It's not about YOU, it's about the toxicity in the family and how they were pressuring Isabela into doing things she didn't want to do and how Isabela just complied rather than assert her independence.
What made Isabela perfect was that she was a slave to her family, her wants and needs didn't matter, she always did as she was told.
Speaking of Isabela and her being "perfect"...
I wonder if I'm alone about being bothered by her make-over in the end.
Yeah, it is good that she got out of her arranged marriage and reconciled with Mirabel.
But I don't see why she needed a make-over to achieve that.
The problem was never that she was pretty and feminine.
And yes, I do get that the message is that this is Isabela expressing her "true self".
But I guess that I just have a thing against make-overs in movies in general...
Here's an interesting take on the film by a couple of therapists of color who say that seeing Encanto has been a way to help their clients of color, who tend to be immigrants, deal with certain issues in their families and cultures---which includes the pressure to be perfect by always representing the family: https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/18/health/encanto-therapy-immigration-wellness-cec/index.html
.... HAHAHAHA!
shareWhen I read therapist of color I thought they were doing therapy for colors, like green, blue, red... Helping people deal with colors.
shareI agree that the forced make overs in some Disney movies can be annoying. I never cared for Tiana's at the end of Princess and the Frog but I think it works or makes sense in this movie. I saw my sister go from teeny bopper Hanson fan to Marilyn Manson fan in a matter of weeks. Her bright clothes turned into black emo with the snap of a finger. I think Isabella's change had the same energy, if that makes sense. Always dressing so daintily and delicate and proper. perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect poses so once she was able to break free, her outward look changed as well.
I also loved how the change happened. It wasn't an obvious 'here's my new marketing toy dress' it was organic in the way the dye from the flowers accidently fell on her and just draped her in bursts of color. It wasn't the focal point of the scene and was just what she was by the end of the movie.
True, it is clear that she's not changing to please anybody else.
It is actually the opposite of what Abuela wanted her to do.
And it makes it better than many other make-overs in other movies.
But I can't be entirely happy about it...
Make overs can be a good thing if a person is sloppy and unkempt, you should always care about your appearance and put your best foot forwards despite what anyone says.
I agree.
shareWhat is Isabella’s problem?
IMO, Isabella has been raised to be a brat, sort of. As a child, for whatever reason, (it’s never specified) Isabella was chosen as Abuela’s favorite. From then, Isabella is raised as princess; she is superior to everyone, people should be in awe when she walks into a room and she never has to work (we have others, like Luisa, who do all the work for us). Also, the way Isabella treats Mirabel is exclusive, at least in my head, Isabella treats her whole family this way, we just never see it. 😄 I’d love to see how see treats her mother.
Despite being God’s gift to the valley, Isabella has recently learned that people hate her! Sure, the men in the village love her, just for her looks, most people hate her. Unlike the rest of the family, she doesn’t do anything, except grow flowers, and when she comes around, all she does is talk about herself and act like, Your lucky to know me. To add insult to injury, the people seem to love Mirabel 😳. When Mirabel visits the village, she’s friendly, kind, energetic and likable. She’s gets to know many of the people in town and asks if there’s someway she can help out. Isabella doesn’t understand this. She’s essentially a princess and has the ability to grow flowers, but people secretly hate her. Mirabel, on the other hand, has no gift and is a disgrace to her family, but the townsfolk seem to like her. Whaaat?
I know there’s probably other reasons, but I think this is a big reason why Mirabel and Isabella hate each other.
People have noticed that Isabela is the granddaughter, who looks the most like a young Alma.
So we think that she wants her to have the perfect life that she couldn't get and made her her favorite.
And yeah, there is probably a big case of mutual jealousy between Mirabel and Isabela.
Mirabel resents how Isabela is pretty and popular and Abuela's favorite.
Isabela though feels that Mirabel at least is free to make her own life choices.
If Isabella never has to work, it's not because she's "perfect" or the favorite, it's because she's thought of as useless. Her power is believed to be purely decorative, so she's thought of as purely decorative, and is pushed into a useful marriage rather than being asked to oversee the valley's agricultural needs.
As for the discord between Mirabel and Isabella, it's very simple. Mirabel resents Isabella for being perfect when she sees herself as imperfect, and Isabel senses that Mirabel hates her even though she hasn't done anything wrong. Of course she resents a person who hates her for just being herself!
Try telling her that.
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