Shared from www.buzzfeed.com
Shhh, come here, let’s talk about Bruno.
Disney’s Encanto continues to be at the forefront of our minds with the film now getting Academy Award Nominations and its hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” reaching #1 on the Billboard charts (which is something that hasn’t been done since Aladdin’s “A Whole New World” back in 1993).
As the song has been burned into our collective psyche, I figured I’d share 10 facts about the tune that maybe you didn’t know. Check it out.
1.
We were close to talking about Arlo.
Ready for this most significant text of our entire #Encanto production? April 29th 2020. Little did we know…
Jared Bush / Via Twitter: @thejaredbush
Director Jared Bush shared a text on Twitter that he had with Lin Manuel Miranda in regards to the name of the estranged Uncle of Encanto. It shows the director giving Lin a list of names for him to choose from and Lin ultimately deciding on Bruno. Thankfully for all of us, it wasn’t Arlo, that poor name went through enough in The Good Dinosaur.
2.
It’s a family gossip song.
Disney
Lin Manuel stated in an interview that when he pitched the song he said the following: “Every family has the stuff you’re allowed to talk about at the dinner table, and the stuff that you’re gonna talk about but not in front of Mom or not in front of Abuela.” Coming from a Puerto Rican family, nothing rings more true than this statement.
3.
The whole scene was choreographed for animators.
Disney / Via youtube.com
A lot of times animators are given a reference so that they can animate for a film, and with Encanto, it was no different. Choreography was made for this big number by Jamal Sims and Kai Martinez, which includes a wide array of the Madrigal Family. I can’t imagine what this part of the film would have looked like had they not gotten choreographers to come in and give them a reference for it.
4.
Agustín doesn’t sing about Bruno but he can sure dance about him.
Glad you noticed this! The only people singing are the ones Mirabel asked about Bruno. She didn’t ask Agustín to avoid a parent conversation. BUT Agustín always wants to fit in with the Madrigals, so he dances anyway, trying to copy Félix, but not quite as well.🤣 #Encanto https://t.co/MZKVXeyTdL
Fans are always quick to notice the smallest detail in films. Luckily for us, someone caught this minor detail that Jared Bush explains in his tweet about why Mirabel’s father Agustin doesn’t join in on the song while setting the table.
5.
Lin Manuel had an NDA for his kids.
NBC Universal / Via youtube.com
Lin Manuel has stated in several interviews that he’s used his kids as his focus group for his songs for Encanto. He was quick to hear how catchy the song was when he could hear his kids singing it over and over again as he was writing it. Though as he explains in a Jimmy Fallon interview he had to have an “NDA for toddlers conversation with them.” stating “You guys can’t sing this at school, we can only sing this around the house.”
6.
Lin Manuel put his famous polyphonic stamp on the song.
Disney
The writing style of Lin Manuel was quickly noticed on this song by fans as people pointed out the similarities to songs from In The Heights and Hamilton. With characters singing their verses over each other in a motif that blends together beautifully, Lin explains in the “Behind The Lyrics” featurette: “Everyone sings over the same chord progression with a totally different rhythm and totally different cadence, it was a really fun way of just getting to know everyone in the family.”
7.
The song features names that are right on the nose.
I knew it would be tough. Great guesses, but there can be only one right answer: Sra. Pezmuerto🐟🪦
¡Feliz Nochebuena!
Disney / Via Twitter: @thejaredbush
When director Jared Bush was asked about the name of a certain background character whose fish had died, Jared had people send in their guesses to which apparently nobody got right, so then he finally reveals what her name is which translated as “Mrs. Deadfish.” That’s cold Jared, real cold.
8.
Lin Manuel’s demo of the song had him singing all the parts.
Disney / Via youtube.com
Apparently when Lin Manuel sent his first demo of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” he was doing all the parts himself, and if you check out the featurette video Disney released, you can hear some of his version but I’m sure we’re all wondering who has a copy of the full version cause I know I’d like to hear his rendition of Isabella’s solo.
9.
Dolores’ part was written first out of the ensemble.
Disney / Via youtube.com
When writing the motif that gives every family member a verse and stanza, Dolores was the first that Lin Manuel wrote. Which to me is the more difficult part to sing back due to the speed and tone of Dolores’ delivery but singer Adassa knocked it out of the park as you can see in the featurette for Encanto.
10.
The people circling around Mirabel during the song were there for a reason.
@noonemoved Explained in an early post… but the people circling Mirabel are the people she is thinking about at that specific moment and the stories they told. Like our own thoughts, they swirl around us when we are anxious.
Disney
We get to hear from Director Jared Bush directly through Twitter on why these characters were specifically circling around Mirabel during the number and of course, visually this makes so much sense and just shows why the creatives behind this film were on point with everything.
What do you think of the song? Is it stuck in your head like it is in mine? Let me know in the comments below.
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