Who is Mirabel Madrigal? All About Mirabel Encanto 2021

Mirabel Madrigal is a young girl who possesses a certain quirkiness and imperfection but also has a deeply emotional and empathetic nature. Despite feeling alone even in the comfort of her own home, she is resolute in proving that she belongs and refuses to let anyone, including herself, believe otherwise.

About Mirabel Madrigal

Mirabel Madrigal is a fictional character in the Walt Disney Animation Studios’ film Encanto (2021). She was created by directors Byron Howard and Jared Bush and is portrayed as a 15-year-old girl who is imperfect, quirky, emotional, and empathetic. Unlike her magical siblings, Mirabel is the only member of the Madrigal family who did not receive a gift. When the family’s magical abilities start to fade, Mirabel takes it upon herself to save the magic and uncover the root of their troubles.

Throughout the character’s development, Mirabel was always intended to be the only member of the family without a gift. However, the filmmakers changed her motivation from desperately searching for a gift to a relatable desire to be noticed. Mirabel’s physical appearance is based on tourist guide Alejandra Espinosa Uribe, and her design incorporates extensive embroidery that represents her personality. American actress Stephanie Beatriz provides the character’s voice, having been deemed the perfect fit for the role after originally auditioning for another character.

Mirabel’s characterization has earned numerous awards and praise from critics for being relatable and heartfelt. Beatriz’s performance has also been lauded as “terrific” and “perfectly cast”. The character’s relationship with her family has sparked discussion among therapists and immigrant groups due to its relatable portrayal of generational trauma.

Mirabel was born into the Madrigal family as the youngest daughter of Julieta and Agustín, and younger sister to Isabela and Luisa. She is also the niece of Félix, Pepa, and Bruno, as well as the cousin of Dolores, Camilo, and Antonio. Mirabel and Camilo shared a nursery until he received his gift on his fifth birthday and moved out. Mirabel’s own gift ceremony resulted in her door fading away, leaving her giftless and shocking her family.

Despite being left out by most of her family due to her lack of magical abilities, Mirabel genuinely loves them and has spent years trying to make up for not having a gift.

Mirabel’s Personality

Mirabel Madrigal’s character is complex and well-developed, with a range of emotions and motivations that drive her actions throughout the story. Despite being the only Madrigal grandchild without a gift, she maintains a positive and sociable demeanor, admiring and getting along well with her relatives. However, her lack of a gift also makes her feel insecure and disconnected from her family, especially her grandmother Abuela Alma, who views her as a disappointment.

Mirabel’s persistence and compassion are also evident as she pursues answers to the weakening of the magic and helps her family members with their individual struggles. She is able to sympathize with Bruno’s loneliness and helps him feel welcomed back into the family. She also gives voice to her family’s problems and helps them understand that they are valuable as they are, not just because of their gifts.

Finally, Mirabel’s growth as a character is highlighted in her confrontation with Abuela Alma. She stands up for herself and defends her family, but also understands her grandmother’s trauma and forgives her. Mirabel’s newfound confidence in her worth as an equal member of her family and community is a powerful conclusion to her character arc.

Mirabel Madrigal’s Appearance

Mirabel Madrigal, a 15-year-old Colombian girl with curly, chin-length black hair, thick eyebrows, hazel eyes, and a visibly dark shade of freckles on her nose and cheeks, is near-sighted and wears lime green round-framed glasses. She is often seen wearing a white blouse with colorful butterfly stitching and frills of black trimming at the neck and sleeves, along with a long teal skirt with butterfly embroidery, and her name stitched on the waistband.

Her skirt features many embroidered patterns, including motifs representing her relatives, such as a candle for Abuela, a basket of buñuelos for Julieta, and musical notes for Dolores, among others. She wears blue pom-pom earrings and sandals with pink lining and black ribbons around her ankles, and carries around a mochila bag when going out. At night, she wears a white ankle-length nightgown with a green ribbon at the neckline.

When she was five, Mirabel was seemingly denied a gift from her family’s miracle, which changed everyone’s expectations of her, including her own. Ten years later, she is accidentally excluded from a family picture and feels like she’s not truly part of the Madrigal family. Desperate to have a gift, Mirabel notices Casita cracking and the candle flickering, which Alma, her abuela, says would never happen. Despite warning everyone, the cracks disappear, and no one believes her. But when Alma questions whether the miracle is dying, Mirabel takes it upon herself to save it.

With the help of Luisa, her older sister, Mirabel searches for a clue in her missing uncle Bruno’s room, who had a vision about the magic. She finds the vision, which shows her surrounded by a cracked Casita, implying she might be the cause of the miracle’s dying. Dolores later reveals the secret to everyone. Mirabel finds Bruno hiding inside the house’s walls and questions him about his vision, and he says that he only knows the fate of the Madrigal family will depend on her.

In another vision, Mirabel sees a butterfly and herself hugging someone, whom she and Bruno identify as Isabela, her eldest sister. Mirabel and Isabela reconcile, partially healing the cracks near the candle, after Mirabel persuades her to become truer to herself.

However, Alma sees them and accuses Mirabel of trying to hurt the family out of spite for lacking a gift. Distraught and heartbroken, Mirabel realizes that she and the rest of the family will never be good enough for Alma and that the miracle is dying because of her. The house breaks and collapses as a result of their heated argument. Mirabel tries to save the candle, but it extinguishes in her hands, and she runs away.

