Back in November 2021, Disney released Encanto , an adorable movie about a family from a magical village in the mountains of Colombia. Like most recent Disney films, parents and kids have been raving about it and praising Disney for its inclusive representation .
A mom shared an adorable photo of her two-year-old daughter identifying with one of the movie’s main characters, Mirabel, and it’s just as heartwarming as it sounds.
Near the end of 2021, Disney released their latest hit, “Encanto”.
A story about a Colombian family living in a mystical, remote, mountainous village known as, Encanto. All but one of the children in the family, Mirabel, are blessed with a special ability. But in spite of that, she winds up being their last hope after discovering their home is in grave danger.
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Like most Disney movies, “Encanto” has been a sensation.
And not just for its gripping storytelling, but also for its representation of people of color. While this isn’t the first time Disney has taken strides toward increased inclusivity, parents are actually starting to notice the impact it’s having on younger generations.
Hannary Araújo, mom of two-year-old Manu Araújo Marques, recently shared a clip of her daughter seeing a likeness between herself and the movie’s main character, Mirabel.
The adorable moment caught on camera has since gone viral garnering thousands of views.
After seeing Mirabel onscreen, Manu says, “It’s me mommy!” in Portuguese.
“It’s me!” she repeats before her mom replies : “It’s you? Look at mommy, let me see if it’s you,” asking Manu to turn herself toward the camera.
The resemblance is truly uncanny.
If I didn’t know any better, I’d say Disney’s animation team designed Mirabel based off of Manu.
“I grew up, mommy,” she says , suggesting she will look even more like Mirabel when she’s all grown up.
“How beautiful,” her mom replies.
“There’s nothing better than seeing your child’s joy — especially being represented in a Disney movie!” Hannary said in a later interview with Buzzfeed .
“My biggest fear when I learned that Manu would wear glasses would be bullying at school!” she continued.
“But over the course of the movie, I completely changed my mind and saw that princesses wear glasses too !”
She added that she wishes there was a way to spread that joy to other children who haven’t felt represented in movies.
“If I could create custom dolls for each child, I would open a factory right away! Because you don’t know the importance this generates in a child’s life!” she said .
“Just as she is being represented by a princess, I want other children to feel the same joy as hers — the same magic!”
Let us know what you think of Manu’s adorable reaction to Encanto in the comments below.
h/t Buzzfeed
