Many Disney fans have been delighted to see Disney characters who look like them for the first time in the Colombia-inspired movie, and social media has exploded with fan art and costumed recreations from the show which celebrate Disney's expanding representation. If there's one thing that's clear from the audience reaction to the film, it's that Encanto has struck a chord in no small part because of the cast of character's designs. This is made even more impressive given Disney's track record in this regard.
Much of this social media success is a result of the fact that Encanto's characters have overcome Disney's recent habit of making its female characters look the same. Earlier characters like Mulan and Pocahontas were among many Moana started to break this trend, the titular heroine still has a very similar look to other baby-faced female characters in some regards.
The same cannot be said for the women and girls of the Madrigal family. Each Encanto character has very different features, which makes them look less like generic clones and more like real people. While unofficial Disney princesses Anna and Elsa could easily be twins, the Madrigal women each have unique noses, hands, eyebrows, and body shapes. Luisa's strong jaw and muscular physique is perhaps the most obvious departure from the typical rounded face of computer-generated characters and the tiny waist of almost every two-dimensional Disney princess. Reinforcing the idealization of female strength shown by Raya in Raya and the Last Dragon, Luisa's strong physical presence proves that Disney is finally sending girls the message that they can be strong and muscular rather than stick-thin.
As well as representing a wider variety of more realistic faces and body types, Encanto also breaks Disney tradition by Screenrant). Rewarded with a trip to the BAFTA award ceremony with Encanto director Jared Bush, Lowri's advocacy may lead to more girls with glasses in future Disney movies.
Rather than setting up a uniform standard for how women and girls ought to look, Encanto proves that Disney is extending its beauty standards. Girls now have strong and muscular role models to aspire towards, and protagonists who share their physical characteristics and bodily needs. Perhaps in the future, every Disney princess movie will continue this growing trend. With more diverse and realistic faces along with healthier body proportions, the Madrigal women and girls are certainly a step in the right direction when it comes to redefining what heroines can look like.
Watch Encanto on Disney+ now
