Encanto almost had a post-credits scene feature Antonio’s capybara friend.
1.
In an early draft of Encanto, the gifts for some of the Madrigal siblings were a little different. Pepa was going to be indestructible, Dolores was going to heal with food, and Julieta was going to control the weather. So, Lin-Manuel Miranda actually wrote a first draft of a song that reflected these gifts.
You can read the lyrics for this scrapped song below:
In the first draft, PEPA was indestructible, DOLORES healed with food, and JULIETA controlled the weather. Here’s some lyrics from an early Mirabel song in this spot. -LMM #Encanto
2.
In fact, when Pepa’s gift was going to be indestructibility her character design was totally different. She was going to be a daredevil and was described as a “wild and free spirit.”
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You can check out this design for Pepa from animator Meg Park here.
3.
The team originally considering giving Agustín and Félix powers when they married into the Madrigal family, but they ultimately decided to keep the powers to only the Madrigal children. They made the decision to tie the gifts to “family roles and expectations.”
4.
Before Bruno was named Bruno there were several other names being considered, like Arlo, Andre, Anko, Marco, Emo, and even Oscar. Ultimately, director Jared Bush asked Lin-Manuel Miranda which name he liked best and he picked Bruno because it fit perfectly with a little song he was working on.
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In fact, Bruno’s name was Uncle Oscar for a very long time.
5.
What Bruno looked like changed a ton during the development process. One idea the animators had was to have Bruno wear a rug he found in Casita instead of his signature hooded ruana.
6.
In early designs for Camilo’s iconic lyrics in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” it was going to be more apparent that he transformed into a massive seven foot tall version of Bruno, but the animation was changed for the final version of the film.
You can watch the early design below:
Our first idea of what Camilo might look like transforming into Bruno was created by superstar Animator Valentin Amador! #Bruno #7FOOTFRAME #Encanto @Lin_Manuel @RhenzyFeliz
7.
An early idea for Isabela’s character involved her magical gift including the ability to bring plants to life. There was an entire idea that she would have cute little potato creatures running around too.
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Artisti Scott Watanabe shared a “very early visdev of Isabela before she was Isabela” with the potato creatures on his Instagram.
8.
Although every Madrigal gets their own special room once they get their gift, we never see Luisa’s in the film. However, early concept art revealed that the animators did toy with designs for it. One design from animator Camille Andre featured Luisa’s room having a bunch of giant boulders that she literally had to keep up using her feet.
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You can check out Camille’s design here.
9.
The Encanto creators toyed with the idea of having a small post-credits joke, but thought it would be better if the last scene from the film was the Madrigals all being together for the family photo. The scene was going to feature Casita dropping water on Chispi, Antonio’s capybara friend, after he tries to pee on the house.
You can watch the short scene below:
We considered an after credit joke to end the movie, but ultimately felt going out on the emotion and joy of the family coming back together was the way to go… but the hilarious @darrinbutters animated it!! So here you go! THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR WATCHING WITH US!! #ENCANTO
10.
One of the early designs for Casita from artist Scott Watanabe included the house actually being built on a mountain and every time a family member got their gift, you could see a room added to the house. This idea resembled more of a big tree house.
11.
In one of the early drafts of Encanto, Alma’s backstory was going to be revealed in “The Family Madrigal,” aka the opening number. So, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote lyrics for Mirabel that described Alma building a house and having three children. In fact, Stephanie Beatriz learned the song with these lyrics before they were scrapped.
You can read Mirabel’s lyrics about Abuela’s backstory below:
So originally, this backstory was in the OPENING NUMBER! Here’s the lyrics, sung to the same tune as the one you know, with Mirabel narrating backstory. (Also Abuela was still expecting!!!!) -LMM
12.
When the Encanto creators were coming up with characters to include in the Madrigal family, there was an idea to have twins Amelía and Sofia. Their powers included the duo unleashing their powers and the crowd falling in love with Amelía and being scared of Sofia.
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This would’ve drove a wedge between the inseparable sisters as Amelía represented all the beautify the twins carried, while Sofia represented all of the fears and ugliness.
13.
And there was also a character named Zoe, who could basically fix any machine with her powers. The machines — like a broken clock or busted toaster — would come to life, listen to Zoe, and know how to fix themselves.
