Why Disney’s magical Colombian village is rooted in the reality of transgenerational trauma

Countries & Cities · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: The Madrigal family lives in a charmed, isolated domain called an Encanto, where magic and reality merge. While the film is a vibrant musical fantasy, its creators built the story on the heavy, universal weight of family expectations, hidden burdens, and the struggle to be truly seen by loved ones.

The 2021 film Encanto, directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, follows a multigenerational Colombian family whose members receive magical gifts to serve their community. The story begins with a historical tragedy: an armed conflict forces founders Pedro and Alma Madrigal to flee their village. Pedro is killed, but his sacrifice imbues a candle with power, creating a sentient house—Casita—within a protected, magical realm. This setting, the Encanto, was inspired by the mountainous terrain of Colombia, which historically divided and isolated villages, giving each a distinct personality.

Development of the film was driven by three core discoveries about family dynamics: that most people do not feel truly seen, that they carry invisible burdens, and that they are often oblivious to the fact that their relatives share these same feelings. To ground these themes, the production team consulted psychologists and hired a Colombian Cultural Trust. Experts like Alejandra Espinosa Uribe guided the team on cultural authenticity, while the directors shifted the film's aesthetic from the 1950s to the early 1900s to reflect the displacement caused by the Thousand Days' War.

The film uses magical realism to externalize internal struggles. Each family member’s gift is an exaggerated manifestation of a personality archetype; for instance, Isabela represents the 'golden child' and Luisa the 'rock' who carries every burden. The central conflict arises when these roles become stifling. Mirabel, the only family member without a gift, eventually challenges the matriarch Alma, whose obsession with preserving the magic—born from her own trauma—had blinded her to the emotional harm she caused. Ultimately, the film suggests that the family's true strength lies not in their magical gifts, but in their ability to reconcile and see one another as they truly are.

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