Alma finds Mirabel at the river and apologizes for her accusation and high expectations for their family. They reconcile and return to a broken Casita, where Mirabel tells her family that they are more than their gifts, and Alma apologizes for seeing her family’s powers as the miracle instead of their existence. With the help of the townspeople, the Madrigals rebuild Casita and make a doorknob bearing an “M” for Mirabel to place into the front door, causing Casita to be restored, and the family regains their powers. The family takes a group photograph, with Mirabel at the center of her family this time.

Mirabel Madrigal’s Powers And Abilities

Mirabel lacks a magical power or ability, as she was not given a gift like the rest of her exceptional family. However, she possesses a unique talent: communicating with Casita, which no one in her family, except for Abuela Alma, has demonstrated. At the movie’s conclusion, Mirabel affirms herself as the new vessel for the magic by adding her family-made doorknob to the front door, restoring the magic, and bringing Casita back to life. This act is born out of her love for her family, and the color of her new magic is now rainbow-colored, unlike the golden color it had before when the candle held the magic.

Mirabel Madrigal also has exceptional abilities in many different areas. She is a skilled seamstress and embroiderer, having embroidered her own outfit extensively, and she gifted Antonio a handmade jaguar plush toy she made herself. Mirabel has quick reflexes, can catch and carry multiple ceramic plates, and is agile enough to swing across a large chasm, sprint across Casita’s rooftops, and keep up with Isabela when the latter is rapidly growing enormous plants. Additionally, Mirabel can play the accordion well enough to be spontaneously invited by the town’s musicians to play with them. Finally, Mirabel discovers over the course of the film that she is exceptionally good at getting others in her family to open up to her.

Mirabel’s Relationship

Alma Madrigal

Alma, Mirabel’s maternal grandmother, is the mother of Julieta, Mirabel’s own mother. When Mirabel was a young child, she and Alma had a close relationship. Mirabel loved hearing Alma’s stories about how their family’s miracle came to be. However, after Mirabel didn’t receive her gift, their relationship became strained. Despite this, Mirabel still valued Alma’s opinion of her and tried her best to live up to the family’s expectations. Unfortunately, Alma often ignored Mirabel’s attempts to help. When Alma blamed Mirabel for the family’s misfortune, Mirabel was hurt and lashed out, accusing Alma of not loving the family as much as everyone else did.

But after the house collapsed, Mirabel and Alma had a heart-to-heart conversation. Mirabel expressed empathy for the sorrow Alma had experienced as a young woman, and Alma realized her mistake of prioritizing the magic over her family. They reconciled and made amends.

Agustin And Julieta Madrigal

Mirabel Madrigal shares a loving relationship with her parents, Agustín and Julieta, who she fondly calls “Papi” and “Mamá”. On the day of Antonio’s gift ceremony, they tried to console Mirabel about not having a gift by offering her words of comfort. Though Mirabel often doesn’t believe them, she still appreciates their efforts to make her feel better.

Isabela Madrigal

Mirabel’s oldest sister is Isabela, who they used to be very close to when they were younger. However, as they grew older, Isabela faced mounting pressure to be perfect, causing a strain in their relationship. At the start of the film, Mirabel and Isabela have a mutual disdain for each other, with Mirabel expressing her annoyance towards Isabela’s perceived entitlement and describing her as a “selfish princess” during an argument. Despite this, Mirabel initially sings Isabela’s praises in “The Family Madrigal,” describing her as “perfect” and “graceful.”

However, their relationship takes a turn for the better during the song “What Else Can I Do,” when Mirabel is able to see past Isabela’s facade of perfection and encourage her to embrace her imperfections. This leads to a heartfelt moment of reconciliation, with the two sisters hugging and the magic strengthening as a result.

Luisa Madrigal

Mirabel’s older sister, Luisa, has a better relationship with Mirabel compared to their other older sister, Isabela, as portrayed in the film. Mirabel holds Luisa in high regard, describing her as “the brawn” who “does no wrong” during the song “The Family Madrigal”. Mirabel deeply cares for Luisa, as shown in the song “Surface Pressure” where she expresses visible concern for the pressure that Luisa is under and offers her comfort with a hug, telling her she thinks she carries “way too much”.

Additionally, during the song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, Mirabel is saddened to see that Luisa, who previously demonstrated immense strength by lifting a church with little effort, is now struggling to lift a flower pot.

During dinner with the Guzmáns, Mirabel tries to cover up the fact that Luisa is losing her gift, indicating her desire to protect her sister. Towards the end of the film in the song “All Of You”, Mirabel comforts Luisa by assuring her that she is more than just her gift. Mirabel, along with Isabela, then gives Luisa a comforting hug when Luisa admits to sometimes showing weakness, such as crying, despite believing she should be strong.

Antonio Madrigal

Mirabel’s youngest cousin on her mother’s side is Antonio, who she is incredibly close to, treating him almost like a little brother. This is demonstrated in the film when Mirabel offers comfort to Antonio, who is nervous about his upcoming gift ceremony. During the ceremony, Mirabel accompanies Antonio to his door, even though he insists that he needs her for extra confidence.

Bruno Madrigal

Bruno is the younger triplet brother of Mirabel’s mother, Julieta, and is Mirabel’s maternal uncle. Although Mirabel has little memory of him from her childhood, they have a friendly but awkward reunion after not seeing each other for ten years. Throughout the film, they start to bond, particularly when Mirabel convinces Bruno to have another vision so she can save the magic.

Mirabel grows to care for Bruno and reassures him that she doesn’t believe he makes bad things happen. She also shows concern for his safety, making sure he is safe after the house collapses and standing up for him when Alma accuses him of not caring about the family.