One Encanto Song Secretly Reveals Mirabel’s Gift - Theory Explained
Though it appears that Mirabel doesn't get a gift in Encanto, the film's opening song may subtly reveal the character's true power. Mirabel Madrigal (Stephanie Beatriz) doesn't seem to catch a break in Disney's Encanto. Mirabel's family members all get magical gifts from a miracle Abuela Alma (María Cecilia Botero) received on the night her husband died. For instance, Luisa (Jessica Darrow) and Isabela (Diane Guerrero), a.k.a. Mirabel's sisters, get super strength and the ability to create flowers, respectively. However, Mirabel doesn't receive a gift during her childhood ceremony, and the lack of powers strains her relationship with Alma. Of course, Mirabel's lack of gifts ultimately motivates her to help her family when their magical house begins to crack.
Encanto is full of tracks coming from the mind of Hamilton's Lin-Manuel Miranda. And the animated musical is already experiencing unprecedented success. The earworm "We Don't Talk About Bruno" has shot to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, five weeks after it debuted at No. 50. It's Disney's second song to reach that spot, following Aladdin's "A Whole New World" in 1993. The entire soundtrack has also spent multiple weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart.
Mirabel's lack of gifts defines her life, but Encanto's opening song may change things. Mirabel kicks off Encanto by introducing her magical family in the opening song, "The Family Madrigal." However, one lyric in the song is especially telling. Mirabel sings about her sisters during the song, saying, "The beauty and the brawn do no wrong." A fan theory (via Reddit) points out that the only thing missing from that statement is the "brains." Since Mirabel already had the brains to take over as the family leader after Abuela Alma, the miracle didn't need to give her an additional gift.
The Encanto fan theory seems to fill in significant gaps in the film. Since Mirabel has two sisters representing beauty and brawn, it makes sense that her gift is brains/smarts. After all, having a female trio with beauty, brawn, and brains is a common trope in storytelling. However, Encanto puts a twist on it by not calling Mirabel the brains. Throughout Encanto, Mirabel has the nerve to figure out why the magical house is cracking, and she doesn't need supernatural gifts to accomplish her goal. All she needs is her intelligence and determination. And she had that all along.
Encanto never thoroughly explains Mirabel's lack of gifts. Though the end of the film reveals Mirabel as the future leader of the Madrigals, it's unclear why she never received powers during her ceremony. Though Mirabel's lack of gifts could be because she had brains all along, there are theories that Mirabel may have even sabotaged her own ceremony. Regardless, Mirabel will lead her family and her village into the future, and it's reassuring that the Madrigals have the beauty, brains, and brawn to make that future whatever they choose.