Encanto the Musical: An Exploration of Translating Media from Film to Stage

Author

Isabel Perez-Flores, Whittier CollegeFollow

Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2025

Document Type

Visual Works

Department

Whittier Scholars Program

First Advisor

Douglas Manuel II

Abstract

I’m going to be honest: I did not go into this project with the intent of radically changing Encanto. I had some points I wanted to expand upon, some improvements and edits that I felt the film could have utilized, but overall, I was satisfied with the way the story was told. The real change, I’ve come to realize, lies not in the story and the script itself, but in the way the story is told. The obvious change is that this version of Encanto, in an ideal world, would be performed in front of a live audience, in a theatre with a working set, super cool lighting designs, and a live orchestra.

Take Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, or even The Hunchback of Notre Dame. These stories are already known, whether the viewer has seen the Disney movies, known the fairy tale, or read the book beforehand. The story is already known to them, so why would you want to radically change something that is already beloved by many?

One of the movie-to-musical adaptations I looked to for inspiration was Legally Blonde the Musical. The musical doesn’t sacrifice what works in the original story for something completely different and new; rather, it expands and improves upon the original media. When translated to the stage, the biggest changes are that there are now songs that encompass plot points or give more insights into the characters, and that it is onstage, in front of a live audience.

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of “adaptation” is “something that is adapted”, or more specifically, “a composition rewritten into a new form.” But as I said earlier, rewriting and changing Encanto was never my intention, at least not fully. So, maybe “adaptation” is the wrong word to use in the context of my project. After ruminating on it, I found that the word “translation” fits better. This is a translation of media. How would Encanto look translated onto the stage? This is the question I have attempted to answer throughout this project.

Though there are other adaptations and expansions about Encanto, such as “¡Celebracion Encanto!”, a live sing-along performance that takes place at Disney World, and Nightmares and Sueños, a prequel focusing around Bruno as a teenager, they are not the kind of adaptations I wished for my project.

My translation of Encanto is my attempt to do what Legally Blonde did. I wanted to be able to expand upon the characters, and I did so by giving Abuela, Julieta, and Dolores their own songs. I also wanted to emphasize certain plot beats that the movie originally glossed over, which I did by taking out the bridge in “What Else Can I Do” and instead having Mirabel and Isabela have an actual conversation about their struggles, and also by giving Casita its own voice during the collapse. My adaptation/translation is one of appreciation, not critique. It always has been, and I hope that it shines through in my work.

Recommended Citation

Perez-Flores, I. (2025). Encanto the Musical: An Exploration of Translating Media from Film to Stage. Retrieved from https://poetcommons.whittier.edu/scholars/62