Encanto (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to Disney's 2021 film of the same name. Released by Walt Disney Records on November 19, 2021, the album contains eight original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda and produced by Mike Elizondo that were recorded by various singers, and 27 score pieces composed by Germaine Franco. It was released in 44 languages in addition to English and Spanish.
To develop the soundtrack, Miranda and team visited Colombia—the setting of Encanto—to study the country's music. Consequently, the album is rooted in genres such as vallenato, cumbia, bambuco and rock en español, making use of the traditional music instruments of Colombia, and incorporates salsa, tango, reggaeton and bachata styles alongside pop, hip hop, folk and musical theatre elements. In the film, the songs are performed by the Madrigals, who are a multigenerational family with magical powers granted to them by a "miracle"; the lyrical themes revolve around individuality, self-worth, transgenerational trauma and familial love.
The soundtrack album was a commercial success, enjoying widespread popularity after Encantos release on Disney+. It topped the Billboard 200 chart for nine weeks, and charted all of its original songs on the US Billboard Hot 100. Elsewhere, the album reached number one in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom, and the top ten in various other territories. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" by various members of the Encanto cast and "Surface Pressure" by Jessica Darrow have been the album's best-selling tracks; the former topped the UK Singles and the US Hot 100 charts for multiple weeks, while the latter peaked at numbers four and eight, respectively. Encanto became the first Disney animated film to generate multiple Hot 100 top-10 entries. Additionally, "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is the second number-one song for Disney in the US after "A Whole New World" from Aladdin (1992), and its first-ever original song to reach number one in the UK.
Upon release, Encanto (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was met with critical acclaim and received various accolades. Reviews lauded its vibrant Latin music rhythms and complimented Miranda's musicianship. The album received the Annie Award for outstanding music in a feature film; the Grammy Awards for Best Compilation Soundtrack and Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media; and the Academy Award nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song ("Dos Oruguitas" by Sebastián Yatra), among other accolades.
Development and release
In June 2020, American singer-songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, who had previously worked on Moana (2016), revealed that he had begun to write the music of American animated musical film Encanto, which would have eight original songs in both Spanish and English, and was set for release in 2021. After the film's premiere, Miranda disclosed that he had been writing songs for the film from the very beginning (that is, starting in 2016). Miranda and the filmmakers travelled to Colombia in 2018 to research and study the country, its culture and music. On September 8, 2021, Germaine Franco, co-composer of the songs from Coco (2017), began to score the film. Composer John Powell was named in the film's credits as a score advisor for the music; this was the first time he had returned to work on a Disney Animation film since Bolt (2008).
Encanto (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was released to streaming services on November 19, 2021. The film was theatrically released in the United States on November 24, 2021, in RealD 3D and Dolby Cinema. An exclusive CD, including a poster, was made available via Target on December 17, while picture discs were sold by Walmart. The soundtrack was released in a total of 46 languages.
Music and lyrics The soundtrack for download or streaming consists of 44 tracks, 32 of which are present on the CD release. There are 8 original songs and an English-language version of the track "Dos Oruguitas". The download also includes instrumental versions of the songs. The download contains 27 score compositions, 23 of which are also present on the CD release.
Drawing from the diverse music of Colombia, the soundtrack of Encanto is a Latin-pop album combining bambuco, salsa, tango, vallenato, reggaeton, cumbia, bachata, hip hop, folk, and funk with theatre music. It incorporates the folk instruments of Colombia, such as marimba, accordion, tiple, tambora, guacharaca, caja, maracas, arpa llanera, bandolas, and cuatros. The lyrics are in English and Spanish languages, and are about the film's central characters—a multi-generational family called the Madrigals, who wield magical powers gifted to them by "the miracle", except the lead protagonist Mirabel Madrigal who does not possess any gift.
Songs The opening song "The Family Madrigal" was inspired by "Belle", the opener of Beauty and the Beast (1991). It is a vallenato tune, sung by American actress Stephanie Beatriz. Mirabel introduces the Madrigals and their unique magical gifts in the song. Also performed by Beatriz, "Waiting on a Miracle" is a bambuco song, written as Mirabel's "I Want" song. During the 2018 research trip to Colombia, the filmmakers noticed that local musicians in Barichara were playing Colombian music on guitars and tiples in a waltz time signature. Miranda wrote the song in that time signature to symbolize how Mirabel is in a "different rhythmic universe than the rest of her family".
