Hanging by a thread

You have to remember that even if he saw her grow up from a distance, Bruno has not interacted with his niece since she was 5 years old !

I edited this little clip to talk about that :

First we start with a clip of what Mirabel used to look like when she was 5 years old. Bruno probably kinda perceive her like that, at least at the start. She is his adorable little niece and he is a caring man. He's not immune.

I put a clip of a worried Mirabel just after, for comparison. You can see she did not change that much. That's the moment that wrecks me... Protective instinct probably activates when she's here for Tío Bruno. He doesn't want her to get scared. His hand movement is just so gentle... I'll never recover.

Bruno throwing salt at his niece is done out of superstition, that's for sure. But why sugar ? And why does it sound like a question ? I know he's a bit eccentric, but I think he's trying to tell her she's sweet. But what he says after really got to me... "Sana, Sana Colita de Rana" A post here (EDIT : I found the post ! I found it ! It was an anon ask with a cool headcanon, check it out) taught me that it is a Spanish saying that you can say/sing when someone gets hurt. It goes : "Sana, Sana Colita de Rana Si no sanas hoy, sanarás mañana" And it means : "Heal, heal, little tail of the frog. If you don't heal today, you'll heal tomorrow." From what I've gathered, it is specifically meant for children. Bruno is not facing her, he may be singing that to himself, he probably heard that a lot growing up, he is still very childlike (he is literally playing hopscotch)... But I don't think it's a coincidence that he said that out loud. Mirabel was emotionally hurt like...a lot ! He does want her to get better.

The last one cracks me up : Bruno introducing Hernando to Mirabel and feeling compelled to clarify that it actually is him under the hood. To me, it's not only him being awkward and/or convinced his acting is very good. I think he was used to a kid who did not have the best concept of object permanence / was very naive... That tends to change A LOT between 5 and 15 years old 😂

Thanks to @vilmublue for uploading 8 minutes of Bruno Madrigal, I could not find the last two clips anywhere else

In conclusion :

I based my first analysis on my memories and that low-quality recording you can see in my edit in the previous post, I noticed the cracks on the ground during my rewatch in late December, I admit I forgot about them when I talked about "playing hopscotch" !

Thanks for that note @rose-of-wolves : I'm using it as an update in my observations about Bruno. He's definitely a superstitious person and that's what all his little rituals are all about : driving away bad luck, making sure everyone is safe.

I still think there is something child-like about his behavior, but I don't mean it in a demeaning way at all, nor do I think superstition is "only for children", what I mean is that I feel like Bruno kept some good traits usually found in children that a lot of adults tend to stifle and even lose over time...

He can be brutally honest and he doesn't lie well when he tries.

His unbridled imagination and natural creativity is inspiring and it helps him go through the worst things in life.

The more I think about this movie, the clearer it gets to me that the reason I love it so much is not only because it is about family, but mostly because it is about transmission.

When you actively try to bring a family together, especially when many generations interact like it is the case here, what to you have to do ?

Communicate. Share. Heal.

A lot of the healing in Encanto is done through words, but they also have the ability to create full-on musical numbers to showcase their emotions / memories. I think a part of it is real because y'know, magic and everything, but it's also a poetic visual way to show what everyone is feeling. Not only is it more entertaining and involving as an audience but it serves a real purpose in the story : what you can see when you truly listen to what everyone has to say. Words and songs matter, but small gestures do too...

I know I'm being cryptic and I'm not answering your question so far, I'm getting to it...

I made a post to highlight the visual parallels between Bruno and his father, noticing parallels is my jam, so here's another one I already mentioned in another post but want to elaborate on : the way they are holding each others hands as a comforting gesture... I like to think that it comes from Pedro and Alma's relationship and was unconsciously transmitted through the family.

See, Pedro and Alma used to hold each other's hands a lot. She does this with Bruno when he is nervous about his reunion with the family... I think this little affection display is not something new to them, she probably used it to comfort her children and show her love. So, without even thinking about it, Bruno used it to comfort his niece. And she, in turn, used it with her grandma.

See ? Transmission. And it's all coming from Pedro.

Transmission plays a huge role in Encanto : the transmission of the family trauma as well as the transmission of love.

We don't know much about Pedro's personality... We can tell from the Dos Oruguitas scene that he was caring, comforting, had a lot of humor and most importantly that he was deeply selfless and family-oriented. Many people in this family felt like they had to sacrifice themselves for everyone else, but Bruno and Mirabel are probably the ones who are the most like him. Hence their particular relationship with Alma...

Everyone in this family is avoiding open conflict. But not Mirabel. Mirabel is the first to stand up to her grandmother, not with agressive intentions, but by embracing her own vulnerability and defending others.

The stakes were different, but her grandfather walking hands up to people armed with machetes reminds me of that...

The courage to take a stand can move mountains. And that's exactly what Mirabel did.

@mrsashketchum I may be a little late...but your permission to cry is granted and I'm actually going to cry along !

Mirabel's character development in 3 songs :

Waiting On A Miracle “ ♪ And I'm fine, I am totally fine ♫”

Tío Bruno No lyrics found. Only love.

All Of You “ ♫ But the stars don't shine, they burn ♪ ”

No worries @blitzgamev : if you're like me and the only voice you used to know is the one Stephanie Beatriz has when she plays Rosa Diaz, it would be actually far more surprising if you could recognize her !

I think the moments where I hear hints that they're played by the same person are :

When Mirabel is climbing the stairs and she screams "Bruno, your room is the wOoOrst !" with a voice crack

When Mirabel meets Bruno and she asks "How long have you been...back here ?"

He actually has green eyes...all the time ?

Green...soft eyes...

@elishevart ❂ I have the pleasure to tell you that you have a wonderful intuition : Jared Bush, one of Encanto's directors, confirmed that on Twitter back in early December

Thanks for reblogging yourself so soon : I saw it, I'm gonna give it a boost because I love your GIF set ! Proud I recognized all of them including the ones I haven't watched yet...

MacGyver - Season 3, Episode 18 : Murdoc + Helman + Hit

The Belko Experiment

I LOVE ENCANTO!! I wanted to draw younger version of Bruno and Pepa being cute!! Bruno being like "Hey you know I love the rain!!" I LOVE THEM SO MUCH! The triplets are my fav I need to draw the three of them together soon!!

All I can say is :