Encanto Characters: See The Voice Cast Behind Them In This Disney Hit
Encanto characters include the Madrigal family made up, in part, by Mirabel, Julieta, and Bruno.
Since 1937 and the premiere of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney Animation has produced classic animation after classic animation. When Pixar became part of Disney, Walt Disney Animation took a back seat to some of the more popular Pixar films.
Although Pixar made a big name for itself with Disney, the Walt Disney Animation Studio has still been able to crank out a few notable animation films of its own. The latest was the 2021 animated musical film, Encanto, filled with many wonderful characters.
But as with any animated hit, a big part of the success comes from the voice cast put into place to bring the characters to life. That was definitely the case with Encanto, which features a talented group of folks from all over the industry. There are some names you will, for sure, recognize, while others have made more of a career in others countries or just with music.
Let’s take a look at the Encanto characters and the voice cast who brought each and every one of them to life.
THE MOVIE FOLLOWS THE MADRIGAL FAMILY, MANY OF WHOM HAVE POWERS
Encanto tells the story of the Madrigal family, starting with Pedro and Alma, a young married couple who are forced to flee their home in Columbia. With them are their triplets, Julieta, Pepa, and Bruno. As the couple flees, they are confronted by soldiers, who kill Pedro.
While they have their guns trained on Alma, a candle that Alma has been carrying magically creates Casita. This is a house inside Encanto, the magical realm that is bordered and protected by high mountains, saving her and her family from the soldiers.
The story jumps 50 years forward and we are introduced to all of the current Encanto characters. The town they live in continues to be protected by Encanto and one of the benefits of this magic is that it grants “gifts” to each Madrigal descendant when they turn five years of age. The descendants use their magic to take care of the villagers.
We meet the Encanto characters early on when Mirabel, the 15-year-old Madrigal descendant, sings the first song, showing the depth and breadth of her family. It sets the tone for what’s to come, so let’s take a look at all of the main Encanto characters.
ENCANTO CHARACTERS AND VOICE CAST – THE GIFTLESS
Mirabel Madrigal – Stephanie Beatriz
The story is told mainly through Encanto character, Mirabel’s, eyes. She is voiced by Stephanie Beatriz, who is better known as tough Detective Rosa Diaz on the hit comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Mirabel has a problem. Of all the Madrigal descendants, she is the only one who did not get her special gift at the age of five.
Troubles increase for Mirabel on the evening when another Madrigal descendant, 5-year-old Antonio, gains his “gift” of being able to talk to animals and she suddenly sees Casita breaking and the magic candle’s flame beginning to flicker. Of course, no one believes her because what they see is a still burning candle and Casita still together. But Mirabel believes her vision, so she is determined to save the magic.
ENCANTO CHARACTERS – THE GIFTED
Alma Madrigal – María Cecilia Botero
Encanto character Alma Madrigal is Mirabel’s 75-year-old grandmother and the Madrigal matriarch. The story ultimately revolves around the relationship between Mirabel and Alma and how each sees their family, the good and the bad.
Their rift causes Casita to split and the candle to be extinguished, but is their ultimate love for each other and their family enough to put things back together?
María Cecilia Botero voices Alma Madrigal and the 67-year-old actress hails from Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia, which is the second largest city in Columbia, behind Bogotá.
Her entire career has centered around Columbian television and feature films, while also being the director and teacher at the Chariot Academy, a Columbian acting school that was founded by her father, Jaime Botero.
Bruno Madrigal – John Leguizamo
As an Encanto character, we could call Bruno the black sheep of the Madrigal family. Bruno is Mirabel’s uncle who has been away from the family for a long time because of his ability to see the future. He can see both the good and the bad and it was a bad vision of Casita that turned his family against him.
Veteran actor John Leguizamo voices Bruno with his usual Hispanic flair. Leguizamo has been in numerous movies, some of his more important roles were as Luigi in 1993’s Super Mario Brothers, Carlito’s Way as Bennie Blanco from the Bronx, and most recently in the schlocky bloodfest Christmas movie, Violent Night.
Of course, Encanto isn’t the first time Leguizamo has offered his vocal talents. He is also known as Sid the Sloth in the Ice Age franchise.
Luisa Madrigal – Jessica Darrow
Luisa Madrigal is the one Encanto character who cannot be missed. She has been given the “gift” of superhuman strength and is easily the most recognizable of the Madrigal descendants. She is Mirabel’s second oldest sister and because of her strength, feels she carries the weight of the Madrigal world on her shoulders.
