Lockwood & Co - How we made the teenage ghost-hunt drama
Jan 26 | 4 min readEncanto: If you like the magical Disney film, you’ll love… Moana, Vivo and Coco
Looking for movies like the feel-good, musical adventure Encanto? Here are six similar films to watch next, and they’re all available on BT TV via the BT Player, Prime Video and Netflix.
It recently won the BAFTA for Best Animated Film, and it’s tipped to win the equivalent at the Oscars - but even without the awards, Disney's Encanto has got everyone talking.
With original music by award-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda, the soundtrack went viral, with the song We Don't Talk About Bruno topping the charts both sides of the Atlantic.
A feel-good, musical adventure, Encanto tells the tale of the Madrigals, an extraordinary family living in a magical house in the Colombian mountains. It features heartwarming relationships, stellar songs, and colorful animation - making it a must-watch for families.
To celebrate the release of Encanto - now available to buy or rent in the BT Player and on Prime Video - we round up six similar films to stream next, from Moana to Vivo. The question is, which one will you watch - or singalong to - first?
1. Moana
Cast: Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson, Auli'i Cravalho, Rachel House, Temuera Morrison, Jemaine Clement, Nicole Scherzinger
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 95%
Like Encanto, the 2016 action-packed Disney film Moana shines the spotlight on cultural diversity, and features a headstrong young woman at its core.
Set in a Polynesian village, Moana (Cravalho) sets sail on a daring mission to save her people and meets the mighty demigod Maui (Johnson) along the way.
Moana is a fun-filled and uplifting musical adventure that, like Encanto, boasts songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda. So catchy, in fact, that Stephanie Beatriz (who voices Mirabel Madrigal in Encanto) sung You’re Welcome from Moana for her audition for the film!
Moana is available to watch in the BT Player, and buy or rent on Prime Video.
It’s also available on Disney+.
2. Vivo
Cast: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Gloria Estefan, Juan De Marcos, Zoe Saldaña
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 87%
Want even MORE Lin-Manuel Miranda? Vivo is the kids movie on Netflix you need in your life, as it features more original songs by the award-winning songwriter, plus he voices the film's main character.
The 2021 animated musical adventure follows a music-loving kinkajou called Vivo (Miranda), who embarks on the journey of a lifetime to fulfil his destiny and deliver a love song for an old friend.
Like Encanto, Vivo represents a culture that families are not used to seeing on screen in family films - notably a Dominican Republic/American mother and daughter.
Carlos Romero, a story artist on Vivo, who's of Dominican and Panamanian descent, told The New York Times that it was "important to make sure that people from those different countries can watch this and feel pride, too".
Vivo is available to watch on Netflix and in the BT Player.
3. Coco
Cast: Anthony Gonzalez, Gael García Bernal, Benjamin Bratt, Alanna Ubach, Jaime Camil, Alfonso Arau
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 97%
Another Disney film that highlights cultural diversity, the 2017 Pixar film Coco transports audiences to a new and magical setting.
Coco follows 12-year-old Miguel who's accidentally transported to the Land of the Dead - inspired by the Mexican holiday, Day of the Dead.
Coco, which features an all-Latino main cast, isn't a fully musical film, but there are some songs featured - notably Remember Me. The film’s signature tune won the award for Best Original Song at the 90th Academy Awards.
In a Reddit thread posted shortly after the release of Encanto on Disney+, one film fanatic couldn't help but compare the two films, drawing parallels between "the Latin American families [and] the main character who doesn't fit in with the rest of the family".
Coco is available to buy or rent in the BT Player and Prime Video.
It’s also available on Disney+.
4. Over The Moon
Cast: Cathy Ang, Phillipa Soo, Robert G. Chiu, Ken Jeong, John Cho, Ruthie Ann Miles, Margaret Cho, Kimiko Glenn, Artt Butler, Sandra Oh
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 81%
Another Netflix movie on the list, Over The Moon (2020) follows an adventurous young girl named Fei Fei, who builds a rocket ship to meet a mythical goddess on the moon.
A magical musical escape from Oscar-winning director Glen Keane (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin), Over The Moon features several memorable songs that will enchant viewers.
Over The Moon also celebrates Chinese culture in a similar way to how Encanto does for Colombian culture, and delivers a sweet and touching message at the end.
Over The Moon is available to watch on Netflix.
5. Tangled
Cast: Mandy Moore, Zachary Levi, Donna Murphy, Ron Perlman, M.C. Gainey, Jeffrey Tambor
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 89%
Like Encanto, magic is a key theme in Tangled (2010), which is a modern take on the Rapunzel fairy tale and set in medieval Europe.
The magic in Encanto is different to that in Tangled, says co-director Byron Howard, who actually directed both films. "Frozen and Tangled are great, but they use a sort of European magic, which did not feel at home in Latin America [in Encanto].
"We wanted to have magic that comes organically from the family's experiences."
In the film, an unlikely duo of Rapunzel (Moore) - who's been locked away in a tower for years - and the kingdom's most wanted bandit (Levi) set off on a hair-raising escapade.
Tangled - which as Disney's 50th animated feature film contains references to many of the studio's classic movies - features a stellar voice cast and received rave reviews following its release.
Tangled is available to watch in the BT Player and Prime Video.
It’s also available on Disney+.
6. Trolls / Trolls World Tour
Cast: Anna Kendrick, Justin Timberlake, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Russell Brand, Zooey Deschanel, Jeffrey Tambor
Rotten Tomatoes rating: 75%
If you're after a movie that'll have the whole family up on their feet, Trolls and its sequel Trolls World Tour have got to be up there as ones to consider.
Made by DreamWorks, Trolls (2016) and Trolls World Tour (2020) both feature dazzling CGI, instantly recognisable characters, a positively uplifting message and ridiculously catchy songs. So catchy in fact that Can't Stop the Feeling! received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
The first film follows two trolls, Poppy and Branch (voiced by Kendrick and Timberlake) on a quest to save their village from destruction by the Bergens - monsters that like nothing better to dine on our pointy-haired heroes.
The follow-up sees Poppy and Branch discover several more troll tribes that represent music genres alien to their own. Prepare to be singing and dancing all the way around the living room with the Trolls family.
Trolls is available to buy or rent in the BT Player and on Prime Video.
Trolls World Tour is available to watch on Netflix and to buy in the BT Player.
