Everyone knows it, everybody loves it. Encanto, released late last year, is Disney’s 60th animated feature film, featuring original songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. It tells the tale of the Colombian Madrigal family, who live in an enchanted house and forest that protects them from the outside world. Every member of the family has a magical gift except Mirabel, who struggles to find a place in her family. The film is about familial loyalty, unconditional love, and family expectations.

The soundtrack, being a major hit, had a cumulative total of 1.5 billion streams as of January 2022. The song, ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ hit No.1 in UK charts, sailing past artists like Taylor Swift and Kanye West. It cannot go without mention that the Latina composer Germaine Franco (who orchestrated and arranged Miranda’s song) isn’t given nearly enough credit for really making the songs what they are today. Her stunning score features traditional folk instruments that are indigenous to Colombia, including the arpa llanera (a harp) and a gaita (a flute) which sounds like a bird. Franco is the first woman to score a Disney animated feature and was the first Latina composer invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ music branch.

Controversially, I am going to state that in my humble opinion, ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ is not the best song, despite its devastatingly high number of streams. Instead, ‘Surface Pressure’ is song with the real good in the film. It’s sung by the middle sister, Luisa Madrigal, who has superhuman strength but feels the burden of always having to be the strong one both physically and mentally in the family. The lyrics are incredibly poignant and relatable to many people, who have grown up in ‘family-orientated’ cultures. The song is the only part of Encanto where reality falls away, and the viewer gets a glimpse into a character’s mind through a dream-like sequence. The references made to various historical events in this sequence hold a deeper meaning behind the song as it reveals Luisa’s inner struggle as she questions her identity and worth as she supports her family. Luisa asks ‘Was Hercules ever like ‘yo, I don’t wanna fight Cerberus?’, this reveals that while she is so strong, she doesn’t want to be a hero. However, she believes she will be ‘worthless’ if she ‘can’t be of service’ to her family and community. In the song sequence, Luisa endlessly saves Mirabel from all kinds of perils, including falling from a cliff and being crushed by rocks and doors.

In today’s world, there are many pressures in life from our family, peers, friends etc. and sometimes life can become overwhelming, and you feel like you’re floundering. It is so important and crucial to realise that you are not alone in this and everybody has felt like at some point in their life. Films and modern music all have a great impact and influence in people’s lives, especially growing children and teenagers. It is so refreshing and encouraging to see that even animated kid’s films are addressing real problems in both song and story, whilst still portraying that through fostering resilience and kindness, there’s hope and light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m the strong one, I’m not nervous
I’m as tough as the crust of the earth is
I move mountains, I move churches
And I glow ’cause I know what my worth is

I don’t ask how hard the work is
Got a rough indestructible surface
Diamonds and platinum, I find ’em, I flatten ’em
I take what I’m handed, I break what’s demanding, but

Under the surface
I feel berserk as a tightrope walker in a three-ring circus
Under the surface
Was Hercules ever like, “Yo, I don’t wanna fight Cerberus?”
Under the surface
I’m pretty sure I’m worthless if I can’t be of service

A flaw or a crack
The straw in the stack
That breaks the camel’s back
What breaks the camel’s back, it’s

Pressure, like a drip, drip, drip that’ll never stop, whoa
Pressure that’ll tip, tip, tip ’till you just go pop, whoa
Give it to your sister, your sister’s older
Give her all the heavy things we can’t shoulder
Who am I if I can’t run with the ball?
If I fall to

Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won’t let go, whoa
Pressure like a tick, tick, tick ’til it’s ready to blow, whoa
Give it to your sister, your sister’s stronger
See if she can hang on a little longer
Who am I if I can’t carry it all?
If I falter

Under the surface
I hide my nerves, and it worsens, I worry something is gonna hurt us
Under the surface
The ship doesn’t swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is
Under the surface
I think about my purpose, can I somehow preserve this?

Line up the dominoes
A light wind blows
You try to stop it tumbling
But on and on it goes

But wait, If I could shake the crushing weight of expectations
Would that free some room up for joy
Or relaxation, or simple pleasure?
Instead, we measure this growing pressure
Keeps growing, keep going
‘Cause all we know is

Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that’ll never stop, whoa
Pressure that’ll tip, tip, tip ’til you just go pop, whoa-oh-oh
Give it to your sister, it doesn’t hurt
And see if she can handle every family burden
Watch as she buckles and bends but never breaks
No mistakes just

Pressure like a grip, grip, grip, and it won’t let go, whoa
Pressure like a tick, tick, tick ’til it’s ready to blow, whoa
Give it to your sister and never wonder
If the same pressure would’ve pulled you under
Who am I if I don’t have what it takes?
No cracks, no breaks
No mistakes, no pressure