“ | Well, my little friend, I am not, because the truth is, gift or no gift, I am just as special as the rest of my family. | ” |
—Mirabel reassuring the Town Kids of her worth in the family. |
Mirabel Madrigal is the main protagonist of Disney's feature film Encanto. She is Julieta and Agustín's youngest daughter, as well as the younger sister of Luisa and Isabela and the youngest granddaughter of Alma. She does not possess a magical gift, unlike the rest of her family.
Encanto
Description
Mirabel is a young girl who may be imperfect and "weird," but is also empathetic and emotional.[2]
Stephanie Beatriz, Mirabel's voice actor, describes her: "Mirabel doesn't have a gift, which I find extremely relatable, because there have been many times in my life where I felt like I didn't belong, I didn't measure up, I wasn't talented enough to be there, I had that sort of imposter syndrome. But I also discovered by getting older, and working more and more on trusting myself, that I do have something to offer, and it is special, and I am myself. So, you know, not everybody's gonna love that but the people that do, are gonna love it really hard."[3]
Physical appearance
Mirabel is a Colombian teenage girl with thick, brown eyebrows, hazel eyes, dark brown voluminous chin-length type 3 curly hair, and round, lime green framed glasses. She also has blue pom-pom earrings. Mirabel's clothing has a "do-it-yourself" aesthetic, representing her personality, and was based on 19th century Andean clothing, connecting to the setting of the film.[4] She wears a black-trimmed traditional Andean-styled white blouse with colorful embroidery (butterflies, a rainbow, flowers, etc.). She also wears a long, ankle-length teal Colombian-styled embroidered skirt with stitched icons representing her family, like a small basket of buñuelos for Julieta, a chameleon for Camilo, flowers for Isabela, dumbbells for Luisa, musical notes for Dolores and so on. Other than that, it's mostly embroidered with colorful butterfly prints. Under it are white bloomers, and her name is embroidered in cursive at the hem of her skirt. At the bottom of her skirt are lilac tassels lined across with dark blue lace. She wears magenta alpargatas (espadrilles) with black ribbons tied around her ankles. Mirabel also carries a brown bag inspired by the Mochila from Wayuu Indigenous Community.[4]
At night, she wears a white ankle-length nightgown with a green ribbon at the neckline.
As a 5-year-old child, Mirabel still had her signature green glasses and looked very similar to her teenage self, with the same hairstyle and small face. On the night of her ceremony, Mirabel wore a white party dress that had golden butterflies embroidered on it and lace ruffles at the sleeves, and a light pink bow pin placed near the top and slightly to the left side of her head. She also wore white and gold flats that matched her dress.
Personality
Mirabel is a free-spirited and open-minded young woman who is optimistic, but slightly insecure due to the fact that she lacks magical powers, unlike her family members. She devotes herself to saving Casa Madrigal and the magical world of Encanto when Casita cracks, showing her bravery. She loves to solve problems and tries to make friends with people a lot, especially her own family members. Mirabel is lively and always open to help her family. She is beautiful on the inside and on the outside, which is very special.
Relationships
- Alma Madrigal: Alma is Mirabel's maternal grandmother as the mother of Mirabel's own mother Julieta. As a young child, Mirabel and Alma were close, with Mirabel enjoying Alma's stories of how their family's miracle came to be. However, after Mirabel didn’t get her gift, their relationship grew distant. Mirabel does value Alma's opinion on her, doing her best to try to measure up to the rest of the family, but her attempts to help were often ignored by Alma. Mirabel was visibly hurt when Alma blamed all of the family's misfortune on her, but Mirabel then became angry at Alma and blamed her for damaging the family's miracle insisting that she, Bruno and everyone else loved the family except for Alma. However, after the house collapsed, Mirabel and Alma had a heart to heart where Mirabel expresses empathy towards her grandmother for the sorrow she endured as a young woman. Alma also realizes her mistake of caring about the magic more than the family and the two make amends.
- Agustín and Julieta Madrigal: Mirabel has a good relationship with her parents, Agustín and Julieta, affectionately calling them "Papi" and "Mamá". Agustín and Julieta offered words of comfort to Mirabel on the day of Antonio's gift ceremony in an attempt to make her feel better about not having a gift, and Mirabel appreciates this while she usually does not believe them.
- Isabela Madrigal: Isabela is Mirabel's oldest sister. When they were younger, Mirabel and Isabela were very close, but drifted apart as they got older due to the growing pressure on Isabela to be perfect. By the start of the film, their relationship had become so strained that they have a mutual contempt for each other. Mirabel's dislike of Isabela is shown several times throughout the film, such as having a visibly annoyed looked on her face during Isabela's verse in the song "We Don’t Talk About Bruno", and describing Isabela as a "selfish, entitled Princess" during an argument. While ranting about Isabela to Bruno, Mirabel states her belief that Isabela hates her and describes her sister as "annoying". Despite her initial dislike of Isabela, Mirabel does sing her praises at the beginning of the film in the song "The Family Madrigal", describing Isabela as "perfect", "graceful" and "the Golden child", although she also calls her a "prima donna". Mirabel's relationship with Isabela dramatically improves during the song "What Else Can I Do", when Mirabel was able to see what her sister actually felt and encouraged her to embrace her imperfection, and the two sisters hug causing the magic to strengthen and the candle to burn brighter.