The third track, "Surface Pressure", is a reggaeton song with a synth-line, performed by American actress Jessica Darrow. Luisa Madrigal, one of Mirabel's elder sisters, expresses her insecurities and the stress she feels from her family in the song, describing the weight of responsibility. Miranda stated he wrote the song inspired by his elder sister. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" is an ensemble number, featuring verses by Pepa, Félix, Dolores, Camilo and Isabela Madrigal, who are Mirabel's aunt, uncle, cousins, and elder sister, respectively. It is sung by Colombian singers Carolina Gaitán and Mauro Castillo, American singer Adassa, American actor Rhenzy Feliz, and American actress Diane Guerrero, respectively. "We Don't Talk About Bruno" fuses various genres, such as salsa, guajira, Cuban folk, hip hop, and dance styles. It sees the characters list their perspectives of Mirabel's uncle, Bruno Madrigal, who became ostracized from his family after sharing unsettling visions.
"What Else Can I Do?" is a "Shakira-esque" rock ballad. Mostly sung by Guerrero, the song shows Isabela free herself of the "need to be perfect". "Dos Oruguitas" is a violin-driven acoustic ballad. Miranda stated it was the hardest song to write and that it became his first song written entirely in Spanish-language. To make it sound like an authentic Colombian folk song, Miranda insisted on writing the song first in Spanish, rather than writing first in English and translating into Spanish later. It was recorded by Colombian singer-songwriter Sebastián Yatra. Miranda looked to songwriters like Joan Manuel Serrat and Antônio Carlos Jobim for the song's inspiration. "Dos Oruguitas" plays when Alma Madrigal, Mirabel's maternal grandmother ("Abuela") and the matriarch of the family, loses her husband Pedro while fleeing gunmen involved in an armed conflict. It is regarded as the emotional centerpiece of the album. "All of You" is the final musical number, sung by the entire cast. It is a culmination of melodies and musical sections from all of its preceding songs. "Colombia, Mi Encanto" is a non-diegetic track sung by Carlos Vives. It is an upbeat, radio-friendly dance-pop tune intended as a tribute to Colombia. It is played twice in the film: when Antonio Madrigal, Mirabel's cousin, gets his gift and again from the film's closing scenes to the ending credits.
Critical reception
Receiving widespread acclaim, the soundtrack was a critical success and was often acclaimed in the film's reviews. Mark Kennedy of Associated Press, Edward Porter of The Sunday Times, John Lui of The Straits Times, Mini Chibber of The Hindu, Declan Burke of Irish Examiner, Whelan Barzey of Time Out, Katie Walsh of Los Angeles Times, Richard Roeper of Chicago Sun Times, Mark Feeney of The Boston Globe, Caroline Siede of The A.V. Club, Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph, and Chris Hewitt of Star Tribune have identified the music as one of the best aspects of the film. The songs have been praised for helping youngsters understand intergenerational trauma and the damage caused by repressing truth.
Variety writer Davis Clayton reviewed the soundtrack as "a quintessential sensation" by "all measures". Jeremy Crabb of Screen Rant wrote "Encantos soundtrack vividly sets the mood for this film's heartfelt, animated story", bolstered by its bold ballads and quiet, reflective songs, and picked "We Don't Talk About Bruno" as the best song. Billboard critics dubbed "We Don't Talk About Bruno" as the most memorable track, but picked "Dos Origuitas" as the best track for being a heartfelt ballad with "emotional resonance and beautiful sentimentality". TheWrap Drew Taylor also ranked "Dos Oruguitas" as the best song, and "We Don't Talk About Bruno" as the runner-up. Francesca Steele of i stated Encanto boasts a "dizzying" soundtrack "deeply woven into the characterisation". Steele appreciated Disney for embracing a different musical direction and complex ensemble pieces and dubbed it their best music since Frozen (2013). The Independent critic Clarisse Loughrey opined that many of the tracks are characteristic of Miranda's work in his musicals In the Heights or Hamilton, where "melodies will weave in and out of each other to reach a dizzying, final climax". Luke Goodsell of the ABC said the songs are Miranda's "seemingly inescapable" sounds and "vibrant musical numbers", displaying the diversity of Latin music. On the contrary, Stephen Thompson of NPR felt the songs were lackluster.
Commercial performance Encanto (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) was a huge commercial success. The album and its songs topped several streaming and record charts around the world. According to Rolling Stone, the unexpected success has "largely boggled critics, who have approached its resounding popularity like a riddle they've been asked to solve."
Albums charts The soundtrack topped the US Billboard 200 chart for nine weeks as the second longest-reigning number-one album of the 2020s decade, behind Dangerous: The Double Album (2020) by American singer Morgan Wallen. It was the first Disney soundtrack since Frozen II (2019) to reach the top spot, and marked the sixth time an animated film's soundtrack topped the chart in its history, following The Lion King (1994), Pocahontas (1995), Curious George (2006), Frozen (2013) and Frozen II, all of which are Walt Disney productions except Curious George. Billboard reported that the soundtrack is only the third album in history to debut in one of the last four spots of the Billboard 200 (197–200) and eventually make it to number one, the others being Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin II (1969) and the Monkees' Headquarters (1967).