The original draft of what you see here or in a book is significantly longer. For example, I wrote out paragraphs just on the choreography and movement style of the different Madrigal family members in Encanto. As a piece of non-fiction, even a review has to tell a cohesive story with a theme and point of view. For the Encanto review , the choreography analysis distracted from the big picture of the review.
On the top is the talented cast of dancers switching between the various characters in the scene. On the bottom is the final animation. The fidelity to the live action choreography even in a piece of animated fantasy is pretty remarkable.
According to an interview with D23 back in November , Encanto choreographer Jamal Sims brought in Kai Martinez to work on the project because of her dance and choreography background.
She is Colombian American and Sims knew what she could bring to the project. Then, Sims took it a step further and recommended Martinez for the animation reference consultant position. Martinez knew what this style of dance was supposed to look like. It became her job to help make sure the animators captured the important style, rhythm, and vision of the choreography created for the film.
The results are clearly worth it. The dancing in Encanto is just as important to the story as the lyrics and dialogue. Yes, even better than tick, tick…BOOM! Encanto stays true to its Colombian setting, the limitless imagination made possible in magical realism, and the heartfelt exploration of a family reconciling their differences created by intergenerational trauma. No detail is too small to matter in this film.