- Luisa Madrigal: Luisa is Mirabel's older sister. Between her two older sisters, in the film, Mirabel, for the most part, was shown to have a better relationship with Luisa than with Isabela. During the song "The Family Madrigal", it is shown that Mirabel holds Luisa in high regard, describing her as "the brawn" who "does no wrong". Mirabel loves and cares about Luisa, this being shown in the song "Surface Pressure", when Mirabel was visibly worried about the pressure that Luisa was under, and giving her a hug afterwards, telling her that she thinks she carries "way too much". Her concern for Luisa is shown again during the song "We Don’t Talk About Bruno", when Mirabel was saddened to see that Luisa, who could previously lift a church with little effort, was now struggling to lift a flower pot. During dinner with the Guzmáns, Mirabel tried to help cover up the fact that Luisa was in fact losing her gift. At the end of the film during the song "All Of You", Mirabel reassures Luisa she is more than just her gift, and along with Isabela, gives Luisa a comforting hug when Luisa admits that she sometimes shows weakness such as crying despite believing she should be strong.
- Antonio Madrigal: Antonio is Mirabel's maternal youngest cousin. Mirabel is very close to Antonio to the point of treating him as if he were her younger brother, this being shown when she comforts Antonio when he was nervous about his gift ceremony. During his gift ceremony, Mirabel walks Antonio to his door when Antonio insisted that he needed her for extra confidence.
- Bruno Madrigal: Bruno is Mirabel's maternal uncle as the younger triplet brother of Mirabel's mother Julieta. Due to Bruno keeping to himself, Mirabel has little to no memory of Bruno when she was a young child. In the film, when they see each other for the first time in ten years, their meeting was somewhat awkward but friendly. The two started to bond during the movie when Mirabel convinces Bruno to have another vision so she can see how she's supposed to save the magic. Mirabel grew to care for Bruno, this being shown when she reassures him that she doesn't believe that he makes bad things happen, as well as pausing from saving the candle to make sure that Bruno made it out of the collapsing house safely. Mirabel also stood up for him when Alma accused Bruno of not caring about their family.
History
Past
Mirabel was born on March 6, fifteen years before the events of the film, and she is the youngest daughter of Julieta and Agustín Madrigal. Mirabel shared the nursery with her cousin, Camilo, who is three months older than her, until he received his gift on his fifth birthday and subsequently moved out of the nursery. Prior to that she and Camilo both shared the nursery with Mirabel's sister Luisa for one year.
On the night of 5-year-old Mirabel's gift ceremony, she touched the door handle of her soon-to-be room, excited to learn what kind of gift she would get. But her door suddenly faded away, and she didn't get a gift like the rest of her family. This left everyone who attended the ceremony shocked, especially Abuela and Mirabel's family.
Ever since that day, Mirabel has been desperately trying to make up for the fact she didn't receive a gift by helping out in an attempt to "make her family proud". Despite that, she is unable to help as much as her cousins, sisters, mother and aunt, due to their having gifts, much to her dismay.
Encanto
At the start of the film, it is the morning of Antonio's fifth birthday, meaning that he is expected to receive a gift by the end of the day. Some kids in the Encanto arrive at la Casa Madrigal, and ask Mirabel what type of gift Antonio has, to which Mirabel replies that they’ll find out that night. When the kids keep asking about the family, Mirabel talks about the family, introducing her grandmother, cousins, sisters, parents, aunt and uncles in "The Family Madrigal".
As the kids press Mirabel about what her power is, Mirabel frantically tries to steer the conversation back to her other relatives. When she returns to the Casita, Alma asks Mirabel what she's doing. Mirabel casually explains that the kids were asking about the family, and Alejandra tells Alma that Mirabel was just about to tell them "about her super awesome gift". Mirabel and the rest of the kids are left in an awkward silence after Dolores reveals that Mirabel didn’t get a gift.
When Mirabel tries to explain herself to the kids, Osvaldo arrives at the Casita and gives Mirabel a large gift basket, which he calls "a not special special" since she's the only Madrigal child without a gift. When one of the kids tells Mirabel that if she were in her position she'd be very sad, Mirabel says she isn't sad because even without a gift she believes she's special as the rest of her family. When they witness members of the family using their gifts such as Pepa creating a rainbow, Isabela creating more flowers and Luisa lifting a wheel barrel, Mirabel is told that maybe her gift is being in denial.
