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I’m not going to lie. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I first saw trailers for Disney’s Encanto. Disney animated films always have a certain level of standard, but there are definitely tiers to those levels. I really thought Encanto was going to be a standard affair, another world jaunting adventure to save the magic of the house and other characters by the one with no powers. Nothing special. I’m happy to say that this movie surprised me. It wasn’t what I was expecting and brought a breath of fresh air to the Disney catalog.

Welcome to Family Madrigal

Encanto revolves around the family Madrigal, living in their magic house hidden within the mountains of Colombia after a tragic event witnessed by the matriarch Abuela Alma Madrigal (Maria Cecilia Botero). Alma is given a magic candle that gives her three children, and in turn their children, special gifts. All except for our heroine, Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz). Mirabel is a quirky and caring girl who does her best to support her family even though she feels a bit like an outcast. Beatriz knocks it out of the park here. There’s always an underline empathetic sincerity to her portrayal. And she’s got the pipes to really empathize the joy, pain, and worry with her songs.

There are her two sisters, Luisa (Jessica Darrow) and Isabela (Diane Guerrero), who have super strength and plant growth respectively. Then there’s her cousins Dolores (Adassa) who has super hearing, Camilo (Rhenzy Feliz) who can shape shift, and little Antonio (Ravi-Cabot Conyers) who receives the power to talk with animals. We also have Mirabel’s parents, Agustín Madrigal (Wilmer Valderrama) and Julieta (Angie Cepeda) who can heal with cooking, her uncle Félix Madrigal (Mauro Castillo) and aunt Pepa Madrigal (Carolina Gaitán) who can control the weather, and Bruno (John Leguizamo) who can see the future. They don’t talk about Bruno. With such a big family, the movie does a great job portraying the family dynamic. Everyone is their own character, and everyone feels unique.

Not What I Expected

During the celebration for Antonio’s gift reveal, Mirabel finds that the magic of the house is starting to wane. While no one believes her, she is determined to solve the mystery and protect her family. The story of Encanto wasn’t quite what I was expecting; however, it’s definitely for the better. The trailers made it seem like it was going to be more of an adventure film a la the Frozen series. However, it was much more of an intimate and introspective film. Exploring how expectations, both self and ones placed upon you, can affect you even with good intentions, how misunderstandings and fear can cause a family to break apart, and how in the end love and communication can save it. I was really surprised where the film went. It’s definitely still a Disney movie, but I like that the formula was shaken up a bit.

Visually, it’s an exceptional film. The environments pop with vibrant colors and design. But what’s really amazing is the Latin culture, along with the diverse shades of skin tone and character design. It really makes the world feel alive and lived in when everyone looks and feels unique. I loved seeing characters like Salsa, casually speak Spanglish and have the mannerisms you generally don’t get with a Disney movie. It’s not a perfect representation, but the film has deservedly gotten a lot of buzz from the Latin community loving the film. It’s good to see Disney showing more diverse and well told stories.

Music to my Ears

Lin-Manuel Miranda, who previously worked with Disney on Moana, returns to provide the music along with Germaine Franco composing the score. While the songs in Moana still feel mostly Disneyesque, Encanto feels A LOT more like Lin-Manuel’s style. Honestly, it works really well for the film and is a nice change of pace from the standard Disney song. It still feels very rooted in Disney, but a lot of the songs incorporates the “Lin-Manuel rap” style. It will throw some people off who aren’t used to hearing that style in Disney movies, but it absolutely works. All the songs are great, and there are definitely “Disney style” songs here. But I have read some people not enjoying these songs like they have for other films. They’re wrong though.

Magical

Encanto is a fantastic film that shakes up the typical Disney formula. With amazing visuals, a stellar story, and a great soundtrack, Encanto is one of the best animated films Disney has recently put out. Everyone should run out and see this magical film!

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The post The House of Mouse Does it Again! – ‘Encanto’ Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

Writer: John Layman / Artist: Dan Boultwood / Image

The finale of (She) Drunk History is exactly as bizarre as you expect from John Layman riffing off a time travel story. The cask of vineteporus that has taken Saffron to 19th century Paris has finally reached the end of its supply of shenanigans, and it’s time to wrap up the heist in properly convoluted heist fashion in Chu #10. There is no facet more convoluted than the fact that there are two Saffrons floating around the time period after the events of Chu #9.

Layman loves playing coy with the timeline. There’s a very laissez-faire attitude when it comes to the approach of multi-pronged grifts that get increasingly more complicated every page, but everything is so ridiculous that we’re conditioned to go along with Saffron’s mad dashes to her end goals much like her compatriots. This is Saffron at her finest, a smooth talker whose acquired skills make her dangerous, but whose originally gift of gab is still her bread and butter (food puns definitely intended). This is a Saffron who know that when the going gets rough, you fall back to the fundamentals. And it works because of the fast and loose narration and because as convoluted as the plans are, the plans have roots in familiar crime tropes that are easy to process and you appreciate the extra dramatic flair that was implemented in Chu.

Boultwood’s art continues to be a fantastic case of cartooning. The characters are vividly rendered, and the exaggerated emotional responses are a delight to look at. The set pieces are stunning and while there isn’t a lot of action in this particular issue compared to its predecessors, it’s still a thrilling read.

