{"id":7641,"date":"2021-11-23T12:19:25","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T11:19:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1516534"},"modified":"2021-11-23T12:34:11","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T11:34:11","slug":"encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Encanto director says \u201cevery road led to Colombia\u201d for Disney\u2019s first Latin American animated film"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Patrick Cremona\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 23 November 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

Disney\u2019s new film Encanto<\/a> is a milestone for a number of reasons \u2013 not only is it the House of Mouse\u2019s 60th official animated feature, but it is also the first from the studio set in Latin America.<\/p>\n

Drawing inspiration from the works of magical realist writers such as Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the events of the film unfold in a magical village in Colombia, following the Madrigal family, most of whom are bestowed with special gifts such as super strength or the ability to see the future.<\/p>\n

And co-directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush recently explained to RadioTimes.com<\/a> that although \u201cit took a while\u201d to decide exactly which country to set the film in, eventually \u201cevery road led to Colombia\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, we had conversations when we teamed up with Lin [Manuel Miranda],\u201d explained Howard. \u201cLin was very, very excited to do a Latin American Disney animated film but none of us, him included, knew where it should be set.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd so we looked at a lot of countries in South and Central America, but we kept coming back to Colombia, because we\u2019ve said it\u2019s this crossroads of everything \u2013 culture, music, food, ethnicity, which was great. And talking about this big extended family idea that existed, we thought \u2013 wouldn\u2019t it be great to show that great mix in this family?\u201d<\/p>\n\n<p>Howard further revealed how the creative team behind the project embarked on a research trip to Colombia and soon realised that \u201cthis job is way bigger than we thought it was\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBecause Colombia is like many countries mashed into one, which is what makes that place so glorious. And further, this idea that magical realism, this literary tradition that originated in Colombia with Gabriel Garcia Marquez, spoke so organically to this idea of family and linking these magic abilities to the roles in the family.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo it was win-win with Colombia from the get-go, plus, we had very close friends who were Colombian who were guiding us along the way, that actually went with us on this research trip to personally share their families and actually have their own experiences as Colombians with us. So I think every road led to Colombia in a very great way for this movie. It had to be this country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile Bush added that the vibrant, exuberant look of the film is very much informed by the team\u2019s own experiences on that research trip.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, the moment we set foot in Colombia, it is a beautiful, vibrant place \u2013 everywhere you look is amazing colours. It\u2019s the most biodiverse place on the planet, I think there are 110 species of hummingbird alone, it\u2019s something insane like that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo it is this visual feast, and I think as soon as we saw that we\u2019d spend time there, we knew we wanted that to be reflected in the movie. On top of that there are these amazing textiles, and I think that our costume designers have created something that has never been seen on screen before.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the use of fabrics, every member of our family has not only a different outfit, but those outfits are inspired by different regions of Colombia that make sense with the characteristics of those actual characters, and they feel very real and true to life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe really wanted it to feel handmade. That was a really important thing \u2013 we wanted the kitchen to feel like you can put your hand on those tiles and the wood felt like real wood, that the house felt like a real house.\u201d<\/p> <p>Notably, the main voice cast for the film all have Colombian heritage \u2013 with Brooklyn Nine-Nine\u2019s Stephanie Beatriz, Ice Age\u2019s John Leguizamo and Orange Is the New Black\u2019s Diane Guerrero all in starring roles \u2013 and they spoke to <strong>RadioTimes.com<\/strong> about what it meant to them to be a part of the project.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThrilled, absolutely thrilled, excited, in wonderment,\u201d Beatriz explained when asked of her reaction to being cast. \u201cI mean, I never in a million years could have imagined that Disney\u2019s 60th animated film, which is such a milestone for Disney Animation, would be set in Colombia, and would be about a Colombian family. It\u2019s like, dreams really do come true, here we are!\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou know, Disney is a cultural icon around the world,\u201d added Leguizamo. \u201cAnd for Latinx and Colombia, to have\u2026 I mean, I feel like we have arrived now \u2013 now we can be seen on the map, now people will know where we come from, what we look like.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI mean, Carlos Vives did some music, and Maluma is in it, and this whole cast here with Stephanie, Diane, and myself and the rest, it\u2019s incredible. I\u2019ve never seen it, and I\u2019m so happy that I\u2019m a part of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just so wild to see these Disney characters, like, the way they move, dancing to these beats and the sound that I grew up with,\u201d explained Guerrero. \u201cI feel like it was so hard to try to explain to people how this country looked, because it\u2019s very rare that people visit Colombia. And when they do, they\u2019re like, \u2018OK, we get it\u2019, but it\u2019s hard to put into words.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo now to see it on the global stage in this way with a Disney film, I think people are finally going to see like, hey, we come in all shapes and sizes. We come in all shades, we have different hair textures, we have different sounds. And I think people are gonna get it \u2013 and kids are gonna learn how to dance, finally!\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Disney\u2019s Encanto will be released in cinemas on Wednesday 24th November in the US and Friday 26th November in the UK. You can sign up to Disney Plus for\u00a0<a href=\"\/\/disneyplus.bn5x.net\/c\/1236178\/564546\/9358?subId1=radiotimes-1502333&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.disneyplus.com%2Fen-gb"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener noopener noreferrer\" sponsored=\"\">\u00a37.99 a month or \u00a379.90 for a year now<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Looking for something else to watch? Check out our list of the\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/movies\/what-to-watch\/disney-plus-best-films-2020\/"\">best movies on Disney Plus<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/what-to-watch-tv\/disney-plus-best-tv-series\/"\">best shows on Disney Plus<\/a>, or visit our\u00a0<a href=\""https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/tv\/tv-listings\/"\">TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0to see what\u2019s on tonight.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Patrick Cremona Published: Tuesday, 23 November 2021 at 12:00 am Disney\u2019s new film Encanto is a milestone for a number of reasons \u2013 not only is it the House of Mouse\u2019s 60th official animated feature, but it is also the first from the studio set in Latin America. Drawing inspiration from the works of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7642,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film.jpg",1280,853,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film-1024x682.jpg",800,533,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film.jpg",1280,853,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/11\/encanto-director-says-every-road-led-to-colombia-for-disneys-first-latin-american-animated-film.jpg",1280,853,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Patrick Cremona Published: Tuesday, 23 November 2021 at 12:00 am Disney\u2019s new film Encanto is a milestone for a number of reasons \u2013 not only is it the House of Mouse\u2019s 60th official animated feature, but it is also the first from the studio set in Latin America. Drawing inspiration from the works of…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/7641"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}