Plenty of things end up on the cutting room floor over the course of production on an animated film. With so many aspects to tie together — voice acting, music, and the time-consuming process of animation — not everything can make it from script to screen, particularly not in a Disney film. But that does not mean they are lost forever, and now, Collider can exclusively premiere a deleted sequence from Walt Disney Animation’s latest labor of love, Encanto.
The deleted scene, visible only in storyboards, sees Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) at the end of her wits, mourning her inability to save her casita and her family’s magical abilities from an unknown danger. Returning to town, the young girl feels lost, only for her Abuela (María Cecilia Botero) to comfort her, revealing a secret she never expected: that her grandmother, the head of the Madrigal family, feels disappointed in herself for keeping her family close to her chest after the death of her husband. She apologizes to Mirabel, reflecting on the message left to the family in a beautiful mural: “to love at all is to love entirely.”
The deleted scene is one of many bonus features available on the home release of Encanto, which arrives on digital December 24, and on Blu-Ray and DVD on February 8. Also included in the physical release are seven additional deleted scenes, outtakes, a number of featurettes on the film’s music and animation design, and a full singalong version of the film, as well as Far From the Tree, the Walt Disney Animation short that played before Encanto in theaters.
Encanto has done well for itself as a family-friendly holiday release, despite the pandemic limiting theater crowds around its Thanksgiving release. The film earned $40 million in its first weekend, topping the holiday box office, and now lead the nominations at this year’s Annie Awards for excellence in animation, alongside its sister Disney film, Raya and the Last Dragon. One of eight songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the film, “Dos Oruguitas”, made the shortlist for Best Original Song at the 2022 Oscars, and the film’s score, composed by Germaine Franco, also scored a spot on the Best Original Score shortlist.
Encanto, directed by Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and Charise Castro-Smith, and featuring the voices of John Leguizamo, Jessica Darrow, Angie Cepeda, and Diane Guerrerro, among others, arrives on digital platforms (Apple TV, Prime Video, Vudu) and Disney+ on December 24, with a physical DVD release on February 8. Check out the exclusive deleted scene above:
Here’s the synopsis for Encanto:
Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Encanto, with all-new songs by award-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, tells the tale of the Madrigals, an extraordinary family living in a magical house in the mountains of Colombia. But when Mirabel, the only ordinary Madrigal, discovers the magic surrounding their home is in danger, she may be her family’s last hope.