When Mirabel enters the house, she is greeted with many of the towns people helping to set up Antonio's gift ceremony. When Pepa creates a whirlwind in her panic and accidentally destroys some flowers, Mirabel is visibly annoyed when Isabela comes along and is greeted with cheers as she creates new flowers while swinging down from her vine. When she lands, she flips her hair in Mirabel's face causing some flower petals to go into Mirabel's mouth. Isabela tells Mirabel if she wasn't trying so hard she wouldn't always be in the way, and Mirabel insists that she's helping, and retorts that she's not in the way, but rather Isabela is. Her focus on Isabela causes her to walk right into a pillar.
When Mirabel brings the party supplies into the kitchen, Julieta asks her if she's okay telling her she doesn't need to overdo it. Mirabel asserts that she's fine but she just wants to do her part like everyone else in the family. Agustín tries to console Mirabel about not having a gift, saying that he knows how it feels like to be a part of an exceptional family and feel "un-ceptional". Julieta offers Mirabel a chance to talk, and Mirabel says she needs to put out the decorations because the house won't decorate itself. When she realizes the house's negative reaction, she apologizes saying that the house could decorate itself and that it looks great. As she walks away, her parents tell her she has nothing to prove, to which she responds with a thumbs up.
Mirabel puts decorative candleholders outside of the doors of her sisters and grandmother. She stares sadly at the pictures on the wall of the other people in her family who got a gift at the age of five. When Mirabel hears shouting, she accidentally stumbles into one of the candles and sets one of the decorations on fire, struggling to put it out. Alma then walks up to Mirabel and tells her that maybe she should leave the decorations to someone else. Mirabel tells her that she was making the decorations as a surprise.
Alma tells Mirabel she knows she wants to help, but Antonio's gift ceremony has to go perfectly, and that the best way for Mirabel to help would be to stand aside and let the members of the family do what they do best. Mirabel, visibly saddened by this, forces a smile on her face and tells Alma that she understands. When the conversation ends, Mirabel overhears her mother and grandmother talking, and overhears her grandmother say that if Antonio's gift ceremony doesn't go well it'll be a sad day for all of them.
Mirabel goes to sit on her bed in the nursery, and she hears people calling for Antonio. Mirabel takes a present from inside of her drawer, and seemingly knowing where Antonio is, tells him that people are looking for him. She dangles the present over the edge of the bed saying that the present will self-destruct if he doesn't take it in three seconds. Antonio then reaches from under the bed to grab the present.
Mirabel crawls under the bed and tells a clearly anxious Antonio that he doesn't have anything to worry about. She assures Antonio that he will get his gift and he will open his door to his new room and it'll be a great experience. Antonio asks Mirabel what happens if it doesn't work, and Mirabel tells him that in that "impossible scenario", Antonio would stay in the nursery with her, and she can have him all to herself, which makes Antonio laugh. Antonio tells Mirabel that he wishes that she could've had a door. Mirabel tells Antonio that he doesn't have to worry about her, because she has an amazing house, an amazing family, and an amazing cousin, and she'll be even happier once Antonio gets his gift.
When Antonio opens his gift and sees it's a handmade stuffed jaguar, Mirabel tells him that once he moves into his cool new room, he'll at least have something to snuggle with.
Casita alerts the two cousins of the time, and forces them from underneath the bed. Mirabel brings Antonio to greet his parents and siblings and she watches them interact until Dolores tells them that it’s time.
Mirabel initially stays in the shadows and watches Antonio at the end of the aisle. Antonio turns to her and holds out his hand, and Mirabel says that she can't. Antonio insists that he needs her support, and Mirabel reluctantly takes Antonio's hand and guides him down the aisle and up the stairs to his door. As she does this, Mirabel remembers how her ceremony was unsuccessful ten years earlier and how sad she was when her door vanished.
Mirabel stands on the sidelines as she watches Antonio touch the candle and Alma asks him if he will use his gift to honor the miracle and strengthen the community. Antonio then touches his door knob and successfully receives his gift, much to everyone's relief.
Mirabel smiles as her younger cousin successfully receives his gift. However, Mirabel's smile quickly fades when she watches the rest of the family gather for a picture without her. Mirabel tries to convince herself that she's okay, saying that she'll stand on the side as Antonio
shines in the spotlight, but she quickly admits that she's not fine before going into the song "Waiting On A Miracle", where she expresses her desire to receive a gift and be just like the other members of her family.
Mirabel is mentally preparing herself to return to the gift ceremony when she hears a clay shingle fall from Casita's roof. While she is investigating, she cuts her hand on the broken shingle. She looks around in alarm and sees the tiles are rumbling and cracks are suddenly starting to form all over the house. The magical doors start flickering - and most alarmingly, the candle flickers and almost goes out. Mirabel abruptly stops the party to inform everybody about what is going on. Strangely, when she checks back, everything she previously saw was gone, leaving everyone to think that Mirabel is purposefully seeking out attention since she does not have a gift. Alma resumes the party by covering up what Mirabel has said. Later in the kitchen, Julieta tries to cheer up her daughter while healing Mirabel's cut hand with an arepa con queso. Mirabel is sure of what she saw and refuses to be distracted from it. Julieta tells Mirabel she fears Mirabel will lose her way in the family if she's not careful, and encourages her to get some sleep.
