'Encanto': Why Mirabel's Mom Never Fixed Her Eyesight

By Michael Hein

Disney's new hit movie Encanto is making waves on social media, and its co-director is answering fans' questions there as well. On Twitter, Jared Bush revealed that fans have often asked why Julieta (Angie Cepeda) doesn't use her healing powers to "fix" Mirabel's (Stephanie Beatriz) eyesight so that she doesn't need glasses anymore. His response was heartwarming.

Bush quote-tweeted a video from The BBC about a young girl who appreciated Mirabel for being the first Disney heroine to wear glasses. He added: "3 years ago, Lowri wrote Disney asking for a heroine w/ glasses. I couldn't say that her wish was already coming true! BUT watch the clip for the answer to a big question: Why doesn't Julieta 'fix' Mirabel or Agustín's eyesight. It's who they are and she wouldn't want to change it."

Encanto is about the magically gifted Madrigal family, and it centers on the teenage sibling Mirabel who has not manifested any magical abilities at all. She wears round wire-frame glasses that play into a lot of sight gags throughout the movies, bouncing around on her face or threatening to fall off. Commenters thanked Bush for this thoughtful detail and reported that they or the children in their family appreciated it as well.

In general, Encanto has been receiving great reviews from both critics and casual viewers alike. At the time of this writing, it has 90 percent positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes based on 189 verified critics, and 93 percent positive reviews from the general audience with over 2,500 ratings. It is also the first Disney movie since Aladdin to land a song at number one on the Billboard charts with "We Don't Walk About Bruno."

The story was written by Byron Howard and the screenplay was co-written by Bush and Charise Castro Smith. The music for the movie was composed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. In addition to Beatriz and Cepeda, the all-star voice cast includes John Leguizama, María Cecilia Botero, Mauro Castillo, Jessica Darrow, Carolina Gaitan, Diane Guerrero, Wilmer Valderrama, Rhenzy Feliz and Ravi Cabot-Conyers.

Like so many other recent releases, Encanto got a big boost in the public consciousness when it was added to Disney+ shortly after its theatrical release. Family movies do especially well with early streaming releases because they save parents a potentially stressful trip to the theater. You can stream the movie now on Disney+.

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