2022 Oscar Nominees (pt. III)

Encanto

Luca

After two weeks of thoroughly dramatic, somewhat traumatic, films nominated for Oscars this year, a week of calmer, chiller, lower-stakes cinema felt necessary. One of the most dynamic, varied, interesting, and visually stunning categories of film, one of my favorite categories of film, is the genre of animation. For decades, animated features were not recognized by the Academy Awards, until 1991, when Disney’s Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture. But it wasn’t until 2001, that the Best Animated Feature category was introduced, crowning the iconic film Shrek, rightfully, as its first winner. So many of my favorite animated films have been nominated for Oscars: Spirited Away, Monster’s Inc, Lilo & Stitch, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Ratatouille, Coraline, The Princess and the Frog, Zootopia, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and the unfortunately snubbed, A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon. There’s so many more topics one can explore through animation, so many concepts that are intangible can be imagined and designed in such effective, satisfying ways. This year’s animated features brought previously untold stories and perspectives to light, and managed to maintain the delight and prestige held by previous nominees of this category—while bringing something entirely new with them as well. I’d already seen The Mitchells vs. the Machines, a fun and cozy kids flick about family, that dared to include plot lines about the dangers of technology AND a queer romance, all without feeling the slightest bit too heavy or too preachy. This film, and its immaculate cast, made me laugh, cry, and feel a sense of hope and excitement—which is all you can hope for when it comes to a kid’s film. I’m happy to report that these next two films fulfilled those desires as well, with their vibrant animation and a through-line of positivity and creativity. First up was Encanto, a film set and titled after a wondrously mythical, secluded land in Colombia, where the fantastical, magical Madrigal family resides. Every member of the Madrigal family is gifted a magic power when they come of age, except our protagonist Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz of Brooklyn 99 fame), who for some reason, was never afforded any special ability. As Mirabel explains, in song at the beginning of the film, her Aunt Pepa can control the weather based on her mood, her mother Julieta has the ability to make food with healing qualities, her graceful sister Isabella can grow flowers wherever she goes and her mighty sister Luisa is the strongest in town, her cousin Camilo shapeshifts and her cousin Dolores has super-hearing, and her Uncle Bruno, who they do not speak of, can allegedly see the future. Mirabel is kind and caring and open-hearted, despite feeling left out, but when she begins to see cracks forming in the magical house where her family has resided for over 50 years, she must fight to protect her home and her people. I won’t spoil anything beyond the first song, although it must be said that every song here was full of so much energy and soul that it was thrilling, but I will say that not much occurs in this film. I know that sounds strange, but where I really expected a full hero’s journey, only a small hero’s hike (if you will) was found. There’s nothing wrong with this, in fact, it was a bit of a relief considering how sad and stressful certain Disney films can be. What stood out more than this film’s rising action and climax, was its consistent joy and emphasis on self-love. In a year where more Latinx voices are being represented in film, it was incredibly impactful to see the bold, exuberant perspective that Encanto offered. Family and tradition were certainly emphasized in this story, but so was individuality and self-acceptance, which was refreshing. The music was lively and lovely, forcing me to once again praise songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda, and visually, I mean, wow. Each petal of each flower, each glossy reflection on the kitchen counters, each follicle of hair and blade of grass was pronounced and given attention to by the animators. Encanto has already won the Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature, which means it’s probably gonna win the Oscar, but let me first just give some praise to one of my new favorite animated films of the decade: Disney/Pixar’s Luca. I really didn’t think anything could surpass my love for the The Mitchells vs the Machines but Luca, in its charming, jaunty glory blew me away. I mean what did I expect from a film that’s been lovingly nicknamed Calamari By Your Name? Luca follows a young sea monster (named Luca [voiced by child master of comedy and drama Jacob Tremblay]) who lives under the Mediterranean sea with his two sea monster parents (Maya Rudolph and Jim Gaffigan). Luca has a wild imagination and an even wilder desire to venture off into the unknown, which he is finally able to do when he meets another sea monster around his age, Alberto (voiced by stoner kid legend [you shouldn’t have had to apologize!!] Jack Dylan Grazer). Alberto introduces Luca to the surface world, that happens to be a picturesque coastal town of Italy, where they magically transform into humans as long as they avoid water. There, Luca and Alberto have a dreamy, fun-filled adventure where a true friendship is formed, akin to Call Me By Your Name, minus the overt homosexual relationship. From the setting, the character design, the plunging out of the comfort zone, and the ethos in general, it was all SO reminiscent of CMBYN. Down to the final train station scene, Luca’s hair and what he wore, it really feels like the animators knew exactly what they were doing, even though the director adamantly rejects the comparison to CMBYN. There was no love affair, this is a kid’s film after all, but the anxieties, the triumphs, the expression of true, pure, innocent love, felt familiar and oh-so-sweet. I’ve never been a little boy, an Italian, or a sea monster, and yet this film just resonated with me. Something about its purity, its sweetness, its dedication to having a good time, it felt relaxing to watch it all play out. There’s no big lesson to be learned within Luca, but the same message of self-acceptance that echoed throughout Encanto was also present here. There’s an ease, a simplicity, and yet a true beauty to the storytelling in Luca, but the animation was gorgeous and vivid as well. If you haven’t given any Oscar-nominated film a shot this year, I highly recommend Encanto and Luca because they’re both under 2 hours, they both tell entertaining stories in cute and colorful ways, and both of them made me cry tears of joy—as opposed to the tears I cried over last week’s films. Whether or not you’re a fan of animation, musical magic, or Italian sea monsters, I highly recommend these two films, for the kid you have in your life and for the kid you are at heart.