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guns and ships from hamilton, same writer as encanto's songs, that song has crazy speed to it, especially cuz the actor is putting on a french accent for all of it
The line "as tough as the crust as the earth is" is also a double. We think of the crust as solid, strong and steady but it's constantly shifting, cracking, buckling and breaking. It's only tough from our perspective
It's funny that she says "I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is" and then she proceeds to break a piece of the earth's crust, showing how no matter how tough she is, she's always also capable of destroying herself.
"Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa" What I haven't seen anyone point out is how raindrops, over millions of years, weather and dissolve solid rock. So it doesn't matter how strong you are, even the smallest things over time if they're constant will erode you.
I also saw a smart analysis comparing the drip drip drip to that of the water that slowly collects beneath the surface ultimately creating a sinkhole. It connects back to the crust of the earth comparison she made and how it will cause he to collapse in on herself.
I really like when during the door domino part she says "a light wind blows" when we can visually see it's a literal tornado. Feels like it speaks a lot to how no matter what she faces that she tells herself it's not that bad and tries to undersell her self and her accomplishments.
Yes! I love that lyric set to the tornado too, and I feel like that gets overlooked a lot. Around that time, I also love the juxtaposition of her strength against being so gentle when straightening Mirabel's glasses. Such a great little moment.
It's so great, honestly! Like how the last door is her glowing door, meaning everything in the end is up to her. Plus, in the visuals it actually gets blown away, with her thinking 'what if I just don't, what if I did not have to do that. Then they are in the sky, where everything is pink, fluffy and cute with her singing light and smiling even the donkeys are unicorns. It's so thought through!
Yeah, a lot of us who were made to hold this role in our toxic families have a serious problem where we minimize things. Not just our accomplishments and worth, but also problems and challenges and emotions. So that we appear "strong".
Yo Knox the donkeys are a double in themselves. Donkeys are pack mules used to carrying all the heavy loads, which is why they are in the song considering the sister is a pack mule carrying all the weight.
Same with the titanic scene. They said it was unsinkable but it did in the end. The weight of the world on your shoulders, and at the end when she holding up the entire village. The symbolism is amazing!
@@jessicamorgan2438 And of course - it's easy to miss - the name on the side of the ship is "MADRIGAL". The "Titanic" about to hit the iceberg is the family, and they are just kind of blithely trusting that she can stop it, or destroy the thing in their path that might destroy them.
I also find it cool that the "Titanic" has the family name on the side, so coupled with the lyrics, it's saying that the family chooses not to change or shift despite all the signs of oncoming danger or disaster, forcing her to have to do her best to take on the danger before her family hits it.
The Titanic was also called the "Unsinkable". It was constantly praised about how it's not gonna sink, just like how Abuela constantly praises that the magic is strong.
It also kinda shows how dependent the family and the town became on luisa. The ship didnt chance the course, because they know luisa will destroy the ice berg. So luisa HAS to break it, so that the ship doesnt sink, even though the ship was absolutly capable of chancing the course. The town can solve at lot of problems by themselfes or prevent problems (like keeping the church where it was, or building it in the correct spot in the first place), but decides not to because "luisa will fix it" This film captures this spiral so well, its amazing. Luisa fixes problems, because she can. People notice and ask for help with problems they couldnt solve. Now they dont bother looking for solutions or doing their work properly because they have luisa. Luisa HAS to solve those problems as well, even though they where easily avoidable, because no one else can fix them after they where done and she got used to it, not noticing how much it burned her out
@@freieLilith Yeah and even the problem with the donkeys in the first place could have another solution to solve it, but instead it's always Luisa who has to get each one of them and bring them back every single time
"Under the surface I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service" This is such a hard hitting line for me. She uses so many metaphors in this song, we get so many visualisations. But this line is so raw. No interpretations, no comparisons, just a brutally straight and honest confession.
Agreed, it's the line i see most people who listen to it wince a bit at yknow. and it's the one that emotionally resonates the most for me at least anyway
This line hits me so hard, too. This is the song I connected with the most from this movie and it nearly made me cry because I felt the pressure in my life weighing on me just listening to the song.
The line "Give it to your sister and never wonder if the same pressure would've pulled you under" is so good. It says a lot about how little care or thought older relatives oftentimes give towards certain family members and just expect them to perform perfectly without thinking if it's reasonable.
Not only family members. It can go for friends, neighbours, coworkers, teachers, heck it can even apply to the person's that you have to oversee. We give heavy burdens to others with so little thought behind it that it can be frightening.
This is basically every family member who has a gift; just expected to preform perfectly. Isabelle has "appearing perfect" almost perfectly down, which is one of the reasons why the grandmother seems to likes her the most. The other is that she looks a lot like how the grandmother looked when she was younger, and seeing this handsome young man show interest in her granddaughter reminds her of her perfect romance with her eventual husband, and she both wants that for her granddaughter and to re live those memories and make sure it goes perfectly and stays perfect, trying to make up for what happened to her own perfect relationship. The unreasonable part is that Isebella doesn't like being perfect, nor does she like or even want to marry her fiancé to be. But bc it was deemed the best for the family, the best relationship, she was going to go along with it. All the adults in her family have marriages full of love, and, based on appearances, she was so close to being put in a loveless marriage, all to just make her grandmother happy. Generational drama man.
No one ever comments on how when they gather up people to be Luisa's backup dancers all she gets are donkeys. She has _no one_ supporting her. She has to do it all herself. Even Mirabel just watches.
@@buckybarnes8480 Most people would imagine their friends and helpers. Not donkeys. THe fact that's who she goes to first already says something about her situation. Namely, that these _are_ her "friends".
Actually, around when she says "see if she can handle every family burden" Mirabel does try to help! but then another load lands on Luisa's shoulders and Mirabel's knocked back by the sheer pressure of them landing on top of the rocks her sister was already carrying. Which, writing this out, is another really nice visualisation.
All her analogies are things under the surface. Hercules fights Cerberus in the underworld. Icebergs have most of their mass under the surface of the water
@@rubenhumbertoroquesalas2273 if you mean mythologically then yes he did. it was his 12th labor. If you mean that Hercules is a fictional character and therefore didn’t fight Cerberus because neither one exist, then yes
The writer of the music for this movie is that same writer who wrote Hamilton, In the Heights, and the music for Moana. He has some amazing lyrics within a lot of his music.
100% this is THE SONG. Bruno is great and deserves it but its popularity even surprised Lin. This was supposed to be the big one. And it hits me. I still can't NOT cry hearing it. Older bro probs...
The most heart breaking part is the drip drip part after the unicorn donkeys. When it just keeps building on her. You can see and hear the breaking and sadness in her. My eyes tear up every single time that part of the song comes up. It's like her silent cry for help.
I see fear as well fear she's not going to be able to hold it all and the moment Mirabell understands and looks back at her with empathy the sadness in Louisa's eyes just breaks my heart.
Especially considering for most of the song Mirabel didn't understand what she was talking about, just that she was complaining. She STARTS to get it around when they're hanging off the cliff, and then right when they're in the sky, she sees how happy Luisa COULD be. Then they fall again and there's real, true understanding on her face after "it'll never stop". It's heartbreaking and I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME.
The vocals on that moment where that driving rhythm becomes this vulnerable, fragile moment, and then the animation on top of it, just completely next level.
The line that always gets me is "Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt." Everyone just assumes Luisa is fine and strong enough to take it all but here she's crying out for help, she's not fine, it's too much
I love the references in this. Especially of Greek Mythology, it just really surprised me and grabbed my attention. First she talks about Hercules and Cerberus, then she’s holding the weight of the world on her shoulders, just like Atlas who holds up the sky / carries the Earth on his shoulders (but as punishment). I also love how whenever something happens that Luisa finds is too much for Mirabel, she changes the mood of the song and starts dancing and the donkeys return. This song has so much layering and meaning to it, that’s not even the extent of it. aHh, I literally cried when I first heard it-
You guys are right everything except one thing. It’s Heracles not Hercules. Hercules is the Roman version of his name and this is the Greek version of his story so it’s Heracles.
