Encanto’s iconic song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” was an instant classic, but its lyrics suggested a second level of tragedy in the life of Bruno. Encanto’s mix of magic and music enchanted audiences, but underlying this was a level of sadness and tragedy that gave the story greater depth. This was seen in the tragic backstory of the Madrigal family matriarch Abuela Alma, and also through the nature of the magical gifts bestowed upon the various of her family, especially her son Bruno.
Bruno’s gift of visionary foresight could have been viewed as a curse, as it ultimately led to him hiding in the walls of the Madrigals’ enchanted home, Casita, rather than having to on the negative interpretations of his visions. Bruno was revealed to be deeply saddened at having to distance himself from the family he loved while he was still trying to protect them by filling the cracks in the walls of Casita. Seemingly, his only respite from this came from the rats that lived with him within the walls of the house and provided him with companionship and entertainment.
This discovery by Mirabel came after “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” which explained the supposed reasons for Bruno’s vilification by the people of the village and his own family. The most revealing verse was sung by his nephew, Camilo, which illustrated how distorted people's perceptions of Bruno had become when he sang, “Seven-foot frame, rats along his back, when he calls your name it all fades to black.” Evidently, the only truthful element of this description was Bruno’s friendship with rats, which highlighted that he was seeking their companionship even before he hid away. In addition, Lin-Manuel Miranda's genre-defying “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” strongly implied that this was interpreted by the rest of the Madrigal family as something sinister and thus created a further level of distance from him. The tragedy of this misunderstanding was that Bruno desperately wanted love and companionship but was so rejected and feared by his own family that he befriended animals who would instead not judge him.
Encanto Reveals Bruno Was A Victim
There should be little doubt that Bruno Madrigal’s magical gift was more harmful to him than to those who received negative interpretations of his visions. Encanto highlighted and made obvious the misery caused by the cumulative effect of predicting bad news. This was shown in the changing nature of Bruno's room, which director Jared Bush confirmed had developed additional steps to make it harder for people to request visions, illustrating the miserable detachment Bruno had felt before his 10-year disappearance.
The worst part was how little of this was controlled by Bruno. After all, like the other magical of the Madrigal family, he did not choose to have a gift bestowed upon him at five years of age. He would also not have chosen an ability that isolated him from the people he loved, and which even meant that his sister Pepa had blamed him for ruining her wedding day.
Within this context, the significance of Bruno’s rat friends was even more obvious. His family’s failure to recognize that his friendship with the creatures was a cry for help effectively made Bruno's life even more of a tragedy in Encanto. Had they realized what Bruno was feeling, there may have been a way they could have helped and offered their love, which he so clearly desired. Thankfully, Mirabel’s positivity and love for Bruno and the rest of her family provided him with a means to escape his victimhood. More than this, it offered him the validation and understanding that despite the harsh words of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” his mother Abuela Alma, and his sisters Julieta and Pepa, undoubtedly loved and missed him and were happy to see him again.
