all hail the rat king

Please forgive the long wait for a reply. Your question inspired me to take a deeper look at that scene, so I wrote a little analysis (I hope you don't mind!)

So.

From the very first meeting with Mirabel, Bruno tries to reject her. First he says "bye" to her outright, then he knocks on wood, sprinkles salt and sugar on her (I know this is superstition, but maybe he was also doing it for the purpose of making her think he's crazy and leave? Who knows). But it didn't work.

Why is he doing this? Because he knows what questions she will ask him. When Mirabel tells: "you never left", he gets nervous.

He tries to distract her, tries to change the subject to telenovelas and the "love could never be." But Mirabel doesn't fall for his ploy and tells him bluntly that she "doesn’t understand why he left, but didn’t leave". Bruno is again nervous and again answers evasively.

All this shows that he really wants to avoid answering this question.

But when Mirabel discovers the slit and the "plate", Bruno is frightened. Look, he slouches even more and awaits Mirabel's reaction with fear. Maybe now she'll start to resent him because he's been spying on their lives all this time. So he excuses himself by saying that he loves his family. And thus unwittingly answers Mirabel's question.

Yeah, my Gift wasn't helping the family, but, uh, I love my family, you know? I just don’t know how to… I just don’t know how to…

A contradiction arises. He loves his family, but his Gift isn't helping, which means that he's useless to the family. That the family DOESN’T LOVE HIM. Probably it is a thought that remains a thought without being able to be put into words.

Why didn't he say so? Why did he shy away from the question so insistently? Because the thought HURTS him.

Look at this frame again. One more second and he would have cried! But he restrained himself, trying again to drive Mirabel away. He was used to keeping his feelings in check, and maybe he didn't want to burden Mira with his problems. He didn't want her to feel sorry for him. That's why he looked away, hiding the pain of loneliness from his niece.

In these scenes we see his real face, without the masks of laughter.

When Mirabel talks to him about herself, he listens to her, but is still focused on his own pain. But look at his reaction when she says:

I just wanted to make the family proud of me. Just once.

There's finally an answer! These words resonate with his soul! Because Mirabel has brought to the surface the very thought he hasn't voiced!

I just don't know how to make the family proud of me.

I just don't know how to be useful to my family.

I just don't know how not to make my family sad.

But, in the end, it all comes down to this formulation:

I love my family, I just don’t know how to earn their love. The same love that I love them.

Oh, yes! In that scene, everyone's attention (not just the audience, but all the Madrigals) was on Bruno alone! No one expected such a quiet and modest man like him to start singing and dancing!

For starters, notice: he involves Pepa in his dance only after she herself has given him her hand. Without her consent, he wouldn't do it. Without her consent, perhaps this whole scene would not have happened.

Besides, we see that Bruno is strong enough: he was able to spin Pepa, who probably weighs more than he does. And yes, Bruno knows how to spin a dance partner! He doesn't just "pull" her out of her place, he exactly launches her into the right trajectory! So, perhaps Bruno was able and loved to dance when he was younger, otherwise where did he get these skills?

Next. He asks for an apology, literally on his knees! Oh Bruno, my beloved!.. And look how softly, how carefully he holds her hand and how gently he pats it! So gently! Yes, Bruno certainly has the manners of a gentleman...

Oh, and next, pay attention! The only scene in the entire cartoon where Bruno has, BY HIS OWN INITIATIVE, a hug! After spinning, he hugs both of them at once, Pepa and Félix, with also patting Félix on the back (maybe they really were best friends before? I need more of their interaction!).

Bruno pours salt and sugar again. (How many of these supplies does he have in his pockets? So when he was sneaking into the kitchen while living within the walls, he faced the choice of stuffing his pockets with arepas or salt and chose the latter? Oh, I digress!)

And finally, he is spinning again.

So Bruno did a fast and energetic dance. In all this, he didn't trip over the tile splinters on the floor, didn't get tangled up in his poncho (as he did in the moment when he defended Mirabel from Alma), sang pretty well and didn't even get out of breath (which again confirms his remarkable physicality!). So, we see him in this scene as agile, nimble, graceful, and quite gentle. I don't know about the rest of us, but personally, I would have spun in a Colombian dance with him!

My reaction to Bruno when he gazes like this: ♡ ♡ ♡ \(★ω★)/ ♡ ♡ ♡