Encanto: Mirabel Was Wrong About Bruno’s Vision

After witnessing Bruno’s vision, Mirabel was wrongfully convinced that her destiny involved either destroying her family’s miracle or saving it for the duration of Encanto. Little did she know that Bruno’s prophecy showed Mirabel breaking what remained of the fragile miracle in order to bring it back stronger than before. Though Mirabel misinterpreted Bruno’s vision til Encanto’s end, the prophecy carried out exactly as it was intended to.

Mirabel (voiced by Stephanie Beatriz) first noticed her family’s miracle was in trouble when Casita’s interior revealed large cracks during her cousin Antonio’s (Ravi Cabot-Conyers) gift receiving ceremony. After briefly doubting her findings, Mirabel overheard her Abuela Alma (Maria Cecilia Botero) lament over the miracle losing its original strength. Upon listening to her abuela’s woes, Mirabel tasked herself with discovering how she could stop the miracle from losing all its remaining strength. Throughout her investigation, Mirabel came across a vision of Bruno’s (John Leguizamo) that pictured her standing tall in front of both a broken and sturdy home. This prophecy prompted Mirabel to believe that her next actions had the ability to either protect the miracle or break it, but this assumption was incorrect.

Bruno’s tragic 10-year-old vision was not showing two possibilities like Mirabel thought. Instead, it was showing a magical before and after picture. Similar to modern before and after photos, the picture of Casita being shattered was revealed when Mirabel tilted the prophecy to the left. Likewise, Casita being restored was revealed when titled to the right. By reflecting a format comparable to before and after pictures, the vision implied that the miracle was going to be crushed and later repaired thanks to Mirabel. This comparison is further solidified by the fact that Bruno’s past visions were always absolute. As repeatedly mentioned in the catchy and informative song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” every one of his prophecies came true without any caveats. It wouldn’t make sense for him to suddenly visualize optional paths in his vision about Mirabel. However, interpreting Mirabel’s prophecy as a before and after picture would best explain its peculiar existence.

As expressed towards the end of the movie, the true miracle was the Madrigal family itself. When Abuela Alma watched each of her family members obtain unique powers after their gift receiving ceremonies, she slowly forgot this. Alma was only able to realize after Casita was gone and took the family’s powers with it. Though unintentional, Mirabel had to destroy the wrongly identified miracle in order to get Alma to recognize the real one. The Madrigal family’s special gifts were meaningless in comparison to having each other. By initiating a heart-to-heart conversation with Alma, Mirabel was able to completely fulfill Bruno’s prophecy by healing not just Casita’s cracks, but also her family’s.

Mirabel may not have ever noticed that she misinterpreted Bruno’s vision, but she didn’t have to in order to complete her self-appointed mission. Her goal was to save the family miracle as a means to fully support her family and she accomplished that. Without any special power, Mirabel felt like an outcast at the beginning of Encanto. By the end, she proved to be the embodiment of the true miracle she was trying so hard to protect.

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