We Don't
Talk
About
Bruno
(From
"Encanto")
- Walt
Disney
Animation
Studios’
“Encanto”
tells
the tale
of an
extraordinary
family,
the
Madrigals,
who live
hidden
in the
mountains
of
Colombia,
in a
magical
house,
in a
vibrant
town, in
a
wondrous,
charmed
place
called
an
Encanto.
The
magic of
the
Encanto
has
blessed
every
child in
the
family
with a
unique
gift
from
super
strength
to the
power to
heal—every
child
except
one,
Mirabel
(voice
of
Stephanie
Beatriz).
But when
she
discovers
that the
magic
surrounding
the
Encanto
is in
danger,
Mirabel
decides
that
she, the
only
ordinary
Madrigal,
might
just be
her
exceptional
family’s
last
hope. |
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Inside
the
Music of
Disney’s
‘Encanto’
With
Lin-Manuel
Miranda:
‘Anytime
We Lean
Into
Authenticity,
We Win’
(Photo
by
FilMagic) |
|
“We
Don’t
Talk
About
Bruno”
from
Disney’s
“Encanto”
is a
global
sensation
By
Clayton
Davis
variety.com
“We
Don’t
Talk
About
Bruno”
from
Disney’s
“Encanto”
is a
global
sensation.
Besides
trending
on
social
media,
topping
the
music
charts,
and
being
played
on
repeat
in every
household
with
kids
(and
unapologetic
Disney
adults),
the
music
and the
movie
seem to
be
capturing
the
zeitgeist.
So how
does a
sensation
like
“Bruno”
not get
submitted
by
Disney
for best
original
song for
the
upcoming
Academy
Awards?
Hindsight
is
always
20/20 on
what
will
strike a
chord
with
audiences,
especially
for the
Oscars.
“Encanto”
is Walt
Disney
Animation
Studios’
60th
feature
and
arguably
one of
its
best.
Emmy,
Grammy
and Tony
winner
Lin-Manuel
Miranda
wrote
eight
original
songs
for the
film,
including
“Dos
Oruguitas,”
the
emotional
number
that
reveals
the
truth
about
the
Madrigal
matriarch’s
tragic
past,
among
the 15
songs
shortlisted
for the
upcoming
94th
Oscars.
Miranda,
who
received
his
first
Oscar
nomination
for the
song
“How Far
I’ll Go”
from
another
Disney
flick, “Moana”
(2016),
has a
very
good
shot to
be
included
among
the
final
five
nominees,
despite
the deep
bench of
competitors
that
includes
Beyoncé
and
Ariana
Grande.
However,
similar
to how
“Let It
Go” from
“Frozen”
(2013)
became
an
undeniable
force,
Miranda
could
have
been an
undisputed
frontrunner
and the
next
possible
EGOT
recipient
if
“Bruno”
had been
submitted.
The
music,
by all
measures,
is a
quintessential
sensation.
The
soundtrack
skyrocketed
from No.
110 to
No. 7 on
the
Billboard
charts
last
week,
along
with
being
the No.
1 album
overall
on Apple
Music
and
iTunes,
the No.
1 song
on
Spotify’s
Top 50
U.S.
charts
and the
video
garnering
over 30
million
views,
with an
additional
10
million
in lyric
videos.
It’s
also
been the
No. 1
trending
music
video
since
its
release
on Dec.
28. On
TikTok,
“Bruno”
is one
of the
featured
trends,
with
sounds
from the
album
collecting
more
than one
billion
views.
So
what’s
the
reasoning
for not
putting
“Bruno”
front
and
center?
Courtesy
of
Disney
One
significant
factor
is the
Academy’s
deadline
for song
submissions,
which
must be
completed
by Nov.
1. At
that
point,
the film
hadn’t
opened
in
theaters
yet and
hadn’t
screened
for
critics.
So
without
knowing
how
audiences
will
react,
studios
rely on
gut
checks
and the
passions
of their
talent
to guide
them.
The
same
thing
happened
with the
hilarious
“Barb
and Star
Go to
Vista
Del
Mar,”
which
was
released
in
February
2020 but
was
eligible
for last
year’s
Oscars
due to
the
pandemic
extension.
Lionsgate
submitted
two
tracks
for
Oscar
consideration,
“I Love
Boobies”
and
“Welcome
to Palm
Vista,”
neither
of which
was the
showstopper
“Edgar’s
Prayer,”
sang by
star
Jamie
Dornan
that has
him
climbing
a palm
tree and
took the
internet
by
storm.
It’s
hard to
blame
Disney
entirely,
as
strategizing
for
these
music
races
has
become
increasingly
more
complex
in
recent
years.
Awards
strategists
don’t
want to
risk
vote-splitting
with
themselves,
or in
Miranda’s
case,
his
other
eligible
songs
from
other
projects
this
past
year
that
included
the
musical
“In the
Heights”
from
Warner
Bros and
the
animated
film
“Vivo”
from
Netflix.
Per
Academy
rules,
“No more
than two
songs
from any
one film
by the
exact
same
writers
may be
shortlisted.
If more
than two
songs
from a
film by
the
exact
same
writers
are in
contention,
the two
songs
with the
most
votes
will
advance
to the
shortlist.
However,
no more
than two
songs
from any
one
film,
regardless
of
writers,
may be
nominated
for the
original
song
award.”
These
rules
harken
back to
the
record
that
four
films
hold, as
the only
ones
that
have
three
songs
nominated
by the
Academy:
“Beauty
and the
Beast”
(1991),
“The
Lion
King”
(1994),
“Dreamgirls”
(2006)
and
“Enchanted”
(2007).
Disney
has had
a
stronghold
on the
music
branch
for
decades
with 14
wins in
the
category,
beginning
with
“Wish
Upon a
Star”
from
“Pinocchio”
(1940)
to their
most
recent
winner,
“Remember
Me” from
“Coco”
(2017).
When
it comes
to “Encanto,”
the
shortlisted
song
“Dos
Oruguitas”
does
open the
tear
ducts
with
audiences,
and
strategists
may have
felt
that was
the
safer
bet.
In
addition
to
making
the song
shortlist,
composer
Germaine
Franco,
who
became
the
first
Latina
admitted
to the
music
branch
in 2019,
was
among
the 15
shortlisted
names
for
original
score.
If
nominated,
she
would be
the
first
Latina
and
seventh
female
composer
ever
nominated.
“Encanto,”
which is
directed
by Jared
Bush and
Byron
Howard
and
co-directed
by
Charise
Castro
Smith,
is a box
office
success
and
doing
great
numbers
on
Disney
Plus.
Lauded
by
critics
and
audiences,
the film
is one
of the
frontrunners
for best
animated
feature,
which
could
make
co-producer
Yvett
Merino,
the
first
Latina
nominated
for the
prize.
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