@@mrroboshadow I know, but it’s just for accuracy. It’s like referring to Aphrodite as Venus when talking about a Greek story. Similar person but still incorrect.
I’m always amazed by the multiple meanings of “no cracks, no breaks” 😭 as in cracks and “breaks” of the house; a throwback to what “breaks” the camels back referring to herself; literally not taking a “break”… it’s so good also “glowing” and “shining” like stars is a running theme throughout the movie, with the imagery of the doors/gifts/candle, but in the end they realize they don’t shine but “burn”. im this close to writing a whole ass literary analysis of the whole movie
Don't you know that a horse (or donkey, I suppose) sweat; a man perspires, but a lady glows? (Old saying from the time when ladies [women] were supposed to be delicate little flowers removed from any physical hardships.) So she has to support all that pressure, and *not let it show*.
@@stereonacht2247theres also the fact that its okay to have cracks sometimes theres so much pressure for her to be perfect when being allowed to not be perfect and have cracks would allow the pressure to release instead of building up and destroying her.
It's fun that they kept the donkeys thruout the song... Until you realize that it's cause Luisa is largely treated like a pack animal. A mule for the community and her family. Expected to pull all the weights literally and figuratively
I like how throughout the song, Luisa is protecting Mirabel. Showing that she sees her role as the protector who has to burden all the weight for the sake of her family. And even still she will protect her little sister
I'm in love with how Disney explores the pain that older siblings go through I think people tend to forget that we have emotions and we're human too we struggle just as much as anyone else does just because you can't see our struggle doesn't mean it's not there we are forced to hide everything until it eventually explodes because we're the strong one right? /S Disney explained everything in just one song everything all of us have wanted to say but couldn't Luisa is my favorite character for this reason I go back for this movie just for the scene more than anything older siblings finally have a voice words cannot express how much I love this
few days ago mi mom told me something similar, she is the older one, and she said that is always her relatives (brothers, sisters) calling her with their problems and asking her to "solve them", but she felt that never had a chance to really breath, to just not listen, to disconnect from all the problems, and that they expected that she would be happy, I even tried to tell her that she doesn't need to get involve in other people problems, but she is so used to it, that feel that she will be forgotten if she doesn't... when we saw this movie... she cried in this scene and until she told me this, I didn't understand why this particular scene caused such impact in her.... I love her, but that broke me ..
You missed the "Give it to your Sister" double/triple. She literally means give your sister all the burdens, because she is older; which we also see in the visuals. However, by saying it the way she does: "give it to your sister, your sister's older"; it becomes another saying altogether. One commonly used to mean to listen to your older sibling (essentially saying give it to me that I know what I'm doing/talking about).
Also you have to give it to the animators, the hurt in her eyes, after feeling a moment of joy; and then having all that weight back on her shoulders. This song is really deep for a children's movie.
One thing I find interesting is when she sings the “wait!” Section with the pink clouds, everything turns even more fantasy, the bouncing off clouds and flying and donkey unicorns- as if a reflection that Luisa doesn’t really believe she can ever truly shrug off the weight of expectations. It’s make believe/not possible.
I'm surprised you didn't comment on the last major line in the song: "Give it to your sister and never wonder if the same pressure would have pulled you under" Not a lot to analyze, but it's a raw line that deserves to be appreciated
One thing I noticed on my second viewing of the song that I really liked is during the beginning when she says "as tough as the crust of the earth is" as it falls and shatters around. As well as the next lines when she states "I glow because I know what my worth is." Yet her face is shrouded in shadow. Just thought that nice contradictive imagery to show some more of her true feelings
I was looking for this comment. The whole song she undermines and questions her worth. So saying she glows cause she knows what her worth is....and she looks back as if to see if Mirabel is buying her fake confidence.
A lot of the percussion backing also is similar to a heartbeat, though it’s often too fast and occasionally has extra beats. It’s an auditory representation of a panic attack.
Knox, this is simply the power of *Lin Manuel Miranda* If anyone knows about clever bars and storytelling it’s him. I suggest checking out *Hamilton* and *the Heights*
@@JayAsh15 this, I wanna see Knox break down some LMM, Vivo, Hamilton... hell even just the Soundtracks instead of the show songs. Would be a blast to watch!
@@GabrielMartinez-bf7hy Especially with Knox's well versed knowledge of US history. I'd love to watch him tackle Hamilton and see his brain break with the references and homages to golden age hip-hop interwoven into it.
Has anyone noticed how they kept falling down when she sang about the pressure, until she started flying up when she was talking about taking away that pressure, but then back to things falling on her.
I love the donkeys as Luisa’s symbol. Donkeys are a beast of burden, a work animal known for carrying heavy loads. Donkeys in Colombia even have their own festival day as a sort of ‘thank you’ for the hard-work that donkeys do, especially in agriculture. They dress the donkeys in costumes (a unicorn wouldnt be out of place). I get the feeling Luisa doesn’t even get that one day of praise for her efforts. No matter what’s going on in the song, that’s always there in the background. It even invades her fantasy of relaxation. It serves as comedic but also as a reflection of how in sync she is to that role in various scenes.
I don't see anyone sayin' anthing about it, but the donkeys are beasts of burden, which she is kind of treated as, or might represent her. A bunch of scenes are her carrying the donkeys, which are meant to be the ones carrying things. Think about that, She is the one carrying the beasts of burden.
The fact this man really broke down a Disney song is crazy this man really breaks down anything, best at doing it to be honest Edit: this is like the most likes I ever got on a comment ever lol thank you guys
@@Diluquiano then watch a reaction video who praises this song for anything lol. He goes into why this song is so good musically and the lyrics and wordplay. If you want someone to just go “omg this is so good” and ends the video after… there’s many of them youtubers out there
@@maliablossom7340 it gets annoying that he explains EVERYTHING like omg she said she feels bad so I think she feels bad in this lyrics, if you've seen his erb reactions you would get it lmao
I also love how the intensity of the music builds as she reveals everything she has been keeping inside, and you expect a major drop or boom of sound to signify her just exploding from it all, but it gets soft because she stays quiet and bears the weight, not willing to let anyone notice how much she is suppressing. Also, weight smothers you. Someone else had pointed out in another comment section that when the mood in song changes, it is after Luisa sees that Maribel is frightened either by the things around her or the struggle of her sister, so she starts using more exciting music, brighter colors, playful donkeys, and dance moves to distract from the serious things she is saying. The ending shows it the best.
Donkeys are seen as beasts of burden, which is why they're seen in nearly every scene with Luisa. It serves as another reminder that she's only as good as she can carry, to her family and the town. Even while she's doing one thing, she's being asked to do another, with no thought of Luisa herself. This song is my favorite from Encanto, and I connected in so many ways.
I love "We don't talk about Bruno" (Mostly Delores's part), but "Surface pressure" is my favorite song from the song track. As a older sister myself, I relate a lot to the pressure of that typical "Your the older one, you need to this.." or "You have to be a better example for your younger sister" and it really put this strain on me, especially when I was younger and told myself I shouldn't cry in front of my sister as the oldest when my dad passed away or took the brunt of the mental abuse that my mom's friend dished out to me and my younger sister. I was, and still am struggling with depression and anger issues, and I always feel like I'm such a disappointing big sister. I really love this song and the movie is just amazing and one of my favorite animated Disney movies since Frozen (The first one, not the second one, but "Into the unknown" is a pop tho).
Knox, the person that wrote this is lin manuel miranda, (most noticeable from hamilton). If u like his writing I would recommend listening to 'helpless' and 'satisfied' back to back if u haven't.
I'm glad you agree that this is a better song than We Don't Talk About Bruno! While that song is still great and is an absolute earworm, this one just hits harder.
This song is dope. And I really like the end being like multiple shots at her in the instrumentation. The french version couldn't really translate nicely the feeling of "no cracks no breaks no mistake no pressure" so it added an even deeper lyric in my opinion that I was surprise wasn't in the original version. Basically the last line in french say "but there's one thing I want to ask you: what is it like living without pressure ?" It was an interesting answer to Mirabel finding her sisters' life better when in fact they kind of envy her too. It's still understandable in the movie as a whole but I really like that added sentence.