Mirabel is unable to sleep that night, as she continues thinking about the cracks and the candle. She decides to sneak across the rooftop to Abuela's window to inspect the candle. While there, she overhears her abuela praying and imploring Abuelo Pedro to help her save their miracle. Abuela reveals that she believes Mirabel about the cracks and is alarmed by them. Encouraged that her abuela believes her, Mirabel determines that she will save the miracle. She gets dressed and prepares to leave her room to begin her investigation before realizing she has no idea what she's doing. She consults Casita, who has no idea either. Mirabel gets the idea to ask Dolores the next morning what she might have heard.
At breakfast, Mirabel initiates her plan to find out what is going on with the magic by asking Dolores, her cousin, hoping she will know due to her enhanced hearing. She's annoyed to learn she was actually talking to Camilo shapeshifted into Dolores, after Tío Félix, much to his son's dismay, scolds him for pretending to be Dolores so he can sneak seconds. The real Dolores answers Mirabel's question with one piece of information that grabs her attention: Luisa's eye was twitching the entire night. During breakfast, Mirabel repeatedly tries to sit next to Luisa to prod her about the magic, but her older sister anxiously ignores her. Alma, seeing how Mirabel cannot calm down, changes her seating far away from Luisa.
After everyone shouts their family mantra, Mirabel leaves in a hurry to talk to Luisa but notices that she is gone. Mirabel finds her sister helping the townspeople of the Encanto, with her current task being to round up the donkeys. Mirabel begs Luisa to spill what she might know about the magic dying, prompting Luisa to uncharacteristically shout at her sister that nothing is wrong. She later reaffirms that everything is okay, despite her eye twitching again. This leads to Luisa confessing the constant pressure of holding everyone's burden and acting strong all the time (Surface Pressure). Luisa reveals that she felt weak the previous night and that the problem with the magic must be connected to their uncle Bruno, as she heard the adults discussing a terrible vision that he had before he disappeared. She advises her younger sister to start with Bruno's tower with the warning to be careful, as the place is "off-limits for a reason".
Mirabel sneaks into Bruno's tower, which proves difficult due to the neglected condition of the room; the incredibly long, winding stairs; and the fact that the one companion she discovers in the tower, Pico the toucan, opts to fly to the top, leaving her to climb the stairs alone. However, when she finally makes it up the stairs, she finds Bruno's vision cave across a chasm. Inside she finds shards of glowing green glass. She finds that the shards create a picture when put together. After putting a few of them together, she sees an image of her own self, revealing she is somehow important to the vision. The vision cave starts to collapse, and Mirabel quickly gathers the rest of the shards, tucking them into her mochila before escaping the collapsing room.
After escaping Bruno's tower with his vision in her bag, Mirabel accidentally runs into her grandmother, who asks her where she's coming from in a hurry. As Mirabel tries to avoid answering the question, Luisa runs in and they both listen to her panicked explanation as to how she's losing her gift. When Luisa runs away crying and Alma asks Mirabel what she said to her, Mirabel denies that she said anything. When Alma turns to leave to get the Guzmáns for Isabela's engagement, she tells Mirabel to stop doing what she's doing, and to not speak to Luisa until Alma has a chance to do so first.
Mirabel goes into the nursery to try to assemble pieces of the vision, asking aloud why she's in Bruno's vision. Just then, she's startled by Pepa's thunder clap, and Pepa tells her that she only came to the nursery to get more of Antonio's stuff to put in his room before she heard Bruno's name. Mirabel tries to ask Pepa what would it mean if someone was in Bruno's vision, but Pepa tells her they don't talk about Bruno and they need to get ready for the Guzmáns. While Mirabel tries to get more information about Bruno's vision from Pepa, Félix comes in and tells Mirabel that Bruno's visions were nightmares, explaining that Bruno would say something terrible and then it would happen. Mirabel asks what if they didn't understand what Bruno saw, and Félix tells her to figure it out because "it" was coming for her. This leads Pepa into the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno", and Mirabel listens to members of the family, as well as the townsfolk, telling her why they don't talk about Bruno. At the end of the song, Mirabel returns to the nursery and assembles the rest of Bruno's vision. She sees that she's standing in front of Casita, which appears to be breaking apart, and she expresses regret at having brought up Bruno in the first place.
When her dad walks in to get her for dinner, Mirabel and Casita try unsuccessfully to hide the vision from Agustín. Mirabel quickly explains to him that the magic is dying, the house is breaking and Luisa's losing her gift, and she thinks it's all because of her. Agustín quickly shoves the pieces of Bruno's vision in his pockets and tells Mirabel to keep quiet about the vision. However, much to their chagrin, they notice that Dolores is outside listening, and Mirabel points out that she's going to tell everyone.
