What do you get when you come across a magical house in the middle of Colombia? A whole bunch
of wonderful characters! The Madrigal Family may be filled with a bunch of different abilities and
talents, but it’s also filled with different types of people - and thus, different levels
of morality. But which of these characters shine the most as bright pillars of good?
I’m ____ with WickedBinge, and this is Encanto: Good to Most Good.
Now, because “Encanto” has such a small cast and there’s no real villain in the movie,
we can’t really divide the characters into our normal tiers.
Instead, we’re going to rank them from well-meaning but
flawed to the most pure and noble. So, here is the family Madrigal from Good to Most Good.
Starting with our Least Good family member, we have Abuela Alma Madrigal, Mirabel's grandmother.
Now, just so we’re clear, we can’t really call Alma a villain - she’s definitely not. However,
someone has to be at the bottom of our list, and there’s no denying that Alma
is the root cause of the film’s conflict. As the opening song says, Abuela runs the show.
Being the head of the household, Alma was the one to lead her family into using their gifts
to help their community. While this was a selfless desire, it also led to her
instilling an expectation of perfection within her family, putting a ton of pressure on them to
never make mistakes. What’s more, when it comes to characters like Mirabel, she’d rather have
them out of the way in order to keep her family’s image of perfection. It gets to the point where
Alma cares more about her family’s magic than her family itself. Even if it’s unintentional, she
clearly sends a message that anyone who doesn’t do good with their gift is a burden on the family.
She also blames Mirabel when things start going wrong, without giving Mirabel a chance to even
defend herself. Alma was even willing to forget about her son, Bruno, when his gift proved to be
more of a negative than a positive. Thankfully, by the end of the movie, Alma is able to realize
her mistakes once she sees the result of all her pressure. She’s genuinely remorseful and is able
to make a change for her family’s sake. It’s also made clear that her need for perfection comes from
the deeply-rooted trauma of her losing her husband and home, and the fear of this happening again.
Alma is a heavily flawed character, and while it’s clear she loves her family, it takes her
a while for her to realize that perfection isn’t needed nor is it required in order for someone to
receive family love and pride. For these reasons, we had to rank her at the bottom of our list.
Up next, we have Isabela Madrigal, Mirabel's oldest sister. With the power to make flowers
bloom everywhere, Isabela is considered "perfect" and "the golden child” - the most graceful
Madrigal. Taking after her abuela, Isabela very much shares the mindset that those who don’t have
a ‘good’ gift to offer are a burden. She has a lot of friction with Mirabel, and like Alma,
Isabela sees Mirabel’s attempts at helping at “just being in the way”. She has an air
of being somewhat stuck-up, and can be pretty rude to her youngest sister. Isabela even tells
Mirabel that she hates her after she ruins her fiance’s proposal attempt. We will say, though,
that it’s not like Mirabel helps matters - both of them share the blame when it comes
to the friction between them. Additionally, much of Isabela’s personality and mindset
not only comes from her grandmother’s influence, but also the expectation that she must be perfect.
Isabela puts so much effort into being perfect, in fact, that she was willing to marry a man
she didn’t love just to please Abuela and help her family. While she may seem
like a bit of a princess, she cares about her family just as much as everyone else.
She was even willing to forgive Mirabel for everything after Mirabel helped her discover
a new side of her powers and encouraged her to let loose with flowers that weren’t beautiful
and perfect. As such, we felt that we could rank her just a bit above her grandmother.
Following Isabela, we have Camilo Madrigal. He’s Mirabel's cousin who has the ability
to shape-shift. Being a teenager, Camilo is one of the more mischievous members of
the Madrigal family. He’ll often use his shapeshifting to be sneaky, like when he
shapeshifted into his sister to get extra portions at breakfast. He also uses his shapeshifting to
taunt and tease people occasionally, like when he transformed into his cousin’s fiance and
made kissy faces at her. Typical kid stuff, really, so nothing too bad. We should also
note that Camilo uses his shapeshifting for plenty of good too. During the opening number,
we see him shapeshift into one of the women of the town and offer to take care of the woman’s baby
so that she can get some rest. He’s also incredibly friendly to the townsfolk in general,
greeting each one individually when they come for his little brother’s gift ceremony.