That is so cool to hear! I read something a little bit ago about how much work goes into preparing the song lyrics for different languages, because of having to translate various idioms and slang from English, into something that hits the same for the people who speak other languages. And of course, translations are almost never 1:1. I would love to watch a much longer look, focusing on one song like this (or "Bruno"), that tackled some of that process in detail.
@@gryphonvert Yes, translating songs is really hard yet really important. I'm often disappointed though. "Let it go" in french for example was nice but a total miss on the deep meaning in my opinion.
one of the fine details that always gets me is that in the verse about carrying all the family burdens she actually has a strain to her voice and literally cracks when she says "pop" on the 2nd or 3rd line. it just puts a huge amount of emphasis on how much the pressure is affecting her and just how close she is to her limit.
I love all the visuals like the geysers. Man, Disney is just on another level. And these lines... "I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service." Woooo. That hits so hard.
It is also interesting that Donkeys are the creatures with the most pressure on their backs in most farms (speaking as a Latina, personally.) Donnkeys are the animals that works the most, pulling cards and heavy burdens, while horses are most used for mount and cattle-work. Donkeys are your everyday burden relievers. So, it is interesting to see in her song, where she sings about having to work, about pressure, about being of service with so many Donkeys around backing her up on it.
I won't lie, I cried during this song. As someone who's shouldered a lot for their siblings, mother, and myself at once, the look she gives Mirabelle at the end when it slows down for the last 'pressure like a drip drip drip that'll never stop' is so sad and telling of what she's trying to shoulder that I cried.
BUT "the ship doesn't swerve when it heard how bigg the iceberg is" is PERFECT for her - You KNOW this is bigger than you can deal with, but it's maybe too late and anyway all you know how to do is keep saying you're UNSINKABLE....
I read that line as the family being the ship, and they just expect her to get any obstacles out of their way rather than have to do anything themselves to avoid them, but they underestimate how hard that is for her. I love your interpretation though!
The line is actually “The ship doesn’t swerve; has it heard how big the iceberg is?”, with the second part being a question. I think that highlights the interpretation that the ship is her family/town blindly charging into danger, because they trust Luisa to save them. And Luisa is left to wonder why they didn’t do anything to prevent this problem themselves. But your interpretation definitely fits the theme.
There is an old saying in Latin (by Ovid, I believe?), about how 'Stone yields to water [or is hollowed out by it]; not through strength but by falling often' - something I feel this song so beautifully encapsulated! Even something as sturdy as stone can be worn and washed away by steady & constant "drip-drip-drip (that'll never stop!)" of water.
Something that I think we see in the song that I've never really seen someone fully address in the song is how in the whole song we constantly see Luisa protecting her little sister Mirabel because she feels like as the strongest she needs to protect everyone, we even see Luisa care for mirabel all the way down to fixing her glasses for her. Then during the part of the song we can finally see Luisa relaxed, we see mirabel trying to grab her own glasses and trying to stay on the donkeys back by herself. And I feel like this really showcases how a lot of her stress comes from need to constantly defend her entire family and how she wishes her family could defend themselves so that she wouldn't have to for once... that's what I got from that part at least if that makes any sense.
You can seriously see how much LMM incorporated his style of musicals in his songs, especially We Dont Talk About Bruno. In Surface Pressure you can even recognize LMM's handicraft just by the lyricism. Those internal rhymes schemes are no accident, my favorite run was "Under the surface, The ship doesn't swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is".
@@KikomochiMendoza He even managed to sneak one into the perfect princess's song, What Else Can I Do?, my favorite line from that song "Can I deliver us a river of sundew? Careful it's carnivorous. A little just won't do. I wanna feel the shiver of something new."
On 11:55 I could honestly feel this as apart of anxiety due to expectations. Mostly because it comes after the part of the song where Luisa wants to find joy and comfort. You free yourself from expectations for one time during your life and when you do it'll come back growing. "Why did you stop being better for them?", "Why did you stop at being what you're forced to do". And the fact that there's only just asmall part where she's just happy kinda shows one thing: that you will barely find comfort and happiness if you want to achieve the expectations of others Edit: I also like how in the middle of 12:11 and 12:12 you see Luisa covering her face from Mirabel when she saw her feeling the weight of the rocks. It's like saying that she's fine and is trying to hide it away
I love this song. It has so many meanings and layers built into. Also, when you watch the movie and get to know all the characters, you'll notice how this song may be specifically for the stronger sister, but in reality it's an anthem for most of the family members. Each of them in their own way could apply this song to themselves.
Song is a great nod to those who are strong on the outside are sometimes the most vulnerable. It's so relatable as a song it makes me cry when I hear it.
This is my first time watching any of your videos and I gotta say I like how you keep pausing the song to analyze any detail you notice as opposed to some other reaction channels that just record themselves listening to the song, throw in occasional oohs, ahhs, and chuckles and then say “it’s a pretty good song, I enjoyed that” at the end of the video.
The donkey's are used throughout the song. Even in the arena when she's fighting Cerberus the Donkey's are the audience. I think the reason they in particular are used, in stead of any other common animal is that they are a beast of burden. Many communities use their ability to carry heavy loads in order to thrive. But in the movie, Luisa herself is carrying half a dozen donkeys on her back. Symbolizing that she is being used a a beast of burden even above and beyond the literal beasts. Doing the work of many donkeys without question.
This is easily one of, if not my favorite Disney song of all time. I really loved to see your breakdown appreciate the depth and layers to this song. It's truly a masterpiece.
7:02 Its actually a quadruple entendre, because Cerberus guard the gates of the underworld, which is under the surface of the earth. This song is so clever
The combination of all of the things Knox points out, and all of the other small things he missed that the comments points out purely because of how much was packed into three minutes really goes to show how well produced this song is.
Some of the frames you paused on are fantastic : ) I also really appreciate that you caught the potential reference/myth inversion with Hercules and Cerberus - I haven't seen anyone else notice that.
This songs message also means that we all need to support each other without trying to hold each other to unrealistic expectations. This takes off a lot of that day to day pressure we're all under in life. In the military as Sargent we try not to make our soldiers do something that we can't do ourselves because when and if they fail we already know what to do to help them succeed the next time they're tried. We break them down only to build them and their confidence back up even stronger. Love this song.
10:24 Interestingly, though, the Titanic actually *did* try to swerve, just far too late. If the Titanic had hit the ice berg head-on as shown here, it likely wouldn't've sank. Rather, it sank *because* it swerved too late. The side of the hull struck the ice berg, ripping open too many compartments and causing too much flooding for the ship to sustain. Had it struck head-on, the only compartment that would've flooded is the forward-most one (though, there is a chance the compartment right behind it could've also taken in water). It's basically just like what happened to the Costa Concordia. Schettino noticed they were far too close to the shore way too late and tried to take evasive actions. Unfortunately, that combined with the helmsman's linguistic struggles sent the ship's side directly into the rocks they were trying to avoid. Had they struck the rocks head-on, the Concordia wouldn't've sank, just like the Titanic and that ice berg. Both of these major cruise liner incidents being exactly 100 years apart is certainly unnerving, to say the least...
Another think that I like about the imagery is throughout most of the song she is talking about all the pressure she feels while still taking care of her little sister, especially the part with the doors she is making sure Maribel isn’t hurt. Even though she is dealing with so much she wants to keep her sister safe. Pretty much the only time she isn’t actively protecting her is when she is floating on the donkey
I really enjoy your reactions and how you go deep and deep in the meanings of the lyrics. One thing that I want to talk about is that apart of the images that references the lyrics, I also admired the way how Disney involved all the Colombian culture in the movie, I am Colombian and I very gratefull in how Disney show up all my Colombian landscape, nature, animals and more; but the thing that really amazed me is the clever way to talk about the history and through violence a lot of Colombian people had to pass. I am just really amazed with the effort that Disney put in this movie. I hope more people be interested in visit Colombia and know more about the culture and the people and not only the negative things. If one of you guys hace the oportunity to meet or talk with a Colombian person you are going to understand more details behind the characters personalities that represents lot of situations of a Colombian common lifes. Saludos 👋🏽
The donkeys playing the instruments is another Titanic reference. When the Titanic was sinking, the ship’s band played music as they sank to their deaths. Their instruments were recovered from the wreckage and are in the Tiantic museum now.
luisa's haunted look at 12:10 coupled w her soft and defeated vocals is probably one of the saddest scenes in the whole movie for me. my eyes always end up watering.