While at the table, Mirabel stares down Dolores, but as soon they break eye contact, Dolores whispers to Camilo that Mirabel found Bruno's vision. Mirabel watches as the information about Bruno's vision is passed around the table. While trying to keep her composure, Mirabel notices the floor cracking. When she leans over to get a better look, Mariano calls her name, causing Mirabel to bump her head on the table. When Mariano asks her if everything's okay, Agustín assures him that everything is fine and that Mirabel is just excited for Mariano to propose to her sister. They both try to encourage Mariano to propose to Isabela quickly.
As Mariano awkwardly begins his proposal speech, Mirabel tries to hurry the proposal along, and Señora Guzmán tells the family that since everyone in the family has a talent, Mariano wanted to start by singing a song and she asks Luisa to get the piano. Mirabel watches with genuine concern as Luisa gets up from the table crying, and Mirabel forces Mariano out of his seat and on one knee while insisting that it's family tradition to sing after a proposal is given.
When Mirabel notices the floor cracking some more, she jumps on the cracks to hide them. When everyone looks at her with confusion, Mirabel tells Mariano that he's doing great. She then notices some of Antonio's coatis taking pieces of the vision out of her father's pocket. When she sees them assembling the pieces of the vision in an empty tray, Mirabel tries to grab it but the animals pull it away from her. As the dinner continues spiraling out of control, the coatis place the completed vision on the table and Mirabel accidentally slides it to Alma while trying to grab it. When the dinner ends in disaster, the Guzmáns leave and everybody walks out of the dining room. Mirabel tries to explain herself to Alma, insisting that there has to be an explanation for what's going on.
Just then, Mirabel notices rats taking pieces of the vision. Mirabel follows the rats to a painting, and when she pulls the painting away she notices a large hole in the wall and climbs through it. She spots a hooded figure, her uncle Bruno, holding the pieces before he suddenly disappears. Mirabel chases after Bruno, yelling for him to stop. He initially outruns her after jump over a large hole in the floor. Mirabel also jumps over the hole in the floor trying to catch up with him, but the floor breaks underneath her. Mirabel cries out for help as she struggles to pull herself up, and Bruno catches her just before she falls. When the floor crumbles beneath Bruno, she grabs onto him before he falls, but accidentally lets go when she’s startled by a rat on his shoulder. However, Bruno pops up unharmed and realizes the hole isn’t as deep as they initially thought.
Mirabel helps Bruno climb onto the ledge before he walks away. Mirabel follows Bruno, asking why he took the vision and what it means, and if the vision is the reason he came back. Bruno tells Mirabel that neither she nor anyone else was ever supposed to see that vision. When she sees the cracks in the wall, she asks Bruno if he was in the walls patching the cracks. Bruno tells her that he was too afraid to go near the cracks and all the patching was done by Hernando. When she asks who that is, Bruno puts his hood over his head and calls himself Hernando saying that he’s not afraid of anything. He also puts a bucket over his head and calls himself Jorge, saying that he makes the spackle to patch the cracks. Mirabel, visibly confused by Bruno's behavior, asks him how long he's been in the walls. She follows him to his hiding space in the wall, and realizes that he never left. Bruno says that he just left his tower because there were a lot of stairs, and while living in the wall he's next to the kitchen, and he also has free entertainment with the rats. Mirabel tells Bruno that she doesn't understand why he left but didn't actually leave. Bruno says it was because the mountains around the Encanto are very tall and because he gets free food while staying in the house. Mirabel takes notices of a small crack in the wall, and when she looks through it she notices the dining area where the family normally sits. When she looks down she sees Bruno had drawn himself a plate on a table. Bruno tells Mirabel that his gift wasn't helpful to the family but he loves the family.
Bruno tries to tell Mirabel that she should go, but Mirabel asks Bruno why she was in his vision. Mirabel tells Bruno that she wanted to make the family proud of her at least once, and she wants Bruno to tell her if she should stop because she's hurting the family, but she's visibly disappointed when Bruno tells her that he couldn't tell her. Bruno elaborates saying that he can’t tell her because he doesn't know what's going to happen. He reassembles the vision and explains to Mirabel that he had the vision the night Mirabel didn't get her gift because Alma was worried about the fate of the magic. When he had his vision, he said that the vision would change and it was almost as if her fate was undecided. But since he knew people would expect the worst of his visions, he decided to leave and not to tell anyone what he had seen. Mirabel is surprised as well as saddened when she realizes that Bruno left to protect her. Bruno concludes by saying that he doesn't know what will happen but if he had to guess he believes that the fate of the family, the Encanto and the miracle itself will come down to her. He then quickly snatches the vision from her and says that he’s probably wrong and it's a mystery and that's why his vision is not good. He quickly rushes her out of the room, and tells her that if he could help anymore he would and wishes her good luck, telling her he wished he could've seen more before closing the door behind her.
