Love Is an Open Door
Ah ha ha! Clever pun title for an analysis on this scene from Encanto, don’t you all think? 😆🤣
But seriously, I wanted to say that this is one of my favorite moments in the whole movie because it’s when Mirabel has finally earned the pride of her entire family, just as she always wanted.
Earlier in the film, things in the Madrigal family become tense, as everyone is unsure whether Mirabel is directly tied to the fading of the magic. Family members including Alma, Pepa, and Isabela accuse Mirabel of recent misfortunes after she indirectly ruins Mariano’s proposal to Isabela. Prior to this, Pepa and several others learn that Bruno’s last vision was of Mirabel seemingly being the reason the house was cracking apart (part of why Pepa makes her accusation). When Alma hears about the vision, she interprets as meaning that Mirabel is indeed responsible for the cracks appearing and Luisa’s strength fading (which happened after Mirabel told Luisa she felt she was carrying too much responsibility).
However, when the casita finally splits apart and starts to fall, Mirabel takes it upon herself to save the candle. After her family have been pushed outside, they notice Mirabel still inside, in a precarious situation while trying to get to the candle. They don’t tell to hurry and get it; rather, they tell her to leave it and get out of the house before it falls to the ground.
The Madrigals’ only concern in that moment is Mirabel.
After the house is finally destroyed and Mirabel runs away due to feeling responsible for everything, despite the loss of their home, everyone searches for her, showing they care so much more about her and her safety.
Though Mirabel was never given a magical gift, all of the Madrigals come to see that she is a gift in her own way, as the heart of their family. As an optimist, Mirabel is the one who has kept them together and been there for them individually through their rough times. She helped Antonio overcome his nerves before he got his gift. She helped Luisa be more open about her deep-rooted insecurities. She helped Isabela learn to be more honest with her feelings and unlock a greater potential of her gift. But most importantly, while it seemed harsh for her to have said it at first, Mirabel helped her grandmother realize that Alma’s perfectionism and control over the family was causing the tension, leading to Alma comprehending that she acted this way because she was just fearful of losing them all just like she had lost Pedro years ago.
Mirabel’s optimism helping her family is also portrayed in the beginning of "All of You”, in which she tells them that, while they lost their home, things will still be okay as long as they stick together as the family they are. After assuring them that they are truly more than just what their individual gifts have made them, Alma apologizes for being so hard on everyone, then assures her children and their children that they are the real miracles because of who they are, not because of what their magical gifts make them.
When construction of the new casita is finished, Alma sings that one more thing is left before they can celebrate, and when Mirabel asks what that is, Bruno sings a doorknob is needed. Immediately afterwards, Antonio presents one to Mirabel saying “We made this one for you.” The knob has an “M” inscribed in it, perhaps to initialize the family’s surname “Madrigal”, but I think it’s meant to stand for “Mirabel” (which could work both ways, since her full name is an alliteration 😉).
Once she hears those words and the knob is placed in her hands, Mirabel looks up and sees her entire family gathered in front of her. That and the way they look at her show that they not anticipate her putting on the knob, but that they all agreed that she deserves to do the honors.
Now some may be thinking that the Madrigals have chosen Mirabel as the one to put the doorknob in place just because she never got her own door as a young child, but I think it’s far more than that. Mirabel’s relatives have chosen her as the one to put the knob on the new door because they have all come to realize how much they cherish and believe in her. Having witnessed how much she truly loves them all through her bravery and selflessness of risking her life to save the candle and the miracle as the casita crumbled apart, they feel that she earned the privilege to do this.
When Mirabel begins walking up to the door, Antonio walks with her, as a callback to when she walked with him to his new door during his ceremony. As she walks, the individual groups of her relatives (e.g.; her maternal aunt and the latter’s family, her sisters, her parents, and her maternal uncle) all praise her for the good she has done for within the family.
Pepa, Félix, Dolores, and Camilo sing in agreement about how she is the star among them all who burns so brightly because of how she helped them be optimistic in the face of dire negativity and made them understand that they’ll be okay as long as they have each other. Even Camilo, the one who loves to tease others with his ability, gives his approval that Mirabel deserves this by nodding his head.
Isabela and Luisa commend their little sister for her bravery, and the warm smile Isabela wears while singing shows she has repaired her relationship with Mirabel enough that she truly believes her youngest sister deserves this.
Agustin and Julieta tell their youngest daughter to see herself in turn, meaning that she should see herself as special just as they all do, regardless of her never having had a gift (which echoes Julieta’s earlier words of wishing her daughter would see herself the way she does).
Tying in to the Madrigals seeing Mirabel as the heart of their family, Bruno then tells her that SHE is the real gift, and thus she deserves to let them in.
And finally, Mirabel comes up to Alma, who tells her to open her eyes, an obvious reference to the moment she said these very words to young Mirabel at the beginning of the movie (reversing the earlier said words by her saying them in English first, then repeating them in Spanish). By this, Alma tells Mirabel to understand that she is truly an amazing person as the whole family sees her.
When Alma asks Mirabel what she sees, Mirabel, who looks at her reflection in the doorknob, and with tears in her eyes, replies that she sees herself, and all of herself. By this, she means that, after ten years of feeling like she was "lesser" than everyone else in her family and trying so hard to live up to the Madrigal name, Mirabel has finally learned to love herself and sees how special and important she is within her family. 😊😭
Turning around afterwards, Mirabel takes one last look at her family, who all continue to look at her with beaming smiles of admiration and pride on their faces, before walking up to the door to put the knob in its place.
Once she does, the work is finally complete and the magic returns in the new sentient casita.
Now how is that for “love is an open door”? 😆🤣