While it may be easy to dismiss him as a bit immature, Camilo clearly has a good heart too.
Up next is Pepa Madrigal, Mirabel's aunt and Félix's wife. She can control the weather with
her mood, and while this is normally a positive power, her tendencies to be “overly emotional”
can result in some pretty crazy weather. It’s very easy for her to worry or get stressed out,
and thus cause both her mood and the weather to flip on a dime. Because of this,
she tends to put her family on edge and make them feel like they have to keep her calm,
though it’s not like she does this on purpose. Pepa does at least TRY to control her emotions,
even if she usually fails. Still, beyond all the anxieties and thunderstorms,
Pepa does care deeply about her family, and wants to see them be okay just as much as anyone else.
We should also note that while she did hold a bit of a grudge against her brother, Bruno,
for ruining her wedding day, it didn’t take long for Pepa to forgive him once he explained himself.
We’re going to be ranking the “always listening” Dolores Madrigal next. She’s another one of
Mirabel’s cousins, and thanks to her enhanced hearing, she knows everything about everyone. Much
like her mother, Pepa, is a power she can’t always control. As such, it’d be unfair to call her an
eavesdropper or a gossip. In fact, we see that she does try her hardest to stay silent when she hears
about Bruno’s final vision regarding Mirabel. When Dolores does finally break and spill the beans,
it’s not done maliciously or to get attention, she just can’t hold it in any longer. Funnily enough,
though, she was able to keep bigger secrets. Being the only one who could hear Bruno within
the walls, she only told Mirabel about what she heard instead of revealing his hiding spot to Alma
and the rest of the family. She was also willing to keep her own secret crush on
Isabela’s fiance hidden away, both because she didn’t want to hurt Isabela and because
she thought that Mariano marrying Isabela was what was best for the family. As such,
she allowed herself to suffer in silence. It takes a selfless person to do that, and while
it may say more about Alma’s expectations of her family, it also says quite a bit about Dolores.
Speaking of the suave and handsome fiance, Mariano is actually next on our list. We
don’t really have much to say about Mariano, as he’s only in the film for
a couple scenes - his attempted proposal to Isabela, and the ending when he learns about
Dolores’ feelings. But while he doesn’t have a huge impact on the story, we can still consider
him a nice guy. He says it himself that he has “a lot of love to give”, and he didn’t seem to hold
it against Isabela or her family when everything went wrong during the proposal. He’s eager to
get married, but respects Dolores’ opinion when she tells him to “slow down”. He’s kind, caring,
and even tried to offer the Madrigal family a gift of his own through his attempted song performance.
While there’s isn’t much to him, that also means that there isn’t much that’s bad about him.
Next up, we have Félix Madrigal. Being one of two men that married into the Madrigal family, he’s
Mirabel's uncle and Pepa's husband. In the latter role, Felix is the one who balances his wife out,
often being the one to calm her down. We see him show his love for her throughout the film
despite all of Pepa’s flaws, and it’s clear he has a lot of affection for her. Although
he very much fits into the category of the “fun uncle”, we can’t call Felix irresponsible. He’s
often keeping an eye on his son, Camilo, making sure that he doesn’t get into too much trouble.
Towards the climax of the film, we also see Felix protecting his youngest son from the Madrigal home
when it starts to fall apart. It should also be noted that while his wife argued against it,
Felix was willing to talk about Bruno when Mirabel asked him to. As such,
he comes off as a pretty honest guy, as well as being fun-loving and caring. While he may
not have a power of his own, he’s certainly one of the brighter members of the family Madrigal.