14.
Also, there was a broad idea for their to be a Madrigal sibling who was really good at playing pool and he would’ve been a fortune teller.
15.
There was going to be a storyline involving Isabela being secretly in love with Bobo Marquez, a guy who lived in town. There was even a scene that featured Mirabel chasing Isabela through the woods and finding them meeting, with Bobo dressed in disguise as a bear.
16.
One of the versions of “What Else Can I Do?” included Mirabel singing, “Hey, that’s my sister! Watch her push beyond what’s new.” In fact, it was one of Stephanie Beatriz’s favorite lyrics from the song.
17.
In “Surface Pressure,” the first verse was originally going to end with the lyrics, “I’m taken for granted, ah.” Instead, Lin-Manuel Miranda ended Luisa’s first verse in the song with, “I break what’s demanded, but.”
You can read the first draft of Luisa’s full first verse in “Surface Pressure” below:
Oh, the first draft of the end of that first verse: “I’m TAKEN FOR GRANTED AH!” -LMM #Encanto #Surfacepressure
18.
In one of the “Surface Pressure” drafts, Lin-Manuel Miranda toyed with the couplet “Pressure like a snap, snap, snap ’til you get it right, oh” and “Pressure like a tap, tap, tap in the dead of night, oh,” to start off the chorus.
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Of course, he ended up with: “Pressure like a drip, drip, drip, that’ll never stop, woah-oh” and “Pressure that’ll tip, tip, tip ’til you just go pop, woah-oh-oh-oh.”
19.
One of the ideas for Antonio’s gift included him actually speaking through the animals, instead of being able to understand them and talk for them. He was also going to pay them in snacks he kept in a fanny pack he wore.
20.
In a deleted scene, Mirabel was going to have to enter Bruno’s room through a secret entrance in Antonio’s room. The scene featured Antonio and Mirabel traveling down a river and then Mirabel entering Bruno’s room through a crack in Casita.
21.
At the end of the film, when the town comes to the Madrigals aid and helps rebuild, is one of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s favorite moments (and always makes him cry). In fact, the scene was originally longer and included more lyrics.
You can read Lin’s original first draft of the moment below:
The part where the town comes in always make me cry–I’m a sucker for community coming together. This was the longer first draft. – -LMM #Encanto
22.
Originally, there was an extended moment with Mirabel and her parents Julieta and Agustín during “All Of You” at the end of the film.
Here is the dialogue that was going to be included in the scene:
There was an extended moment with Mirabel’s parents in All Of You:
Agustin: She takes after you.
[We see Mirabel leading the rebuilding effort
Agustin: That’s exactly how you were.
Julieta, looking on: Oh honey, no one heals like her…
-LMM #Encanto
23.
Abuela’s original “All Of You” verse featured her saying to Julieta, “I was so afraid of losing what we’ve made / Focused on the dark instead of letting in the light / I lost your father far too soon / I couldn’t bear to lose you too.”
24.
“All Of You” was going to be a seven minute-long number, however the film was already getting long and the animators were simply running out of time to finish animating. So, Lin-Manuel Miranda had to cut the musical number down to about four minutes.
25.
There was going to be a scene where Abuela gave every Madrigal family member an assignment to do in town one day, but Mirabel had to stay behind at Casita with Agustín and Félix and do chores because she doesn’t have a gift.
26.
Before writing “Dos Oruguitas,” and putting the melody of the song in “The Family Madrigal,” Abuela’s verse in the opening number was different and included a back and forth with Mirabel. The original lyrics were cut and changed once “Dos Oruguitas” was written.
You can read Abuela’s original “The Family Madrigal” verse below:
Before I wrote Dos Oruguitas, this was the Abuela section of the opening #. My late friend Doreen Montalvo sang the demo, it was our last time working together. -LMM #Encanto
27.
And finally, there was originally an idea to have Mirabel actually run back to the city where Alma and Pedro fled from and it would’ve forced Alma to return when she goes to find Mirabel. Part of this storyline involved Alma finding a mural in town that read, “To love at all is to love entirely.”
Source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/noradominick/encanto-scenes-lyrics-cut-from-movie