The more time we get to spend with Saffron and ruminate on the vector this series is going in, the more I appreciate it. Whereas her brother’s power was integral to every stage of the story, Saffron’s personality is the star the show, and Layman and Boultwood perfected the proportions of this comic’s recipe. I’m very excited for the prospect of a book three after finishing Chu #10.

9.3 “Portraits” out of 10

Enjoying Chu? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.

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The post Chu #10 Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.

The CW Network announced today the all-new docu-series March, which celebrates the colorful, boisterous, and competitive world of HBCU band culture through the eyes of the experts—the band members and leaders themselves. Embedded inside the Prairie View A&M University Marching Band, The Marching Storm, this engaging eight-part series will capture the blood, sweat, and tears each member sheds to make it to the field while balancing their dynamic college life.  March debuts on Monday, January 24 (8:00-9:00pm ET/PT), and then MARCH moves to Sundays starting February 27 (9:00-10:00 ET/PT), after All American and All American: Homecoming take over Monday nights.

March showcases the dedicated and energetic group of college students at Prairie View A&M University—from drum majors and dancers to the flag team and all the section players—as they navigate performing in one of the most prestigious HBCU marching bands along with tackling a rigorous academic schedule and maintaining a high grade point average. The series chronicles their pressure-filled journey to become the highest-ranked HBCU band in the land, including electrifying performances at homecoming, Texas A&M and Southern University. As March shares the personal and unique stories of individual members and staff of the over 300-person marching band, it also explores the legacy and culture of Prairie View A&M and highlights how the Marching Storm band is an integral part of that rich history.

From Stage 13, March is executive produced by Cheryl Horner McDonough, Jamail Shelton, Shari Scorca and Marcel Fuentes.

Prime Video’s series Harlem takes the age-old story of four friends living in a city and trekking through work, sex, and relationships, and centers it on the Black experience. Each woman has to deal with the struggle of juggling her career while trying to have and keep a relationship/situationship. In this day and age, that is not easy for anyone. 

Each episode begins with Dr. Camille Parks (Meagan Good) teaching an anthropology class topic that happens to tie in with the title of the episode and what she and her three friends experience. The difference between the show and many others is that I can more than relate to the everyday experiences of Black women.  

In a world where Black women are continuously overlooked and disregarded despite being the most educated and the blueprint to pop culture trends, it is a struggle to power through without the assistance of your friends. Camille is a published and popular professor at Columbia University and is working towards becoming tenured. Her love life, however, is less than stellar. A year after breaking up with her longtime boyfriend, Camille is struggling with his return and being awkwardly single. 

Quinn Johnson (Grace Byers) can’t seem to be on track with her career or relationships. Being the daughter of monied parents who don’t support her latest business venture in fashion (which is struggling) is not easy. Let alone constantly going on dates with the wrong guy can be jarring. 

Tye (Jerrie Johnson), a queen in the dating-app industry, has an immensely amazing app and company but her love life is a bit bumpy even though she would rarely admit it. Angie (Shoniqua Shandai) is the boisterous and talented singer/actor who lost her record deal years ago. While she crashes on Quinn’s couch, she hunts for her star moment once again. 

The four women have a sisterhood that allows them to be honest, supportive, and secretive in a way that no one else could understand. If anything, these relationships are probably the healthiest. They encourage one another to be truthful about what they want and how to achieve it, as well as being mentally and physically healthy. The encouragement and love are endearing.

In every good show, there have to be obstacles, other than dating, and that comes in the form of blunt and disappointed mother Mrs. Johnson (the fabulous Jasmine Guy), unimpressed Dr. Elise Pruitt (Whoopi Goldberg), who doesn’t deserve the hate being of a strong Black woman.

Now, this isn’t just some show focused on the relationships that these women have. There are conversations that affect the daily lives of Black people. One is the gentrification of Harlem, a historically Black neighborhood, and the anger that comes from neighborhood favorites taken over by new owners. But what if those owners happen to give another Black person the opportunity to shine with their gifts?

Do you fight the cause or raise the person who is given the opportunity? One of the most significant moments is when Tye ends up in the hospital after trying so desperately to be a “strong black woman” and ignoring the pain that she is suffering. The white, male doctor brushes off her pain and refuses to give her medication, only for her to end up collapsing and returning to the hospital again. These situations may seem dramatic to non-Black people but for Black women, this is an ongoing matter what needs to be erected. If anything, it’s bringing to light the things that we have to deal with on a daily basis. I can get behind that. 

While the series started off slow, I continued on to see where the storyline was heading. At first, I was questioning the basic relationship faux pas that the ladies were committing, but then I had to stop myself and think of each time that I have heard dating horror stories or even relive the several assumptions and mishaps that I’ve made in the current dating world. This world can be and is horrific. Just check Twitter. Halfway through the season, I was glued to my seat because I couldn’t wait to see what happened in the next episode. 

I’ll admit that there are a few overly comedic and cringey moments, but these ladies were gifted with amazing writers who gave them perfect one-liners and inspiring monologues that I want posted on my walls. These talented four actors delivered for every moment that they had to react to microaggression and sexism. If anything, I wish that I was able to react the same way they did whenever racism rears its ugly head. 

To me, this might be the show that we will be watching ten years from now — it will still hold its own. Hopefully, by then women will have changed the dating and relationship scene forever and Black women will be acknowledged, paid, and applauded for what they do in their respective careers and pop culture. 

Harlem is currently streaming on Prime Video.