After thinking about what Bruno said for a few seconds, Mirabel becomes excited and kicks open the door to tell Bruno that if he wanted to see more he should just see more. She implores him to have another vision. Bruno backs away from her, telling her that he doesn’t do visions anymore. Mirabel tells Bruno that he can't just tell her that the fate of the Encanto rests on her shoulders and that be the end of it, saying that if their fate is up to her, she says that Bruno should have another vision. Bruno tells her that even if he wanted to have another vision, which he emphasizes he doesn't, Mirabel wrecked his vision cave, which is an issue because he needs a big open space. Mirabel tells Bruno that they'll find one, and when Bruno asks where they're going to find a big open space, Antonio interjects and says that they could use his room. He explains that he knows what's going on because the rats told him. She tells Bruno that the family needs help and that Bruno really needs to get out of the wall.
After Bruno agrees to have another vision, the three of them go into Antonio's room. As Bruno is pouring sand in a circle, Mirabel tries to insist that he needs to hurry. Bruno tells her that they can't hurry the future, and expresses his concern that Mirabel will be unhappy with his vision and blame him if it's something she doesn't like. Mirabel consoles Bruno by telling him that she doesn't believe that he makes bad things happen.
After Bruno finishes his ritual, Mirabel takes his hands as Bruno starts having his vision. Bruno becomes distressed when he realizes it's just the same thing he saw the last time and he says he needs to stop. Mirabel insists that he keeps going because she needs to know what's going to happen next. Bruno tells her that she sees the same thing that he sees, and just then Mirabel spots a butterfly. They're both confused as they don't know where the butterfly is going and Bruno comments that the vision is out of order. They then notice that the candle is starting to get brighter, and Bruno tells Mirabel that he thinks she’s going to help with the candle. When Mirabel asks how, Bruno points out another figure that's with her, and Bruno initially says that Mirabel fights her, much to Mirabel's confusion. Bruno then realizes that Mirabel is hugging the obscure figure, and Mirabel asks who she's hugging. When the vision clears, they both realize, much to Mirabel's displeasure, that it's Isabela. When Bruno shows Mirabel the vision, she groans in anger.
After they leave Antonio's room, they hide behind some plants across from Isabela's room. Mirabel asks Bruno why embracing Isabela would do anything, and Bruno tells her that he doesn't know. They then quickly hide when they see Camilo on the lower floor of the house, yelling for Mirabel as he struggles to control his shapeshifting. Bruno tells Mirabel that they're running out of time, and Mirabel insists that it won't work, saying that Isabela hates her before going into a rant about how much she dislikes Isabela. Mirabel is stunned into silence when Bruno shouts at her to get her attention. Bruno tells Mirabel that she's missing the point and that the fate of the miracle isn't up to Isabela it's up to her, insisting that Mirabel is what the family needs and she just needs to see it. He then tells her she'll have to see it by herself because he's leaving, much to Mirabel's surprise. She then realizes that Bruno is just afraid that Alma would see him, and before he goes back into the wall, Bruno tells Mirabel to come visit after she saves the miracle. Mirabel promises Bruno that after she saves the miracle, she will bring him home. He then slips back into the wall behind the painting, while Mirabel prepares herself to go see Isabela.
Mirabel goes into Isabela's room, and through obvious discomfort, states that although they've had their issues she is ready to be a better sister to her, and that they should just hug out their problems. Isabela, already annoyed, asks Mirabel if she has lost her mind. Mirabel points out that Isabela seems upset and the best way to cure being upset is through a hug, but as she tries to get close, Isabela blocks her way with her vines and tells her to get out. Isabela then demands that if Mirabel wanted to be a better sister, she should apologize to her for ruining her life. Mirabel notices that the house is rumbling, and struggles to say the words "I am sorry", however, she ends up lashing out and passive aggressively says that she's sorry that Isabela's life is so great.
When Isabela tries to drag Mirabel out with her vines, Mirabel insists that she's sorry, and, struggling against the vines, says that she wasn't trying to ruin Isabela's life. She insists that there are much bigger problems, and calls Isabela a "selfish, entitled princess." Isabela accuses Mirabel of only ever messing up her life. Mirabel tells Isabela that nothing is ruined and she can still get married to Mariano. Isabela confesses to Mirabel that she never wanted to marry Mariano in the first place and she was only doing it for the family. In Isabela's anger, she accidentally creates a cactus.