We’re going to be ranking both of Mirabel’s parents, Julieta and Agustin, in this next
spot. For her power, Julieta can heal people’s injuries with her food. As for Agustin, while he
is pretty accident prone, that doesn’t stop him from being active within the family as he tries
to do his part. Both Julieta and Agustin care a lot about their three daughters, being especially
sympathetic towards Mirabel and her struggles within the family. Both of them try to convince
Alma to not be so hard on Mirabel, showing that they’re not only protective, but they also don’t
look down on Mirabel for being powerless and instead see her as “just as special” as anyone
else. Unfortunately, for Julieta, this could maybe come off as her trying to dismiss her daughter’s
feelings with an influx of positivity and hugs. Yes, she clearly tries to make her daughter feel
loved and special, but she seems to struggle with addressing Mirabel’s actual feelings, and instead
just repeatedly tells her that she’s perfect “just the way she is”. It’s a good message, sure, but it
wasn’t what Mirabel needed at that moment. Not a sin, but something to note. Agustin, meanwhile,
was a bit more active than his wife. When he learned of Bruno’s final vision from Mirabel,
Agustin immediately tried to hide it. This was dishonest, but he only did it because he didn’t
want to risk Mirabel being hurt or being seen as something for the family to be afraid of. He
also makes up for this moment of dishonesty when he confronts Alma about how she treats Mirabel,
being much more firm than his wife. Neither parent is perfect, but we do see that they try their best
and have the best intentions with all that they do - and that certainly counts for something.
Next up, we have the youngest Madrigal, Antonio Madrigal. Although we can’t quite give him the
title of Most Good character, as there are a few other characters who do more within the story,
Antonio is certainly the most pure. He’s the closest to Mirabel, looking up to her
and seeing her more as a sister than a cousin. Because of this bond, Antonio deeply sympathizes
with Mirabel and her struggles due to not having a gift. Even though he wants a magic power like the
rest of his family, he also doesn’t want to leave her behind. He’s one of the few people who doesn’t
see Mirabel as a burden, and unlike Mirabel’s parents, he also doesn’t dismiss her feelings.
He wants to help her, and even offers up his room to her without hesitation when Mirabel and
Bruno need a space for his visions. Antonio also falls into the trope of “friend to all animals”
once he gains the ability to speak to them. Honestly, this trait just further adds to how
pure he seems to be. Then again, what else would you expect from a little kid with a big heart?
Just outside of our top three, we finally come to the film’s protagonist, Mirabel Madrigal. Mirabel
is described as "imperfect, weird, and quirky, but also deeply emotional and incredibly empathetic".
She cares about her family more than anything else, and is willing to hide her own feelings
of hurt and her own desires of wanting to shine bright because she doesn’t want to burden her
family with them. It’s only when she sees how much pressure the rest of her family is under
that she finally breaks and not only reveals her true feelings, but the
truth of the situation as well. When Mirabel first notices the cracks in the Madrigal home
and learns that there’s a chance their miracle could go out, Mirabel takes it upon herself to
try and figure out what’s going on. Although this is done for mostly selfless reasons,
there’s also a sense that Mirabel is also doing it to prove herself and show that she can be useful
to her family. Because she is a bit headstrong and determined to prove her worth, this can sometimes
make Mirabel come off as being a bit stubborn and careless. This is especially evident in that her
attempts to learn the truth sometimes cause her to accidentally create more cracks within the house,
and while we know she isn’t risking the safety of her family on purpose, it is a bit concerning
that she barely puts a second thought into the risks she’s taking. Regarding the friction she
has with her sister, Isabela, we should also note that Mirabel can come off as a bit judgy at times,
dismissing Isabela’s problems and feelings just because it seems like she has the perfect life on
the surface. Thankfully, Mirabel quickly corrects herself once she learns the truth. Ultimately,
“truth” is what symbolizes Mirabel the best, as she’s the only one willing to truly confront her
grandmother’s harmful mindset head on, and thus is the one to lead her family into making a change
for the better. All in all, she’s a pretty great Disney protagonist - flaws and all.