This analysis was mind blowing. I didn't even get half the references of the song the first time i watched it. Also the comments here bring up a lot more of details. The song is awesome.
Fun fact: One of the songwriter for Encanto is Lin-Manuel, the same songwriter for Hamilton. You'll notice the similarities in the rap pocketing, rhyming, and broadway musical style in the songs!
This song is so intense, I acutall put it on my workout playlist. Every single time, I get goosebumps when she drops the "no breaks" lines. There are at least 3 amazing songs in this one movie and luisa's is my favorite.
My favorite bit no one seems to mention is the “who am I if I can’t run with the ball? If I fall to pressure-“ it’s specifically run together so it also sounds like “Falter” which means “to lose strength”
Hey Knox, Lin-Manuel Miranda did the music for Encanto. You should react to the stuff he’s written. I highly recommend Guns and Ships from Hamilton and also The Room Where it Happens from the same. Both amazing songs
Fantastic review of the song. I love that you broke down the layers in the musicality, the instrumentation, the lyrics, and also examined the multiple layers of meaning. Very cool.
The Heracles myth has so many versions so your version could be true, in the versions I’m more familiar with Hades was like “Yeah you can take him if you are able to subdue him and bring him back”
Yeah, I agree that this is my favorite song of all of them. And I love all the songs, so that's saying something. But this song is the one that made me pay attention and want to see the movie. My kids had been watching it here and there for a few days and I just hadn't paid attention. Then I happened to catch this during one of their viewings. I immediately started the movie over and settled in to watch the whole thing. For me, I think, it isn't just that the song is objectively fantastic (though it absolutely is), it's also because my role in my toxic family was very much like Luisa. And then when I eventually broke, I became more like Bruno. So, yeah. I identify JUST A BIT with the message of this movie 😂 This movie has become almost like therapy for me.
the donckeys are symbolic too actually. Donkeys are some of the most abused farm animals due to people over packing them with stuff to carry. And Luisa is the one carrying *them* in the movie, showing that she views herself as less important then them
The Donkeys also add another visual double because they are essentially beasts of burdens. I thought it was really clever how they worked that into the whe thing.
If you think about it donkeys are known as beast of burdens and that’s what Luisa kind of is. She’s the strong one that they all turn to almost making her the beast of burden in her family. She does mention them also giving her all the family burdens are on her shoulder so even the donkeys are symbols of something.
The sheer desperation on her face when they're under the rocks, looking up at Mirabel (about 12:09)... It breaks my heart...because I've lived that. I know where Luisa's coming from, 'pressure like a drip drip drip that'll never stop'. And it hurts every time.
Lin Manuel Miranda is a master, he did amazing with all the Encanto songs, also the dunkies are animals that alwasys have been use for heavy lifting, load, cargo, and Luisa is always with the dunkies as reference she is the one always carrying the whole city (Encanto/family).
Its amazing how protective Luisa is As soon as she sees that Maribel looks worried and afraid she incorperates the donkeys and do Happy dance moves to protect her even though shes singing about falling apart.
Welcome to Lin Manuel Miranda Knox!! Check out some more of his stuff. You should to the cabinet battles from Hamilton… I would actually love to see that.
What's crazy is that all of the most popular songs from this movie were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The man doesn't get enough credit for how good he is at writing rap as well as pop and theater music. Pure Genius
What I really love about this song is not only the lyrics, but the instruments used are some of thr commonly used instruments in dubstep, and I loved that. Been vibing to it ever since I've heard it.
You need to do the jounts from "Vivo". Same guy that did the encanto music. Encanto is a super dope movie, even though my kids have made me watch it 100 times already😂 "Vivo" I've seen a million times now lol." Super dope music. He actually did the hiphop Hamilton broadway play they had recently. He is hispanic so a lot of these are spanish based sounds obviously.
What else should we react to? 🤔 Comment below! Also if you like the song in the intro support the channel directly & download/stream my new album ‘Blacklist’ now 🖤 song.link/blacklistalbum
What else can I do
Pleasesee
King Park by La Dispute :)
Anything of Lin Manuel Miranda really
Can you react to Bo Burnham's "Can't Handle This" from his "Make Happy" special?
guns and ships from hamilton, same writer as encanto's songs, that song has crazy speed to it, especially cuz the actor is putting on a french accent for all of it
The line "as tough as the crust as the earth is" is also a double. We think of the crust as solid, strong and steady but it's constantly shifting, cracking, buckling and breaking. It's only tough from our perspective
Not to mention when she says that line, she literally breaks the earths crust
It's also the thinnest layer of the earth. Luisa is saying she's tough as the crust of the earth but her toughness is only a thin outer layer
Also, the crust is absolutely NOTHING compared to the heat and intensity of the layers beneath it.
Very nice symbolism you caught there
She's just as brittle as the rock that she shattered. Symbolism
It's funny that she says "I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is" and then she proceeds to break a piece of the earth's crust, showing how no matter how tough she is, she's always also capable of destroying herself.
SMARTTTTT
GENIUS 😩✋✋✋✋
@@doctorpatientmoon chill young blood
Also... the crust of the earth is the thinest and weakest layer
@@Gaelenrrique649 its still hella big lmao
"Pressure like a drip, drip, drip that'll never stop, whoa"
What I haven't seen anyone point out is how raindrops, over millions of years, weather and dissolve solid rock. So it doesn't matter how strong you are, even the smallest things over time if they're constant will erode you.
I also saw a smart analysis comparing the drip drip drip to that of the water that slowly collects beneath the surface ultimately creating a sinkhole. It connects back to the crust of the earth comparison she made and how it will cause he to collapse in on herself.
Great observation! I was thinking of how a dripping faucet can slowly cause you to lose your mind.
Yours is better!
I actually was thinking about Chinese water torture.
Also, in Spanish "the straw that broke the camel's back" is "la gota que colmó el vaso" (literally, the drop that overflows the glass).
Yesssss!
I really like when during the door domino part she says "a light wind blows" when we can visually see it's a literal tornado. Feels like it speaks a lot to how no matter what she faces that she tells herself it's not that bad and tries to undersell her self and her accomplishments.
Yes! I love that lyric set to the tornado too, and I feel like that gets overlooked a lot. Around that time, I also love the juxtaposition of her strength against being so gentle when straightening Mirabel's glasses. Such a great little moment.
It's so great, honestly! Like how the last door is her glowing door, meaning everything in the end is up to her. Plus, in the visuals it actually gets blown away, with her thinking 'what if I just don't, what if I did not have to do that. Then they are in the sky, where everything is pink, fluffy and cute with her singing light and smiling even the donkeys are unicorns. It's so thought through!
I didn't think about that. Thanks for pointing out that awesome visual representation and I think you're spot on with your interpretation of it
Damn
Yeah, a lot of us who were made to hold this role in our toxic families have a serious problem where we minimize things. Not just our accomplishments and worth, but also problems and challenges and emotions. So that we appear "strong".
Yo Knox the donkeys are a double in themselves. Donkeys are pack mules used to carrying all the heavy loads, which is why they are in the song considering the sister is a pack mule carrying all the weight.
Same with the titanic scene. They said it was unsinkable but it did in the end. The weight of the world on your shoulders, and at the end when she holding up the entire village. The symbolism is amazing!
Woah. Even more layers.
How did i never realize this. you have just blown my mind omg
@@jessicamorgan2438 And of course - it's easy to miss - the name on the side of the ship is "MADRIGAL". The "Titanic" about to hit the iceberg is the family, and they are just kind of blithely trusting that she can stop it, or destroy the thing in their path that might destroy them.