Mirabel, visibly shocked to hear that, comments that what Isabela just said was a serious confession and once again invites her to hug. But Isabela is too distracted by the cactus and starts singing "What Else Can I Do?". As Isabela experiments with her expanded plant magic, Mirabel chases her around the room trying to get a hug, getting tripped up and caught up in various plants in the proccess. When Isabela expresses that she wants something real rather than superficial, Mirabel remarks that Isabela's life seemed to be "a dream" since she was born. She spends the rest of the song encouraging Isabela to express herself, following Isabela and she goes around growing all kinds of new plants. The girls eventually find themselves in front of the candle, where Isabela pulls Mirabel in for a tight hug, expressing that she owes this all to Mirabel. Mirabel hugs her back, and she is happy to see the cracks in the Casita fading away as the candle burns brighter.
Isabela swings herself and Mirabel from a vine into the air before they land in a flower bed in the middle of the courtyard in the Casita, leaving the two sisters giggling.
When Alma comes into the house angry, demanding to know what’s going on, Mirabel tries to explain that they're saving the miracle. When Alma asked her what she's talking about, Mirabel tells Alma that Isabela wasn't happy, and Alma interrupts her saying that it was obvious that Isabela would be unhappy because Mirabel ruined her proposal. Mirabel asserts and confesses that Isabela needed her to ruin her proposal, and she goes on to tell Alma that this is the reason she was in Bruno's vision because she was supposed to save the miracle.
Alma gets angry and tells Mirabel to stop, and Mirabel is hurt when Alma proceeds to blame her for all the family's problems, with Luisa and Isabela watching in shame and silently blaming themselves, not Mirabel. Mirabel suggests that neither she nor anyone else in the family would ever be good enough no matter how hard they tried. Mirabel proceeds to escalate the argument, defending her sisters and uncle by asserting that no matter how hard they tried, Luisa would never be strong enough for Alma, Isabela would never be perfect enough for Alma, and that Bruno only left the family because Alma only ever saw the worst in him. When Alma affirms that Bruno never cared about the family, Mirabel states that Bruno, she and everyone else loves the family and Alma is the only one who doesn't care, accusing her abuela of being the reason the miracle is dying.
When their argument concludes, the house starts cracking and falling apart as the candle starts fading. Mirabel calls out to Casita to help her get to Alma's window to get the candle. Casita eventually forces everyone else out of the house while Mirabel struggles to reach the candle. When Mirabel grabs the candle, the house helps her safely land on the ground floor, and protects her with furniture as the house starts caving in on itself.
When the dust clears, Mirabel is unharmed, but the flame of the candle goes out. Her mother comes to check on her to see if she's OK. Julieta tells her to stay put as she answers Pepa's calls. When Julieta turns back, she notices that Mirabel is gone. Heartbroken, Mirabel leaves the Encanto through the pass created in the mountains when the candle went out.
Mirabel reaches a river outside the Encanto and sits on the bank to cry. Her grandmother finds her, and she apologizes to her, saying she never wanted to hurt the family but she was just trying to be something that she wasn't.
Alma reveals that the river they're sitting by is the same river that she and Pedro crossed in search of a new home many years earlier. She tells Mirabel that she never thought that she would be able to return to the river because it's where they got their miracle. Shocked, Mirabel realizes this is the river where her grandfather was killed. Alma admits that when they were given the miracle, she was so afraid to lose it that she forgot who the miracle was truly for. She apologizes to Mirabel, and accepts that she herself was the reason that the miracle died.
Just then, Mirabel notices a butterfly, the same butterfly from Bruno's vision. She takes Alma's hands and expresses empathy towards her for the losses she suffered, understanding that because of what Alma went through she didn't want it to happen again. Mirabel goes on to tell her grandmother that they were safe, were a family, and had a miracle because of her. Alma realizes that when she asked Pedro for help, he sent her Mirabel, and the two embrace, surrounded by a swarm of butterflies.
Suddenly, Bruno rides in on a horse. Bruno attempts to defend Mirabel before Alma rushes to give him a hug. Mirabel, Alma and Bruno all get back on the horse. Mirabel tells them that they're going home and they ride off back to the Encanto.
When the trio returns, Julieta embraces Mirabel tightly as soon as Mirabel dismounts. Agustín, covered in bee stings, complains about all the bees he encountered while searching for Mirabel, but assures Mirabel he'll be okay.
"All Of You" opens with Mirabel observing the rubble of the house and discussing laying a new foundation. She acknowledges the desires of her family to shine, but emphasizes that they are more than just their gifts. After their family is completely reunited, the townspeople arrive to help begin clearing the rubble and rebuilding. Mirabel and Alma work together to oversee the construction of the house, with Mirabel going over blueprints and supervising family and villagers. When the house is complete, Mirabel is presented with a special doorknob made by her family. Antonio walks her to the front door to place the knob, and the family lines up in a manner reminiscent of her gift ceremony. They all speak words of encouragement over her, and Bruno calls her "the real gift." When Mirabel places the doorknob, waves of rainbow colored magic emanate from the knob, engulfing the house and reanimating it. In the process, an image of the entire family is magically engraved on the front door. A window shutter waves at the family, and Mirabel waves back with, "Hola, Casita."
