Film Theory: Dolores BROKE The Magic! (Disney Encanto) 

Fun fact: The name “Dolores” literally translates to “sorrows” or “pain” in Spanish.

Just realized another thing, when mirabel is singing the song about how she wishes she had a gift, she labels being jealous of everyone EXCEPT dolores

Also, the entire town likely knows about her "gift", so having them set off fireworks and clapping loudly is insult to injury.

The creators have said that Bruno's room changed as his relationship with the family changed. As they grew further apart emotionally, they grew further apart physically

I think Dolores blurted out that Mirabel had found Bruno's vision not because she wanted to sabotage Isabela and Mariano's relationship but because she simply cracked under the pressure of the chaos that was going on.

It’s possible that Dolores tried to say something about Bruno being in the walls, only to get “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”’d every time, so she gave up.

during “we don’t talk about bruno” BOTH isa and dolores sing “and i’m fine. and i’m fine and i’m fine. I’m fine” showing how they both don’t want Mariano to propose to isabela. they both want what the other has. dolores wants the man isa wants the freedom. they are both jealous of each other

I feel bad for Dolores She could hear her anyone in town say anything about her. Like, imagine someone in town is making fun of her or smth and she just hears it 😭 And she could hear her parents doing the “dirty”

2:49 FUN FACT: Dolores didn't close her ears because of the fireworks, she close her ears because of Luisa's clap(the strong girl)

“The only one worried about the miracle is you. And the rats talking in the walls” I 100% believe she meant she stayed up all night listening to Bruno and his novelas

Fun Fact: When Delores is singing "And I'm fine, and I'm fine, and I'm fine, I'm fine" Isabela is singing the same lyrics at the exact same time, only she's singing louder than Dolores, probably symbolising how she's being overlooked in favour of her cousin.

I didn't think it was that sinister. I was thinking more in the lines of Dolores keeping to herself, trying not to become family's next scapegoat. Her powers, much like her uncles, give her (often unwanted) insight into whats going on around her and in other peoples lives. Dolores has more generous opinion of Brunos power than the rest of the family and recognises he's basically getting slandered. She uses her power for manipulation instead of openly working to fix things so she can avoid responsibility.

One common thing I noticed about the gifts: they are not exactly what they seem to be at the first glance. Peppa doesn't just control the weather, she actively generates it. Julieta doesn't heal but makes healing food(at least judging by the vials she recovers after Casita breaks down). We never see any dead plants around Isabela and they grow out of nowhere without seed, nutrients or water. Bruno can't actually tell the future but can capture the snippets out of it that are often out of context. Luisa isn't just super strong but also seemingly invincible. Antonio doesn't only speak with animals but also has their unconditional friendship. Camillo shapeshifting completely ignores his original shape and mass. Pretty sure Dolores has some part of her gift that keeps her from going batshit crazy.

I just want to point out that Dolores not saying that Bruno is living in the walls could also be out of love and respect for her uncle. Bruno doesn’t want to be found and if he did it would be a lot worse for him.

Fun Fact: Isabela also sings “I’m fine” over and over again, in sync with Dolores. Both lines relate to their relationships with Mariano, Dolores is upset that she’ll never be with Mariano, but she has to hide her feelings and act like she’s fine, and Isabela is upset that she is being forced to be with Mariano, but she ALSO has to hide her feelings and act like she’s fine.

I also realized that when there all clapping she gets even more scared of louisa so she recoils and leans away while covering her ears because being stronger louisas clapping is louder

I can confirm about the hearing part I have increased hearing when it comes to sounds like bells and sirens and feedback, and I instantly recoil 24/7

When the miracle got snuffed, she actually sang loudly, when she never spoke that loud until that point, and I really did feel bad for her when it came back. Sensory overload is the worst :

I love Camilo’s look to doloris after she tells him she heard him every day, he looks like he was saying “OMG, then why didn’t you tell us sis?”

Dolores is that one quiet kid in class who knows everyone's secrets 💀

“Everyone is talking about how Encanto has no villain” But what about those guys who know very well that Mirabelle has no gift and still throw her an accordion to continue the song after she tries to finish it in Family Madrigal

“The only one worried about the magic is you… and the rats talking in the walls.” She 100% knew about Bruno.

