a little thing about the madrigal family and their gifts
something i really find fascinating about encanto is the different gifts each madrigal sibling receives and how it correlates to this greater idea of "protection" or "defense".
as in defense/protection against outside intruders.
like, look at the triplets. julieta, pepa, and bruno.
julieta is able to heal with the food she makes, which can help her family and her community recover from injuries from attackers faster. pepa can control the weather with her emotions-- weather that could be used to wash away or slow down any intruders. bruno literally can predict the future.
and then the grandkids, too!
isabela's control of plants and luisa's strength stand out as the most outwardly powerful. isabela can summon cacti or trees to harm any intruders, and luisa's brute strength can overwhelm anyone who tries to get after her.
dolores and camilo are a little more subtle in theirs, but they're still pretty good for a defense. dolores, similar to how bruno could predict them coming before they arrive, can hear any intruders approaching before they get there, so she can provide early warning to her family and community. camilo is a shapeshifter, he can shapeshift into other, stronger people, or even into the intruders to become a spy amongst them.
mirabel, obviously, doesn't have a gift. she's more representative of a change against the idea of the gifts being used mostly for defensive purposes. perhaps casita realizes that they're strong enough to protect themselves now, or maybe abuelita unconsciously asked for her children to get these specific gifts to protect her family and then felt like there was enough following camilo. either way, mirabel is the shift away from it.
antonio's gift of animal communication can still be used for this "warfare" or defense. he can tell his animal posse to attack people for him, or they can even become spies for him, overhearing secrets and plans from their attackers and reporting back to him, but his gift feels like the first one meant to be just for himself.
granted, we do not get the backstories of the other madrigal children that deep-- how they were as little kids. maybe julieta always loved to cook, and isabela loved flowers and plants, and camilo was always playing pranks, and their personalities subtly manifested their gifts in them.
but i still think it's really interesting how the gifts of the madrigal family can be used to defend and protect their family and community from outside attackers. after all, that's the reason that abuelita first left her home-- they were attacked by outsiders. it makes sense that the gifts could reflect a response to that fear.
