Her face when she says "SELFISH?!?!?!?" I love it

Someone mentioned about Isabella resemblances a lot of Abuela at her younger age and Mariano resemblances a lot of Abuelo, meaning that Abuela is living her "what-if life" through her favorite golden girl. Ouch.

i liked Isabela from the beginning; i thought the clues were laid nicely for those not in a fever dream! and i don't really understand the whole Luisa vs Isabela thing, either; yes, they're opposite visually, but they're basically operating under different flavors of perfectionism. Luisa has to DO everything perfectly, right now, and Isabela has to BE perfect, always. they're actually extremely similar, and i thought they complemented each other well, showing how the same pressures and same expectations can manifest even in wildly different people. but that's just me, though lol

Love this video, I didn’t even realize what she was singing in the WDTAB overlapping part and OMG wow! Something else I love about Isabela and Mirabels’ relationship is something one of my moms pointed out to me: that Isabela’s power isn’t “useful” like the rest of the family’s. Everyone else that has a Gift uses it to help the community in some way (Luisa doing all the heavy chores, Julieta healing ppl who were hurt, etc.), but growing plants, particularly flowers, isn’t particularly a Gift that can be used to help the community much. This is probably the biggest reason behind the perfect façade, with the idea that Isabela could only be “helpful” by being the perfect girl, getting married, and having babies that will get more seemingly useful Gifts. So Isabela holding up this perfection act to try and be useful in Abuela and the community’s eyes, and Mirabel who has no Gift but tries to help anyway? And the Gifts basically being what is seen to define the family members’ worth? It’s no wonder they’re at each other’s throats for so long if you think about it like that. I didn’t even realize that while Mirabel sees Isabela as seemingly treated so much better bc of her Gift, that Isabela would see Mirabel the same way because of her lack of one! Also I just LOVE Isa’s character in general, and she is going to be such a trailblazer for future animated females I know it!! ❤️ Edit: typo

Thank you I thought I was the only one who was uncomfortable with the way they put "Luisa merch outsells Isabela" even when sources confirmed it wasn't true .

I didn't care for Isabela until I realized that she was like I was when I was a kid. I wasn't perfect by any means, nor conventionally pretty, but I had a lot of expectations and over-managing of my life, and I was definitely jealous of my little sister for not having the same expectations on her. I was petty and downright mean to her, to the point where I probably became pretty unlikeable. But just like the movie proves that these siblings CAN change or at least be understood if they realize both siblings are jealous of each other and aren't total narcissists, I decided to call my sister on her 18th birthday to tell her how sorry I was that I had treated her like that. How I had learned manipulative tactics and used them on her because I was too young to know how to be different. She forgave me over time and we became close! Maybe it wasn't an overnight change, but then again, I was much meaner to her than Isabela was to Mirabel.

A few more notes I picked up about Isa: - There’s a scene right before Mirabel goes into Bruno’s room where we see Abuela and Isa walking together. Abuela is telling Isa that her union to Mariano is going to be perfect, it’s a “perfect match” and we hear Isa basically just parrot that back to Ama. - Speaking of Mariano, how she acts in regards to him or at the mention of him is so telling. There’s a lot of forced (almost pained) smiling. During the Family Madrigal number when Mirabel is rap/singing to Mariano, we see Isa walk by in the background and not spare the man even a glance, actually she looks in the complete opposite direction. And then there’s the flower punches to the face which could be subconscious of how much she really does not want to marry him. (Side note: I love that Mariano wasn’t a bad guy, Isa just didn’t want to marry him. Which is fine). - After the song What Else Can I Do, it’s this huge release for Isa, finally be able to test the limits of what she can make. She’s even laughing with Mirabel… until Abuela shows up. It’s so subtle but when both sisters sit up you see Isa’s eyes quickly dart down to her powder covered dress, and her body language is almost like she’s trying to make herself smaller before she slinks off to the side almost refusing to look at her sister or grandmother. Just because she’d had this liberating moment didn’t take away that pressure or that want for approval. - You already mentioned the flowers in her hair, the jealousy, and the “I’m fine” in We Don’t Talk About Bruno so I’ll leave those be. It’s a real close call, but I think Isabela might be my favorite of the Madrigals? I love Luisa, Mirabel, Bruno, Pepa, and everyone… but I think I just relate to Isa a little. Not to this extent, but I’ve had that feeling a lot throughout my life. That one minor mistake on an assignment or not living up to the image my family has of me could create some form of disastrous butterfly effect. So… yeah. Honestly if you wanted to talk about any of the other Encanto characters I’d be down. Personally I think there’s not enough love sent Pepa or Camilo’s way but (especially in Camilo’s case) there also just wasn’t too much screen time devoted to them. But I also stand by that Felix is a king and the way he loves his wife is beyond precious. Obviously this is just a suggestion and if you don’t that’s okay too. Life is busy and all. Great video as always.

I didn't like or relate to Isabela at all the first time I watched Encanto. However, later on I realized that we actually have a lot in common. I may be a cis male with very different gifts and presentation, but I'm an oldest child with strong perfectionist tendencies who grew up as a "golden child" in a narcissistic family. I don't think Abuela is a narcissist, but I certainly recognized a lot of those dynamics in the Madrigal family.

I love Isabela but I would also like to see a Video on Dolores. After all she gets to hear everyone’s problems but no one bothers to ask her about hers. Even to the point where she’s willing to give up her happiness for the family. Plus she kept Bruno’s secret, even hiding him during the song.)

