Details On Disney's New Animated Movie 'Encanto' From 'Zootopia' Directors Come To Light

The next movie we get from Walt Disney Animation Studios is Raya and the Last Dragon. Originally slated for release in November, the coronavirus pandemic forced a schedule change that pushed it back to March 2021. We haven't even seen a trailer for this movie yet, but we're already getting details on the original animated movie that will come after that.

That movie is currently going by the title Encanto and it comes from Zootopia directing duo Byron Howard and Jared Bush and co-writer/co-director Charise Castro Smith. The film will not only follow in the footsteps of Moana and Raya and the Last Dragon by following a woman of color in the lead, but it will have some traditional Disney magic at the center of it.

The Disinsider has confirmed Discussing Film's initial report about the new Disney animated movie being titled Encanto, though that could change, much like how Dragon Empire was the original title for Raya and the Last Dragon. The site mentions that the Spanish word means "charm," however, when you hear the premise of the movie, it's likely that the translation for the word could be "enchantment" or "spell."Encanto is said to follow a young girl and her family in Brazil. Everyone in this family has some kind of magical power, but unfortunately, the young girl does not. That will be quite the obstacle to overcome, and we hope that the movie doesn't end up making love her magical power. But this is Disney, and it wouldn't be the first time something so obviously cheesy ended up working well enough to earn millions of dollars at the box office.

For those keeping track, this is the Disney animated movie that we heard Lin-Manuel Miranda was said to be working on back in 2016. Byron Howard was mentioned as being involved, and more recently, there was a rumor going around that Miranda was involved with what would be Disney's first Latina princess. The latest updates say Miranda is writing the music for the movie, much like he did for Moana. Contrary to initial reports, this is not a sequel to Moana, nor does it take place in the same world.

On top of co-directing, Jared Bush is also co-writing the screenplay with Charise Castro Smith, who is also co-director on the film. Smith previously wrote and produced episodes of The Haunting of Hill House and while that seems like an odd choice for a Disney movie, just remember that Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller was also at the helm of Babe: Pig in the City and Happy Feet, so whatever works.

We're happy to see Disney continuing to diversify their slate of princesses on the big screen, especially since there hasn't been a Latin princess brought to the big screen by the studio before. Pixar delved into Mexican culture with Coco, but this will be something entirely different, and I'm excited to see what they have in the works.

Disney currently has a release date claimed for November 24, 2021 for an untitled Disney Animation movie, and Encanto could very well take that slot, but we'll have to wait and see what the studio decides to do.