Jessica Darrow is fairly new to the business. Before landing the voice role in Encanto, the 27-year-old actress/singer got her start in the 2019 feature, Feast of the Seven Fishes.
As part of the LGBTQ community, she said while on the Red Carpet at the Oscars, “Here I am being queer and gorgeous, and I’m on the red carpet, and I’m very happy to represent fellow gorgeous queer people.”
Julieta Madrigal – Angie Cepeda
Meet Julieta Madrigal, Mirabel’s mother and one of Alma’s triplets. She has been gifted with the power to heal, though she doesn’t do it by the touch of her hand or with a magic wand. Instead, Julieta can heal with the food she prepares.
For the bulk of Angie Cepeda’s career, which started in 1993, she performed in television and feature films in Columbia. It wasn’t until 2013 that Cepeda got her first role in an American film, A Night in Old Mexico, which just so happened to star Hollywood legend, Robert Duvall. The legend must have liked what he saw from Cepeda because her next American film, Wild Horses, was in 2015 and it too also starred Duval.
Fun fact about Angie Cepeda – not only did she voice Julieta for the English version of Disney’s Encanto, but she also voiced the character for the Spanish and Italian versions of the animated film.
Pepa Madrigal – Carolina Gaitán
Pepa is another of Alma’s triplets. She has been given the gift of being able to control the weather with her emotions. Of course, the forecast is never anything predictable, as Pepa’s emotions run the gamut. Oftentimes Pepa is seen with an umbrella, as her hot and cold emotions usually bring on rain and storms.
Carolina Gaitán is an actress and singer and is from Villavicencio, Colombia. She received her formal training at the Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute in New York. Before taking on the voice role as Pepa, Gaitán’s only American project came in 2015 and it was in the American-Columbian Netflix series, Narcos.
Isabela Madrigal – Diane Guerrero
Isabela Madrigal is Mirabel’s sister and as an Encanto character, she has been given the gift of being able to make flowers bloom anywhere and everywhere. She appears pretty much perfect, and always is in a happy mood, which means flowers are sure to follow her.
Although Guerrero was born in Passaic, New Jersey, both of her parents come from Columbia. She has performed on both screens, big and small, though none of her feature films, other than Encanto, have made much noise.
On the small screen, Guerrero has been on series like Blue Bloods, Person of Interest, Jane the Virgin, Doom Patrol, and Legends of Tomorrow. Her biggest television role was when she played Maritza Ramos for 57 episodes of Orange is the New Black.
ENCANTO CHARACTERS – THOSE OUTSIDE THE MADRIGAL FAMILY
Agustín – Wilmer Valderrama
There are a few Encanto characters that are not Madrigal descendants, Agustín being one of them. Voiced by That 70’s Show vet, Wilmer Valderrama, Agustín is Mirabel’s father and husband to Julieta.
Having married into the magical family, Agustín does not have any “gifts,” but what he does have is a propensity for accidents and awkwardness.
Félix – Mauro Castillo
Félix is another of the Encanto characters who does not enjoy the benefits of magical gifts. Félix has the difficult task of trying to keep his wife, Pepa, grounded so her emotions don’t get the best of her. He is the grounded one and if there is a party, he is typically the life of it.
Mauro Castillo is a Columbian singer, who was once part of the salsa orchestra Grupo Niche. As Félix, Castillo gets to sing what is probably the most recognizable song on the Encanto soundtrack, We Don’t Talk About Bruno, a song that surprisingly made its way all the way up to No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Pico, a toucan – Alan Tudyk
We couldn’t talk about Encanto characters and not give a special shout-out to Alan Tudyk, who lent his voice as Pico, the toucan. Often called “Disney’s good luck charm,” Tudyk has voiced a Disney Animation character in every film starting with 2012’s Wreck-It Ralph.
In it he was King Candy, following that up with the Duke of Weselton in Frozen, Big Hero 6’s Alister Krei, Duke Weselton in Zootopia, crazy Heihei in Moana, Knowsmore in Ralph Breaks the Internet, and finally Tuk Tuk in Raya and the Last Dragon.
Although Encanto and its fun and colorful characters brought in nearly $257 million at the box office, it was considered to be a Disney flop. The film was created on a budget of $120-150 million but didn’t come close to the box office numbers it was hoping for, mainly due to the nature of COVID-19 at the time of its release (November 3, 2021).
Overall, though, the movie was a success as a fan-favorite film. It moved over to Disney+ on December 24, 2021, where it found a whole new and appreciative audience. Critics and fans alike loved the catchy Lin-Manuel Miranda songs, the vibrant colors, and the fun Encanto characters. The Disney animated musical can still be seen on Disney+.