Beasts of burden
I also find it cool that the "Titanic" has the family name on the side, so coupled with the lyrics, it's saying that the family chooses not to change or shift despite all the signs of oncoming danger or disaster, forcing her to have to do her best to take on the danger before her family hits it.
The Titanic was also called the "Unsinkable". It was constantly praised about how it's not gonna sink, just like how Abuela constantly praises that the magic is strong.
It also kinda shows how dependent the family and the town became on luisa. The ship didnt chance the course, because they know luisa will destroy the ice berg. So luisa HAS to break it, so that the ship doesnt sink, even though the ship was absolutly capable of chancing the course. The town can solve at lot of problems by themselfes or prevent problems (like keeping the church where it was, or building it in the correct spot in the first place), but decides not to because "luisa will fix it"
This film captures this spiral so well, its amazing. Luisa fixes problems, because she can. People notice and ask for help with problems they couldnt solve. Now they dont bother looking for solutions or doing their work properly because they have luisa. Luisa HAS to solve those problems as well, even though they where easily avoidable, because no one else can fix them after they where done and she got used to it, not noticing how much it burned her out
Mind. Blown.
@@freieLilith this!! really, wow!
@@freieLilith Yeah and even the problem with the donkeys in the first place could have another solution to solve it, but instead it's always Luisa who has to get each one of them and bring them back every single time
"Under the surface I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service"
This is such a hard hitting line for me. She uses so many metaphors in this song, we get so many visualisations. But this line is so raw. No interpretations, no comparisons, just a brutally straight and honest confession.
Agreed, it's the line i see most people who listen to it wince a bit at yknow. and it's the one that emotionally resonates the most for me at least anyway
This line hits me so hard, too. This is the song I connected with the most from this movie and it nearly made me cry because I felt the pressure in my life weighing on me just listening to the song.
The line "Give it to your sister and never wonder if the same pressure would've pulled you under" is so good. It says a lot about how little care or thought older relatives oftentimes give towards certain family members and just expect them to perform perfectly without thinking if it's reasonable.
Not only family members. It can go for friends, neighbours, coworkers, teachers, heck it can even apply to the person's that you have to oversee. We give heavy burdens to others with so little thought behind it that it can be frightening.
This is basically every family member who has a gift; just expected to preform perfectly. Isabelle has "appearing perfect" almost perfectly down, which is one of the reasons why the grandmother seems to likes her the most. The other is that she looks a lot like how the grandmother looked when she was younger, and seeing this handsome young man show interest in her granddaughter reminds her of her perfect romance with her eventual husband, and she both wants that for her granddaughter and to re live those memories and make sure it goes perfectly and stays perfect, trying to make up for what happened to her own perfect relationship. The unreasonable part is that Isebella doesn't like being perfect, nor does she like or even want to marry her fiancé to be. But bc it was deemed the best for the family, the best relationship, she was going to go along with it. All the adults in her family have marriages full of love, and, based on appearances, she was so close to being put in a loveless marriage, all to just make her grandmother happy. Generational drama man.
homestuck spotted in the wild :0
@@Catflers Homestuck alert!
No one ever comments on how when they gather up people to be Luisa's backup dancers all she gets are donkeys. She has _no one_ supporting her. She has to do it all herself. Even Mirabel just watches.
Its her imagination......
In addition to that, donkeys are beasts of burden. Luisa handles all the heavy lifting, the burdens
@@buckybarnes8480 Most people would imagine their friends and helpers. Not donkeys. THe fact that's who she goes to first already says something about her situation. Namely, that these _are_ her "friends".
Actually, around when she says "see if she can handle every family burden" Mirabel does try to help! but then another load lands on Luisa's shoulders and Mirabel's knocked back by the sheer pressure of them landing on top of the rocks her sister was already carrying. Which, writing this out, is another really nice visualisation.
@@little_bee_cos5095 You're right! Mirabel did eventually try to help. Good catch. :)
All her analogies are things under the surface. Hercules fights Cerberus in the underworld. Icebergs have most of their mass under the surface of the water
Maybe thats why in the scene she lets go shes in the clouds
Mind. Blown.
They
Better
Give
Him
That
Oscar
Or
They
Will
Have
To
Deal
With
ME
#MacPEGOT
Well, Hercules didn't really fight Cerberus 😅
@@rubenhumbertoroquesalas2273 if you mean mythologically then yes he did. it was his 12th labor. If you mean that Hercules is a fictional character and therefore didn’t fight Cerberus because neither one exist, then yes
Funny thing about the Heracles line is he... never does actually fight Cerberus.
The writer of the music for this movie is that same writer who wrote Hamilton, In the Heights, and the music for Moana. He has some amazing lyrics within a lot of his music.
Also, the netflix movie "Vivo". It has great music too.
Also, arent you supposed to be missing right now? Maybe its a different Catherine lol
He also did Vivo
Lin Manuel Miranda
@@LiamAllen217 I know. My family is a huge musical family, so we love his stuff!
@@corylyonsmusic last I checked I wasn't missing, lol. I didn't know he did music for that movie. I will have to check it out.
100% this is THE SONG.
Bruno is great and deserves it but its popularity even surprised Lin.
This was supposed to be the big one.
And it hits me. I still can't NOT cry hearing it. Older bro probs...
I feel you. Elder sibling things...
SAAAME! Older sister to two brothers. This song spoke to me so hard!
Yes, older siblings🤝
Older sibling here as well. 👍
@@lurker1107 me too. I'm elder sister to two boys. I've got no sister too.
The most heart breaking part is the drip drip part after the unicorn donkeys. When it just keeps building on her. You can see and hear the breaking and sadness in her. My eyes tear up every single time that part of the song comes up. It's like her silent cry for help.
I see fear as well fear she's not going to be able to hold it all and the moment Mirabell understands and looks back at her with empathy the sadness in Louisa's eyes just breaks my heart.
Especially considering for most of the song Mirabel didn't understand what she was talking about, just that she was complaining. She STARTS to get it around when they're hanging off the cliff, and then right when they're in the sky, she sees how happy Luisa COULD be. Then they fall again and there's real, true understanding on her face after "it'll never stop". It's heartbreaking and I cry EVERY SINGLE TIME.
The vocals on that moment where that driving rhythm becomes this vulnerable, fragile moment, and then the animation on top of it, just completely next level.
@@wwaxwork omygosh yes!! That look she gives Mirabel right there... like "HELP"🥺😥
The line that always gets me is "Give it to your sister, it doesn't hurt." Everyone just assumes Luisa is fine and strong enough to take it all but here she's crying out for help, she's not fine, it's too much
I love the references in this. Especially of Greek Mythology, it just really surprised me and grabbed my attention. First she talks about Hercules and Cerberus, then she’s holding the weight of the world on her shoulders, just like Atlas who holds up the sky / carries the Earth on his shoulders (but as punishment).
I also love how whenever something happens that Luisa finds is too much for Mirabel, she changes the mood of the song and starts dancing and the donkeys return. This song has so much layering and meaning to it, that’s not even the extent of it. aHh, I literally cried when I first heard it-
Also Hercules did fight Cerberus Hades gave him permission to take him but only if Hercules could take him himself without help
@@robertscullin3824 and no weapons either
which given Hercules loved to wrestle he was more than happy to oblige
You guys are right everything except one thing. It’s Heracles not Hercules. Hercules is the Roman version of his name and this is the Greek version of his story so it’s Heracles.
@@soulcross its the same person either way so who cares?
@@mrroboshadow I know, but it’s just for accuracy. It’s like referring to Aphrodite as Venus when talking about a Greek story. Similar person but still incorrect.
