Disney’s latest film, Encanto, is nearing its release as we explore the story of a Colombian family with unique powers. Among them is Stephanie Beatriz‘s Mirabel Madrigal, who is the only member of her family without any actual magical powers. Once things start going wrong, she sets out on a journey to find out what is happening to her family. The film’s writer duo, Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith, get to explore the meaning of family and what it means to be normal among special.
Our very own Hunter Radesi had the chance to sit down with the creative team to discuss how they approached this project and especially how it was for Charise Castro Smith to tackle her first project. She went on to share how she ended up joining the project and that it was directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard that pitched her the initial idea.
My background is really as a playwright. I worked in a lot of TV and my agents had sent a play of mine to Disney Animations. I thought I was meeting with them in general and it turns out I was not. I was meeting with Jared [Bush] and Byron [Howard] about this movie, they were looking for a writer. As soon as they explained to me this concept, this idea they had, about a magical house and a family where everyone had powers except for this one girl and the movie is about her, I was like: ‘I am sold. I am on board’ and I haven’t looked back since.
Charise Castro Smith
It must’ve been quite the shock when she sat down with the directors of Zootopia, Tangled, and Moana to discuss a potential project. We’ve learned back in 2016 that the initial pitch was made to Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote music for the film, and Byron Howard just as they were promoting Moana at the time. It’s great to see it bear fruit after all this time.
Encanto release on Nov. 24th. It is directed by Byron Howard, Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith. The film boosts an impressive cast that includes Stephanie Beatriz, María Cecilia Botero, Wilmer Valderrama, Diane Guerrero, Rhenzy Feliz, Carolina Gaitán and John Leguizamo.
Source: Vulture