I do a theater class and was chosen to be isabela. I had a good idea of her character but it feels better to know some of these details and her perspetive of mirabel, thank you!

Oh wow, I had completely missed Isabella’s line at the end of “We don’t talk about Bruno!” I’m super glad that the first time I watched Encanto was with my sister ☺️ it was a lot of fun! Thanks for the video! ❤️🌸🌸🌸🌸🌼

Didn't notice any of this and I've seen it about 10 times no lie. I liked Issa especially when she sung like Alanis Morissette

4:25 I think aside from her perfect persona she put on, Isabela also dealt with this pressure by taking out her frustration on Mirabel (as shown on this timestamp) & while I do believe it was in part because of jealousy, I also think it’s because she parroted back what her Abuela wanted her to say & do so often that this also resulted in her scapegoating Mirabel in the same way (as seen in their confrontation) which is really sad when you consider this is her baby sister 😔 I get why Isabela acted the way she did - I really do. But it always irked me that even during her revelation song, she didn’t apologise to Mirabel in any shape or form the way Abuela did at the end (& while she could have in the rebuilding timeskip, that’s still not conformation). Reasons don’t equal excuses, especially when you’ve been as shitty a sister as Isabela was. If their confrontation scene had included a segment where, as Mirabel was about to apologise, she instead calls out all of her sister’s shit & says that she can’t apologise to someone who makes her feel as bad as her own Abuela does & that no true sister would ever do that to another. Isabela would pause as Mirabel stormed off, before growing a purple hyacinth 🪻 in front of her (a bloom that means sorry). Isabela would admit everything that Mirabel said was true & apologise for it & THEN would reveal that she didn’t want to marry Mariano & the cactus appears 🌵 This would just feel a lot more even in BOTH sisters taking responsibility, rather than it all just coming from Mirabel (especially since Isabela’s the adult here at 21 & Mirabel’s a mere 15 YEARS!)

I absolutely love this movie the colors, characters songs music culture and the animation is so beautiful and amazing

I've not actually seen Encanto yet, but this will be the first thing I watch after I get round to it!

Isabella was my favorite character. This was a fantastic video!

I just saw this movie for the first time, and something stuck out to me: Isabela hits Mariano, someone who has done nothing against her but rather adores her, with erupting flowers twice and breaks his nose both times. Mirabel lobs perhaps the only insults at Isabela that she has ever received, particularly hurtful ones too, and so gets hit in the face with two erupting flowers as well (one she punches back and so bops her a second time 😆). But they do not injure her! No matter how verbally harsh Isabela and Mirabel are with each other and how cruel Isabela is perceived as being to her sister, she never physically hurts the girl. Did you notice that parallel? Is it commonly acknowledged? ...Also, I think perhaps from trying to reflect everything from Alma, Isabela picked up the habit of centering her frustrations on and taking them out on the wrong people. She lashed out against the one person who would have gladly given her the outlet to be less perfect (and later did), never realizing that Mirabel wanted something different for her until their breakthrough. Similarly, Mariano came to represent the ultimate sacrifice of Isabela's life, though it was never his intention or fault.

She does say that she has been perfect her entire life "I've been stuck being perfect my entire life" which she is talking about other peoples perception of her but she is definitely saying that she has succeeded at living up to the expectation of being perfect.

I did not see this one coming! Definitely a pleasant surprise! Great work! 👍

To anyone who just thinks of isabela as the mean perfect sister is either stupid or never watched the movie, The movie shows she was forced as that

Me, bopping along... "It didn't need to be perfect. It just needed to BE!" Cool, cool. 😁 Isabella's brow furrowing: "AND THEY LET ME BE!" Me, fetal and bawling. 😭

I loved seeing Isabela because finally a princess looking character who is also a character of color which rarely if ever happens. Typically to be more “realistic” or “culturally accurate” we don’t get princess characters with princess dresses when they’re not white. It’s just nice to finally get that without relying on some remake or something.

Awesome video, I was really bothered by that same discourse. On top of everything you mentioned, I think I like Isabella so much partly because of what it brought out of Mirabel from a character perspective. Mirabel is such a likable, well-rounded character and I think without getting to see the "uglier" side of Mirabel(calling Isa a prima donna to her prospective romantic interest, scoffing and eye rolling at her every move, being legitimately jealous), she wouldn't have felt as real. They work so well as different sides of the same coin. Also, Mirabel shrieking "Isabela!" when finding out she is supposed to hug her is one of the best lines in the movie.

This was a cool video definitely enjoyed and would watch more if you made them

Good analysis !

Great video and analysis! You should definitely do another!

Ohh Good !!!! Now Yous Did It !

More than meets the eye that’s a transformers refrense.

Oh Thank Lord! I thought I was the only one who thought this way about Isabela

I want to point out that a lot of people read her character as being closeted lesbian Witch I find extremely interesting and can definitely see.

Abuela somehow reminds me of Whitney Houston's mother, Cissy Houston

I won't lie... I thought Luisa was the oldest because she was the strongest and bares more weight than her siblings. Isabella reminded me of younger sister (middle child) and why I failed to connect with her.

nods...makes sense

A small constructive (hopefully) criticism: You mentioned Act I and Act II, I watched the movie only once, but I don't remember a separation in it, so I'm not sure, what you mean by that :)