I’m always amazed by the multiple meanings of “no cracks, no breaks” 😭 as in cracks and “breaks” of the house; a throwback to what “breaks” the camels back referring to herself; literally not taking a “break”… it’s so good
also “glowing” and “shining” like stars is a running theme throughout the movie, with the imagery of the doors/gifts/candle, but in the end they realize they don’t shine but “burn”. im this close to writing a whole ass literary analysis of the whole movie
Do it
Just adding another 'break'. No breaks, as in no brakes - she can't stop the pressure
and when she says 'breaks" the song itself pauses
Don't you know that a horse (or donkey, I suppose) sweat; a man perspires, but a lady glows? (Old saying from the time when ladies [women] were supposed to be delicate little flowers removed from any physical hardships.) So she has to support all that pressure, and *not let it show*.
@@stereonacht2247theres also the fact that its okay to have cracks sometimes theres so much pressure for her to be perfect when being allowed to not be perfect and have cracks would allow the pressure to release instead of building up and destroying her.
It's fun that they kept the donkeys thruout the song... Until you realize that it's cause Luisa is largely treated like a pack animal. A mule for the community and her family. Expected to pull all the weights literally and figuratively
And that's heartbreaking
I like how throughout the song, Luisa is protecting Mirabel. Showing that she sees her role as the protector who has to burden all the weight for the sake of her family.
And even still she will protect her little sister
I'm in love with how Disney explores the pain that older siblings go through I think people tend to forget that we have emotions and we're human too we struggle just as much as anyone else does just because you can't see our struggle doesn't mean it's not there we are forced to hide everything until it eventually explodes because we're the strong one right? /S Disney explained everything in just one song everything all of us have wanted to say but couldn't Luisa is my favorite character for this reason I go back for this movie just for the scene more than anything older siblings finally have a voice words cannot express how much I love this
It's not only just older siblings. In my case I'm the younger sibling
Luisa is my favorite too. She is in close competition with the capybara and his tremendous honey badger vibes.
@Super Family Foods & Videos you what are hou on dude ?
few days ago mi mom told me something similar, she is the older one, and she said that is always her relatives (brothers, sisters) calling her with their problems and asking her to "solve them", but she felt that never had a chance to really breath, to just not listen, to disconnect from all the problems, and that they expected that she would be happy, I even tried to tell her that she doesn't need to get involve in other people problems, but she is so used to it, that feel that she will be forgotten if she doesn't... when we saw this movie... she cried in this scene and until she told me this, I didn't understand why this particular scene caused such impact in her.... I love her, but that broke me ..
I read that Lin Manuel Miranda wrote this song for his older sister.
You missed the "Give it to your Sister" double/triple. She literally means give your sister all the burdens, because she is older; which we also see in the visuals. However, by saying it the way she does: "give it to your sister, your sister's older"; it becomes another saying altogether. One commonly used to mean to listen to your older sibling (essentially saying give it to me that I know what I'm doing/talking about).
I really love that the whole video is a visual metaphor, for her having the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Also you have to give it to the animators, the hurt in her eyes, after feeling a moment of joy; and then having all that weight back on her shoulders. This song is really deep for a children's movie.
Give it to your sister your sisters older...like she's the oldest
But Luisa is the middle child.... how does that work..?
@@ravenclawallday6213 Because she is older than Mirabel, who she is saying this to.
@@andrewpeters6207 oh yeah that makes sense.........
One thing I find interesting is when she sings the “wait!” Section with the pink clouds, everything turns even more fantasy, the bouncing off clouds and flying and donkey unicorns- as if a reflection that Luisa doesn’t really believe she can ever truly shrug off the weight of expectations. It’s make believe/not possible.
I'm surprised you didn't comment on the last major line in the song: "Give it to your sister and never wonder if the same pressure would have pulled you under"
Not a lot to analyze, but it's a raw line that deserves to be appreciated
One thing I noticed on my second viewing of the song that I really liked is during the beginning when she says "as tough as the crust of the earth is" as it falls and shatters around. As well as the next lines when she states "I glow because I know what my worth is." Yet her face is shrouded in shadow. Just thought that nice contradictive imagery to show some more of her true feelings
There is a lot of hidden genius in this film. Also, great observation, I and most others completely missed that imagery.
I was looking for this comment. The whole song she undermines and questions her worth. So saying she glows cause she knows what her worth is....and she looks back as if to see if Mirabel is buying her fake confidence.
A lot of the percussion backing also is similar to a heartbeat, though it’s often too fast and occasionally has extra beats. It’s an auditory representation of a panic attack.
🤯
Knox, this is simply the power of
*Lin Manuel Miranda* If anyone knows about clever bars and storytelling it’s him. I suggest checking out *Hamilton* and *the Heights*
LMM is one of the greatest lyricist on our time. And a great MC in his own right. If you haven't gone down his rabbit hole yet, it would be worth it.
Guns and Ships!
@@paxman192 ya... Dope. 100%
@@JayAsh15 this, I wanna see Knox break down some LMM, Vivo, Hamilton... hell even just the Soundtracks instead of the show songs. Would be a blast to watch!
@@GabrielMartinez-bf7hy Especially with Knox's well versed knowledge of US history. I'd love to watch him tackle Hamilton and see his brain break with the references and homages to golden age hip-hop interwoven into it.
Has anyone noticed how they kept falling down when she sang about the pressure, until she started flying up when she was talking about taking away that pressure, but then back to things falling on her.
I love the donkeys as Luisa’s symbol. Donkeys are a beast of burden, a work animal known for carrying heavy loads.
Donkeys in Colombia even have their own festival day as a sort of ‘thank you’ for the hard-work that donkeys do, especially in agriculture. They dress the donkeys in costumes (a unicorn wouldnt be out of place). I get the feeling Luisa doesn’t even get that one day of praise for her efforts.
No matter what’s going on in the song, that’s always there in the background. It even invades her fantasy of relaxation. It serves as comedic but also as a reflection of how in sync she is to that role in various scenes.
I don't see anyone sayin' anthing about it, but the donkeys are beasts of burden, which she is kind of treated as, or might represent her. A bunch of scenes are her carrying the donkeys, which are meant to be the ones carrying things. Think about that, She is the one carrying the beasts of burden.
This is so smart !!!!!!! Never thought of this
The fact this man really broke down a Disney song is crazy this man really breaks down anything, best at doing it to be honest
Edit: this is like the most likes I ever got on a comment ever lol thank you guys
Knox is a REAL ONE. Can I get a chant going?
WE LOVE KNOX
WE LOVE KNOX
WE LOVE KNOX
It just gets annoying lmao
@@Diluquiano then watch a reaction video who praises this song for anything lol. He goes into why this song is so good musically and the lyrics and wordplay. If you want someone to just go “omg this is so good” and ends the video after… there’s many of them youtubers out there
@@maliablossom7340 it gets annoying that he explains EVERYTHING like omg she said she feels bad so I think she feels bad in this lyrics, if you've seen his erb reactions you would get it lmao
@@Diluquiano why do you keep watching his videos, just cut your losses at this point if you don't vibe with the style
I also love how the intensity of the music builds as she reveals everything she has been keeping inside, and you expect a major drop or boom of sound to signify her just exploding from it all, but it gets soft because she stays quiet and bears the weight, not willing to let anyone notice how much she is suppressing. Also, weight smothers you.
Someone else had pointed out in another comment section that when the mood in song changes, it is after Luisa sees that Maribel is frightened either by the things around her or the struggle of her sister, so she starts using more exciting music, brighter colors, playful donkeys, and dance moves to distract from the serious things she is saying. The ending shows it the best.
I really enjoy your enthusiasm and intelligence for music and lyricism.
Donkeys are seen as beasts of burden, which is why they're seen in nearly every scene with Luisa. It serves as another reminder that she's only as good as she can carry, to her family and the town. Even while she's doing one thing, she's being asked to do another, with no thought of Luisa herself. This song is my favorite from Encanto, and I connected in so many ways.
I love "We don't talk about Bruno" (Mostly Delores's part), but "Surface pressure" is my favorite song from the song track. As a older sister myself, I relate a lot to the pressure of that typical "Your the older one, you need to this.." or "You have to be a better example for your younger sister" and it really put this strain on me, especially when I was younger and told myself I shouldn't cry in front of my sister as the oldest when my dad passed away or took the brunt of the mental abuse that my mom's friend dished out to me and my younger sister.