Getting the Bronze Medal of Good is the strong and buff Luisa Madrigal. With her gift of
superstrength, Luisa takes it upon herself to carry everyone’s burdens and never complains.
...Well, outside of her solo song, that is - which is a total bop, by the way. While
all of the Madrigals do something to help their town, it’s evident that Luisa does the most. She
has a whole list of chores that she does daily, from rounding up donkeys that have gotten loose
to fixing houses and setting bridges. As tired as she gets, Luisa still pushes to remain the
strongest - not out of pride, but because she doesn’t want to let anyone down. Even when she
starts to lose her powers and is emotionally distraught, Luisa still tries to do what she
can to help. She puts her whole heart into helping and being her family and community’s strength, and
between her hard work ethic and her soft heart, we just had to give her a top spot on our list.
Earning the Silver Medal of Good is the late Pedro
Madrigal. Pedro is another character that doesn’t get too many scenes - in fact,
he doesn’t even get any lines. But considering what he does for his family,
we felt that we had to not only acknowledge him, but also give him proper recognition. Long ago,
when he, Alma and their three infants were fleeing their home, they ended up being
chased down by conquistadors. Not wanting his family to be hurt, Pedro tried to stop
the conquistadors on his own while telling his wife to run for it, ultimately sacrificing his
life for the people he loved the most. Obviously, characters who make a heroic sacrifice easily
earn a high spot on the morality scale, and even if we didn’t know Pedro for very long,
we can still tell that he was likely a very kind and loving man while he was alive.
Finally, we’re going to give the Gold Medal of Good to the infamous Bruno Madrigal.
Ironically enough, the so-called black sheep of the Madrigal family ended up being the most
good and noble of the family. Having the gift of seeing the future, Bruno more often than
not ends up delivering bad news as he warns others about what he sees. Unfortunately,
it seems that the Madrigals have never heard of the phrase “don’t shoot the messenger”,
as they and the rest of the village quickly began to see Bruno as both a bad omen and
someone who caused bad things to happen just by sharing his visions with others. Bruno, however,
never held this against anyone. He would continue trying to help others, and keep to himself when he
couldn’t. One notable example of this was during his sister’s wedding. While yes, he told Pepa
that it looked like rain, Bruno didn’t do this to stress her out. Instead, he was only trying to let
her know that it was okay for her to let all of her stress out and let loose with her ‘negative’
weather. When it came to his final vision, instead of upsetting Alma or risking Mirabel’s happiness
by sharing his vision, Bruno decided to exile himself from the family he loved so much.
Living within the house walls, Bruno kept an eye on his family while keeping his distance,
not wanting to hurt them anymore. But even with all of this isolation and blame,
Bruno never grew bitter. Even after Mirabel tried chasing her down, Bruno still tried to save her
from falling through a floor gap. Later, when she asked him to give her another vision, Bruno gave
in despite his own fears, wanting to help both her and their family. Then, towards the end of
the film, Bruno tracked down Mirabel and Alma (the latter of which he was avoiding the entire film,
being afraid of her rejection and disappointment) and was willing to take all of the blame for
the Madrigal home falling apart just so that Mirabel wasn’t shunned like he was. Although
Bruno isn’t the most… mentally stable guy, entertaining himself with rats and making up
alternate personas to combat his loneliness, it’s clear that he has a ton of love to give.
He’s willing to be brave and honest in the face of fear and rejection,
and for this we just had to give him the title of the Most Good member of the Madrigal family.
Okay, that’s our list! But let us know in the comment section if you agree with our ranking,
and tell us what we should cover next. Remember to hit that notification bell
and binge our Good to Evil playlist, where we break down the morality of
the characters in your favorite cartoons, shows and movies. But most importantly, stay wicked!