I heard that Delores was probably told over and over again that she isnt hearing Bruno she is hearing rats talking in the wall.

I just thought of something... What if Deloris didn't tell about Bruno to protect the village? Hear me out, Deloris was probably a child when Bruno so she didn't really know him nun of the kids really didn't know him but she heard what he was like when the adults and towns people told her. There are also many times in the movie were she trys to point to Mirabelle that he's still here. Like in the we don't talk about Bruno song she says to Mirabella that she can always hear him muttering and mubbling. She also says that she can hear someone talking in the walls.

For anyone wondering about the "And I'm fine": Dolores and Isabella both sing the "And I'm fine"s at the same time, but Isabella's voice dominates and Dolores's is lower and quieter. So they both are not fine (although it's obvious why for Isabella)

I like to think that Dolores’ room is completely soundproof. So it would be easier for her to sleep at night. It would be a nice theory but she stated that, “I heard Luisa’s eye twitch all night.” This means it’s most likely not soundproof. But the question remains, what kind of gimmick would Dolores’ room have?

The original door Dolores had was frowning. This represents her pain that no one notices

The real villain is the Grandma because she never let go of her sadness and trauma and then passed it on to her children. It’s a story of the cycle of trauma and how if we dont fix our trauma is breeds and fester in our children and grandchildren

I always felt like she was trying to get Mirabel to take action from her little rap in We Don't Talk About Bruno. The way it ends with her pointedly asking, "Do you understand?" just makes me feel like she was relaying important information, rather than gossip.

fun fact: its confirmed that both isabella AND dolores sing the "im fine" lines, further showing isabella's discontent with the situation as well because she didnt wanna marry mariano

SOMEONE GIVE MY BABY DOLORES NOISE CANCELLING HEADPHONES PLZ

5:41 Camilo too. Shapeshifting can be quite disturbing, if you forget what you were supposed to look like.

Another thing no one noticed is when they’re all setting up the table in “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”, Dolores is looking at Isabella the whole time. Because imagine setting up a dinner for your cousin to get married to the love of your life. She must’ve been so hurt.

Fun fact: according to the creators, the stairs in Bruno’s room changed the more Bruno had himself distanced from the town.

It’s certainly notable that Dolores seems to be in the know about why Bruno left the Family, where he’s been hiding ever since, and that Casita is gradually cracking more and more. And yet she says nothing to anyone and takes zero actions to change the situation. She doesn’t even tell Mirabel to check behind the walls for Bruno-that’s something that Mirabel figured out herself via the Rats. Regardless of what you think about her motives, it’s canonical that Dolores knew that the Miracle was dying and yet did nothing about it, even when Mirabel and Bruno were actively mounting an effort to fix things. Why? Likely because Dolores didn’t think much of her own gift, which, from what we saw in the movie, brought her a lot of suffering. She had to listen to the man of her dreams wax poetic about her own cousin every night. And she had to listen to Bruno slowly go kooky inside of the walls for years too.

In the last part of the movie, in the rebuild door we can also see Isabella is not smiling just like Dolores. Can you make a video about Isabella's emotions in the last few minutes of the movie and explain why is she frowning? If you can't it's alright. Don't stress about it, it is also okay if you aren't able to. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME!

Another reason she would want free from the curse: She lives in a house with 2 married couples who are still very close, if she could hear an eye twiching, 100% she could here some other noises coming from some other rooms.

Dolores was often overlooked by her family, given she was the literal "listener" of the family, and she mentions in the songs that she hears things, but nobody reacts to it. It's quiet possible she tried to bring Bruno up only to be ignored or hushed by Abuela or Pepa becuase well, we don't talk about Bruno. I'd give up trying to tell someone info if they kept ignoring or blowing me off too.