I was, and still am struggling with depression and anger issues, and I always feel like I'm such a disappointing big sister. I really love this song and the movie is just amazing and one of my favorite animated Disney movies since Frozen (The first one, not the second one, but "Into the unknown" is a pop tho).
Knox, the person that wrote this is lin manuel miranda, (most noticeable from hamilton). If u like his writing I would recommend listening to 'helpless' and 'satisfied' back to back if u haven't.
And First Burn 🔥
I'm glad you agree that this is a better song than We Don't Talk About Bruno! While that song is still great and is an absolute earworm, this one just hits harder.
This song is dope. And I really like the end being like multiple shots at her in the instrumentation.
The french version couldn't really translate nicely the feeling of "no cracks no breaks no mistake no pressure" so it added an even deeper lyric in my opinion that I was surprise wasn't in the original version. Basically the last line in french say "but there's one thing I want to ask you: what is it like living without pressure ?"
It was an interesting answer to Mirabel finding her sisters' life better when in fact they kind of envy her too. It's still understandable in the movie as a whole but I really like that added sentence.
That is so cool to hear! I read something a little bit ago about how much work goes into preparing the song lyrics for different languages, because of having to translate various idioms and slang from English, into something that hits the same for the people who speak other languages. And of course, translations are almost never 1:1. I would love to watch a much longer look, focusing on one song like this (or "Bruno"), that tackled some of that process in detail.
@@gryphonvert Yes, translating songs is really hard yet really important. I'm often disappointed though. "Let it go" in french for example was nice but a total miss on the deep meaning in my opinion.
one of the fine details that always gets me is that in the verse about carrying all the family burdens she actually has a strain to her voice and literally cracks when she says "pop" on the 2nd or 3rd line. it just puts a huge amount of emphasis on how much the pressure is affecting her and just how close she is to her limit.
I love all the visuals like the geysers. Man, Disney is just on another level. And these lines... "I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service." Woooo. That hits so hard.
Lin Manuel Miranda is a great song writer. I am surprised you haven't done any breakdowns of Hamilton. Such great writing there and bars.
I liked the line "I'm pretty sure I'm worthless if I can't be of service" that actually hit me
It is also interesting that Donkeys are the creatures with the most pressure on their backs in most farms (speaking as a Latina, personally.) Donnkeys are the animals that works the most, pulling cards and heavy burdens, while horses are most used for mount and cattle-work.
Donkeys are your everyday burden relievers.
So, it is interesting to see in her song, where she sings about having to work, about pressure, about being of service with so many Donkeys around backing her up on it.
I won't lie, I cried during this song. As someone who's shouldered a lot for their siblings, mother, and myself at once, the look she gives Mirabelle at the end when it slows down for the last 'pressure like a drip drip drip that'll never stop' is so sad and telling of what she's trying to shoulder that I cried.
There's also a lot of Atlas from greek mythos in there with her literally carring the entire world(as far as the movie is conserned) on her back
BUT "the ship doesn't swerve when it heard how bigg the iceberg is" is PERFECT for her -
You KNOW this is bigger than you can deal with, but it's maybe too late and anyway all you know how to do is keep saying you're UNSINKABLE....
I read that line as the family being the ship, and they just expect her to get any obstacles out of their way rather than have to do anything themselves to avoid them, but they underestimate how hard that is for her. I love your interpretation though!
The line is actually “The ship doesn’t swerve; has it heard how big the iceberg is?”, with the second part being a question.
I think that highlights the interpretation that the ship is her family/town blindly charging into danger, because they trust Luisa to save them. And Luisa is left to wonder why they didn’t do anything to prevent this problem themselves.
But your interpretation definitely fits the theme.
There is an old saying in Latin (by Ovid, I believe?), about how 'Stone yields to water [or is hollowed out by it]; not through strength but by falling often' - something I feel this song so beautifully encapsulated! Even something as sturdy as stone can be worn and washed away by steady & constant "drip-drip-drip (that'll never stop!)" of water.
I LOVE how delicate and careful she is in adjusting Mirabel's glasses before trying to stop the dominoes from falling.
Something that I think we see in the song that I've never really seen someone fully address in the song is how in the whole song we constantly see Luisa protecting her little sister Mirabel because she feels like as the strongest she needs to protect everyone, we even see Luisa care for mirabel all the way down to fixing her glasses for her. Then during the part of the song we can finally see Luisa relaxed, we see mirabel trying to grab her own glasses and trying to stay on the donkeys back by herself. And I feel like this really showcases how a lot of her stress comes from need to constantly defend her entire family and how she wishes her family could defend themselves so that she wouldn't have to for once... that's what I got from that part at least if that makes any sense.
Anything from Lin-Manuel is worth looking into. He wrote the songs for this movie and famously did the same for Hamilton.
Just gonna leave Moana out of this conv?
@@_nullzy Wasn't aware of his involvement, that's cool.
You can seriously see how much LMM incorporated his style of musicals in his songs, especially We Dont Talk About Bruno. In Surface Pressure you can even recognize LMM's handicraft just by the lyricism. Those internal rhymes schemes are no accident, my favorite run was "Under the surface, The ship doesn't swerve as it heard how big the iceberg is".
Guns and Ships
@@KikomochiMendoza He even managed to sneak one into the perfect princess's song, What Else Can I Do?, my favorite line from that song "Can I deliver us a river of sundew? Careful it's carnivorous. A little just won't do. I wanna feel the shiver of something new."
On 11:55 I could honestly feel this as apart of anxiety due to expectations. Mostly because it comes after the part of the song where Luisa wants to find joy and comfort. You free yourself from expectations for one time during your life and when you do it'll come back growing. "Why did you stop being better for them?", "Why did you stop at being what you're forced to do". And the fact that there's only just asmall part where she's just happy kinda shows one thing: that you will barely find comfort and happiness if you want to achieve the expectations of others
Edit: I also like how in the middle of 12:11 and 12:12 you see Luisa covering her face from Mirabel when she saw her feeling the weight of the rocks. It's like saying that she's fine and is trying to hide it away
this guy finds more hidden meanings in this than an english teacher reading a normal poem
This movie is so great.. that had real choreography for the musical sequences then animated it
I love this song. It has so many meanings and layers built into. Also, when you watch the movie and get to know all the characters, you'll notice how this song may be specifically for the stronger sister, but in reality it's an anthem for most of the family members. Each of them in their own way could apply this song to themselves.
Gotta start doing more Bo Burnham tracks. Next one has to be "Can't handle this"
And then We Think We Know You
That one hurts just as hard too
Song is a great nod to those who are strong on the outside are sometimes the most vulnerable. It's so relatable as a song it makes me cry when I hear it.
This is my first time watching any of your videos and I gotta say I like how you keep pausing the song to analyze any detail you notice as opposed to some other reaction channels that just record themselves listening to the song, throw in occasional oohs, ahhs, and chuckles and then say “it’s a pretty good song, I enjoyed that” at the end of the video.
The donkey's are used throughout the song. Even in the arena when she's fighting Cerberus the Donkey's are the audience. I think the reason they in particular are used, in stead of any other common animal is that they are a beast of burden. Many communities use their ability to carry heavy loads in order to thrive. But in the movie, Luisa herself is carrying half a dozen donkeys on her back. Symbolizing that she is being used a a beast of burden even above and beyond the literal beasts. Doing the work of many donkeys without question.
This is easily one of, if not my favorite Disney song of all time. I really loved to see your breakdown appreciate the depth and layers to this song. It's truly a masterpiece.
7:02 Its actually a quadruple entendre, because Cerberus guard the gates of the underworld, which is under the surface of the earth. This song is so clever
The combination of all of the things Knox points out, and all of the other small things he missed that the comments points out purely because of how much was packed into three minutes really goes to show how well produced this song is.
I like the early metaphor when she says "I'm as tough as the crust of the earth is" Then we immediately see the earth's crust crumble and break down.
Knox the heart ❤️ you out in to these reactions, it’s amazing!
