mirabel works together with her grandmother to rebuild the house, literally laying new foundations for the traditions of their family in the years to come.
To see how the film tackles tradition, Encanto is streaming now on Disney+.