Move over Frozen because there's a new Disney title vying for the top spot, and its name is Encanto. This heartwarming tale of a non-magical Columbian teen born into a magical family has taken the world by storm.
In a recent interview with Variety, voice actor Stephanie Beatriz has given us even more reason to love the movie by revealing that she was in labor while recording one of the film's most popular musical numbers.
The film tells the story of Mirabel Madrigal: a Columbian teenager dealing with the frustrations of being the only non-magical branch in her otherwise whimsical family tree.
The film's most popular song, "We Don't Talk About Bruno", has already become Disney's most popular song of the past 26 years — peaking at #1 on the Billboard Top 100.
It turns out that Stephanie, who voices Mirabel in the film, was in the thralls of labor while she was recording the track "Waiting On A Miracle."
“But I was already having some contractions when we were scheduled to record that day," Stephanie explained. "I was like ‘Well, fingers crossed I finish the song before (the baby) comes!’”
According to director Bryon Howard, Stephanie informed him that her due date was nearing. However, she neglected to mention just how close she actually was to giving birth.
Renowned composer Lin Manuel-Miranda, who wrote the music for the film, joked that Stephanie was indeed waiting for a miracle that day — how ironic!
She also noted just how grateful she was to everyone involved and how truly lucky she felt to be given such an amazing opportunity.
Well, first she noted how weird it was. Earlier in her pregnancy, she spoke to TODAY, saying, “Your body does weird stuff when you’re preggs, like burping at weird times or, like, you’re just sitting and then all of a sudden you stand up and your back’s like, ‘No, no, no. No, we’re not doing that that fast.’”
“For some people it’s a very difficult journey, so I always want to think about how respectful I want to be to everyone’s journey as a pregnant person, and I’m having a pretty good time. It’s pretty cool.”
“Most of (my roles) I disappear into the character, and in a weird way it’s the same with this because it’s the most ‘like me’ role I’ve ever played," Stephanie said. "Yet I’ve disappeared.”
Clearly, the Disney diehards are in full agreement with Beatriz. 'Encanto' has been nominated for three Academy Awards, including "Best Original Song", "Best Score", as well as "Best Animated Film."
Instead, Lin Manuel-Miranda decided to go with the emotional ballad "Dos Oruguitas" to contend for Oscar gold — a decision which he says he doesn't regret in any capacity.
“When those are the parameters, you have to pick the thing that best exemplifies the spirit of the movie, and it contains all of it inside this song," Miranda argued.