Some of the frames you paused on are fantastic : )
I also really appreciate that you caught the potential reference/myth inversion with Hercules and Cerberus - I haven't seen anyone else notice that.
When I first heard this song, I was impressed by the lyricism. Plus, that chorus is catchy as hell.
This songs message also means that we all need to support each other without trying to hold each other to unrealistic expectations. This takes off a lot of that day to day pressure we're all under in life. In the military as Sargent we try not to make our soldiers do something that we can't do ourselves because when and if they fail we already know what to do to help them succeed the next time they're tried. We break them down only to build them and their confidence back up even stronger. Love this song.
Honestly, this song is amazing and I have no idea why it isn't just played on the radio. Really relatable and touching too.
10:24 Interestingly, though, the Titanic actually *did* try to swerve, just far too late. If the Titanic had hit the ice berg head-on as shown here, it likely wouldn't've sank. Rather, it sank *because* it swerved too late. The side of the hull struck the ice berg, ripping open too many compartments and causing too much flooding for the ship to sustain. Had it struck head-on, the only compartment that would've flooded is the forward-most one (though, there is a chance the compartment right behind it could've also taken in water).
It's basically just like what happened to the Costa Concordia. Schettino noticed they were far too close to the shore way too late and tried to take evasive actions. Unfortunately, that combined with the helmsman's linguistic struggles sent the ship's side directly into the rocks they were trying to avoid. Had they struck the rocks head-on, the Concordia wouldn't've sank, just like the Titanic and that ice berg. Both of these major cruise liner incidents being exactly 100 years apart is certainly unnerving, to say the least...
Mind blown
Another think that I like about the imagery is throughout most of the song she is talking about all the pressure she feels while still taking care of her little sister, especially the part with the doors she is making sure Maribel isn’t hurt. Even though she is dealing with so much she wants to keep her sister safe.
Pretty much the only time she isn’t actively protecting her is when she is floating on the donkey
I really enjoy your reactions and how you go deep and deep in the meanings of the lyrics.
One thing that I want to talk about is that apart of the images that references the lyrics, I also admired the way how Disney involved all the Colombian culture in the movie, I am Colombian and I very gratefull in how Disney show up all my Colombian landscape, nature, animals and more; but the thing that really amazed me is the clever way to talk about the history and through violence a lot of Colombian people had to pass. I am just really amazed with the effort that Disney put in this movie.
I hope more people be interested in visit Colombia and know more about the culture and the people and not only the negative things.
If one of you guys hace the oportunity to meet or talk with a Colombian person you are going to understand more details behind the characters personalities that represents lot of situations of a Colombian common lifes.
Saludos 👋🏽
This song made me cry when I heard it because I had never been able to explain how I felt about stuff and it was so relatable.
Lin Manuel is a real genius, I love the intentionality behind the songs
One of the best analyses of the song. And I saw a lot of them! 😆 Nice work!
Means a lot. Thank you!
The donkeys playing the instruments is another Titanic reference. When the Titanic was sinking, the ship’s band played music as they sank to their deaths. Their instruments were recovered from the wreckage and are in the Tiantic museum now.
luisa's haunted look at 12:10 coupled w her soft and defeated vocals is probably one of the saddest scenes in the whole movie for me. my eyes always end up watering.
Brought to you by the genius that is Lin Manuel Miranda. Glad you're loving this movie! It's awesome
This analysis was mind blowing. I didn't even get half the references of the song the first time i watched it. Also the comments here bring up a lot more of details. The song is awesome.
Fun fact: One of the songwriter for Encanto is Lin-Manuel, the same songwriter for Hamilton. You'll notice the similarities in the rap pocketing, rhyming, and broadway musical style in the songs!
This was such a fun series! More breakdowns of silly but incredibly well done songs! We all need some levity in our life.
Here early!!!
Can't wait for this one, Knox
You're really getting into Encanto my man!
Ima have to watch this movie cuz of Knox
Do it!
It's totally worth the watch. There's a lot of very relatable themes going round the entire movie.
This song is so intense, I acutall put it on my workout playlist. Every single time, I get goosebumps when she drops the "no breaks" lines.
There are at least 3 amazing songs in this one movie and luisa's is my favorite.
The reason the music is so amazing is because it’s all written by Lin Manuel Miranda the writer of “Hamilton” on broadway
My favorite bit no one seems to mention is the “who am I if I can’t run with the ball? If I fall to pressure-“ it’s specifically run together so it also sounds like “Falter” which means “to lose strength”
Hey Knox, Lin-Manuel Miranda did the music for Encanto. You should react to the stuff he’s written.
I highly recommend Guns and Ships from Hamilton and also The Room Where it Happens from the same. Both amazing songs
Fantastic review of the song. I love that you broke down the layers in the musicality, the instrumentation, the lyrics, and also examined the multiple layers of meaning. Very cool.
I knew you would come back after watching the movie, with more breakdowns lol
The Heracles myth has so many versions so your version could be true, in the versions I’m more familiar with Hades was like “Yeah you can take him if you are able to subdue him and bring him back”
Yeah, I agree that this is my favorite song of all of them. And I love all the songs, so that's saying something.
But this song is the one that made me pay attention and want to see the movie.
My kids had been watching it here and there for a few days and I just hadn't paid attention. Then I happened to catch this during one of their viewings.
I immediately started the movie over and settled in to watch the whole thing.
For me, I think, it isn't just that the song is objectively fantastic (though it absolutely is), it's also because my role in my toxic family was very much like Luisa. And then when I eventually broke, I became more like Bruno.
So, yeah. I identify JUST A BIT with the message of this movie 😂 This movie has become almost like therapy for me.
the donckeys are symbolic too actually. Donkeys are some of the most abused farm animals due to people over packing them with stuff to carry.
And Luisa is the one carrying *them* in the movie, showing that she views herself as less important then them
Really waiting for your reaction of Hamilton's songs! It's a treasure chest
The Donkeys also add another visual double because they are essentially beasts of burdens. I thought it was really clever how they worked that into the whe thing.
If you think about it donkeys are known as beast of burdens and that’s what Luisa kind of is. She’s the strong one that they all turn to almost making her the beast of burden in her family. She does mention them also giving her all the family burdens are on her shoulder so even the donkeys are symbols of something.
Great point.
Something else about this song is the animation, how she's always saving and taking care of Mirabel. How she feels responsible for it all :(
The sheer desperation on her face when they're under the rocks, looking up at Mirabel (about 12:09)... It breaks my heart...because I've lived that. I know where Luisa's coming from, 'pressure like a drip drip drip that'll never stop'. And it hurts every time.
Lin Manuel Miranda is a master, he did amazing with all the Encanto songs, also the dunkies are animals that alwasys have been use for heavy lifting, load, cargo, and Luisa is always with the dunkies as reference she is the one always carrying the whole city (Encanto/family).
Its amazing how protective Luisa is As soon as she sees that Maribel looks worried and afraid she incorperates the donkeys and do Happy dance moves to protect her even though shes singing about falling apart.
Welcome to Lin Manuel Miranda Knox!! Check out some more of his stuff. You should to the cabinet battles from Hamilton… I would actually love to see that.
Okay but really the more that I think of it you would have a great reaction and breakdown of cabinet battle.
Hey knox please never switch up! Your reactions are amazing and we all love them deeply. You keep it real unlike most!
What's crazy is that all of the most popular songs from this movie were written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The man doesn't get enough credit for how good he is at writing rap as well as pop and theater music. Pure Genius
What I really love about this song is not only the lyrics, but the instruments used are some of thr commonly used instruments in dubstep, and I loved that. Been vibing to it ever since I've heard it.
You need to do the jounts from "Vivo". Same guy that did the encanto music.
Encanto is a super dope movie, even though my kids have made me watch it 100 times already😂
"Vivo" I've seen a million times now lol." Super dope music.
He actually did the hiphop Hamilton broadway play they had recently. He is hispanic so a lot of these are spanish based sounds obviously.
The movie is solidly an onion full of layers and never fails to make me cry.