Encanto Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

2. It Avoids A Few Disney Movie Cliches

Outside of the very best Disney animations, they have a tendency to be well-crafted comfort food that don't shade much outside of the established lines - you know what you're going to get, and that's basically fine.

Encanto is a little different, though. Sure, it's not entirely free of the Disney formula, but between its aforementioned lack of a villain and some creative calls made in the third act, this isn't quite the totally predictable, sentimentally over-indulgent story it could've been.

It would've been so easy for screenwriters Jared Bush and Charise Castro Smith to just swing for a "have your cake and eat it" ending that does everything for every character, but instead Encanto demonstrates restraint and is in turn all the more satisfying as a result.

It sure would be nice to see Disney take the less-traveled dramatic path a little more often in future.