Casita then pulls the family inside the house, starting with Mirabel. She shouts for her family and the townspeople to join her. Mirabel and Alma later join their family for an updated family photo.
Powers and Abilities
As she was not given a gift, Mirabel has no magical power or ability like the rest of her exceptional family. However, it is shown that she can communicate with Casita, something that the rest of her family, save for Abuela Alma, is not shown doing. At the end of the movie, Mirabel adds her own doorknob (made for her by her family) to the front door, which restores the magic, bringing Casita back to life, and affirms Mirabel as the new vessel for the magic. The Madrigals get their gifts back, and the front door shows all the Madrigals carved on it, with Mirabel in the middle. This new miracle is born from Mirabel's love for her family. To reflect this, the color of the magic is different from what it was previously. When the candle held the magic, its power was golden. Mirabel's new magic is rainbow colored.
Aside from her role as the new vessel of the miracle, Mirabel is shown to have great ability in many different areas. Most notably, she is a skilled seamstress and embroiderer, having decorated her own outfit in extensive embroidery. She also gifts Antonio with a handmade jaguar plush toy of her own making. Mirabel has quick reflexes and can catch and carry multiple ceramic plates. She is agile enough to swing across a large chasm, sprint across Casita's rooftops, and keep up with Isabela when the latter is rapidly growing enormous plants. Mirabel can also play the accordion and is good enough to be spontaneously invited by the town's musicians to play with them. Over the course of the film, Mirabel discovers she is also exceptionally good at getting others in her family to open up to her.
Trivia
- Mirabel is the first female protagonist to wear glasses in a Disney animated film.
- Mirabel is also the fourth Disney protagonist of all time to wear glasses.
- At the start of production, Mirabel's original name was initially supposed to be Mariana.[5] Another name choice for the character was "Beatriz" which coincides with the surname of the character's voice actress.[6]
- Mirabel's height is 5'2".[7]
- Mirabel’s birthday is March 6th[8], which means that her star sign is Pisces.
- The reason why Mirabel did not get a gift is left unexplained due to the directors stating that, in the film, "she is who she needs to be for a very good reason".[9]
- Numerous elements has been added to Mirabel to reinforce the theme of the film, perception:
- Firstly, Mirabel's glasses were, in fact, an important aspect of her design. As stated by Lorelay Bové, a production designer for the film: "One of the film’s main themes is perspective — how different points of view can affect a relationship — and having our main character wear glasses was an intentional choice to reinforce that theme."[10]
- Secondly, the name "Mirabel" was chosen since mira is a conjugation of the Spanish verb mirar, meaning "to look".[11]
- Although a coincidence, the fact that Mirabel rhymes with the word "miracle" reinforces the name choice for the character.[12]
- The stitched icons on her skirt represent each member of family. It's a way to celebrate them, as she is proud of them, but at the same time, she wants people to notice her as well (represented with loud elements like the pink tassels). The skirt was made to be overall imperfect and feel handmade.[4]
- Mirabel's hands sweat when she is nervous, as shown when she wipes her hand on her dress during the gift ceremony and Bruno's remark when he is trying to save her.
- According to the Art of Encanto, Mirabel's full name is Mirabel Valentina Rojas Madrigal.
- It is seen in "The Family Madrigal" that Mirabel is good at playing an accordion.
Gallery
References
- ↑ https://twitter.com/thejaredbush/status/1468685741769125888
- ↑ https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/2021/09/10/encanto-character-details/
- ↑ https://www.vitalthrills.com/encanto-movie/
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 The Art of Encanto
- ↑ https://thedisinsider.com/2020/12/09/exclusive-new-details-for-walt-disney-animation-studios-encanto/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/thejaredbush/status/1484943701105262593
- ↑ https://twitter.com/thejaredbush/status/1481860161648017408
- ↑ https://twitter.com/thejaredbush/status/1498571204549963777
- ↑ https://www.polygon.com/2021/11/27/22799299/encanto-ending-mirabel-magic
- ↑ https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/as-bold-and-interesting-on-the-outside-as-on-the-inside-1235069482/
- ↑ https://twitter.com/thejaredbush/status/1475591897573777408
- ↑ https://twitter.com/thejaredbush/status/1482360383805345796
v - eCharacters | ||
---|---|---|
Madrigals | Main Characters | Mirabel Madrigal • Luisa Madrigal • Isabela Madrigal • Alma Madrigal • Bruno Madrigal |
Supporting Characters | Julieta Madrigal • Agustín Madrigal • Pepa Madrigal • Félix Madrigal • Dolores Madrigal • Camilo Madrigal • Antonio Madrigal | |
Minor Characters | Mariano Guzmán • Señora Guzmán • Osvaldo • Old Arturo • Señor Flores • Señora Pezmuerto • José • Señora Ozma • Señor Rendon • Lili • Parce • Chispi • Pico • Pumped Juancho • Little Alejandra • Innocent Cecilia |