3:03 bombastic side eye😂

Welp, thanks for all the memories matpat. We can get another film, game, style and food theorist but we can never get another Matpat

Dolores could literally dismantle everyone's relationships in the town singlehandedly

To be honest, one of the lyrics in "We don't talk about Bruno", Dolores sections reads "It's a heavy lift with a gift so humbling" It shows that perhaps the reason why she covered up Bruno's persisting in the walls is because she was sympathetic due to her uncle's gift causing problems

I just realised that Dolores saying “It’s like I hear him now” hints Mirable to go and find Bruno and the line “And I’m fine” means she is fine about it and repeating it hints she is more than fine about it.😧

Can we mention that Isabella's second verse during we don't talk about Bruno she says, And I'm fine And I'm fine And I'm fine I'll be fine This are three things to consider now Isabella knows about Dolores' plot and is fighting over Mariono Isabella is grieving over her power not coming yet Or Isabella and I'm fine is a signal for the next scene where she doesn't like Mariono Please consider this for a next food theory

Fun Fact: there was a cut piece of the movie where once the house collapses, everyone looses their powers. But the one it affect most was Camilo. It was planned for him to have a full emotional breakdown and existential crisis because he has been pretending to be other people his whole life to make them happy and help them. Now that that is gone, he literally has no idea who he is anymore. You can hear a little bit of him panicking in the background during the collapse scene. It was cut because the whole sequence took 5 minutes in total and they felt it took too much time away from Mirabel's tragic and sad moment. Though you can still hear him panicking off screen during the scene so it shows they really wanted to develop Camilo's character.

Let’s be honest, Matpat is the embodiment of “Coincidence? I think not” meme

10:04. Isabela does that as well.

The music from the sisters is touching, feel like it shows the unintentional damage we can cause to our loved ones when we put to many expectations on the people we love

The "evil side eye" thing, is just her being done with Isabella, and her telling Isabella that he wants 5 babies, she did made it up, to scare Isabella Was confirmed btw lol

Dolores even says it herself: “It’s a heavy lift with a gift so humbling.” Except, was she talking about Bruno’s gift or her own?

All Disney Princesses are connected One word..... Wreck It Ralph

Delores got that gift bc she was so observant from being quiet, and knew about/liked gossip.

Can we be clear, Pepa cannot "control" the weather. Her mood affects the weather. A point that gets mixed a lot in the movie

Jared Bush actually confirmed on Twitter that the “he wants five babies” thing was made up, but it was more of a prank to scare Isabela.

Did you notice when Dolores covers her ears when she yells out the secret about Bruno, and because of that it’s another way not hurting her ears.

Omg I love this idea of the "innocent one" being the villan in the end, now imagine if that was how it was for fnaf if so helpy would be the unfortunate villain as he is the ONLY good one.

I literally mentioned this to my husband a couple weeks ago! 😂 What a weird coincidence that she is the one person that would benefit from losing their power!

When Dolores says that “the only one worried about the magic is you,” could mean that she knows, she’s just happy that it’s dying.

something he didn’t talk about either is how on everyone’s doors (except dolores and bruno) they are happy and smiling, while dolores and bruno are distressed and upset, showing how their “gifts” are more distressing and difficult to live with.

I hoped you'd comment on this scene in 8:58 too since you showed it twice in the video. She's lining up almost perfectly with the grandma's figure on the door, covering it, and having hands closed where the candle should be.

I hope Dolores’s room is actually a sound proof room where she cannot hear anything when inside. But I also hope… when she was younger… she did not hear her parents, Julieta and Augustine and everyone else in town making babies…

Actually, when the cracks first appeared Luisa said she felt weak, so Dolores may actually never had heard the cracks since her gift fails for duration of it

this is such a diabolical theory for a kids little kids movie

She also made mirabel feel crazy and said she was the only one worried about the magic

I'm surprised that you haven't mentioned that Dolores also straight up lies when she tells Mirabel that nobody but her is worried about the magic, when a few moments earlier, Abuela is standing at her open window talking about being worried about the magic disappearing. You mean to tell me Dolores heard Luisa's eye twitching, but not Abuela saying "dang this thing worries me" out in the open?

It also makes sense from her name. In Spanish, the word for pain is “dolor,” and “Dolores” means many pains. Maybe the writers wanted to emphasize Dolores’ pain from her miracle.

0:32 I think I watched in Encanto more times than you have 1:25 37 ok you have watched more or it’s a joke

11:46 I disagree , we can see that Isabella isn’t smiling…

Dolores would have been a great villain: -Solid motivation -Good reveal - a great mirror to the protagonist: the one who wants to have a miracle vs the one who doesn't want to have a miracle - Could literally blackmail anyone on the village to do her biding

I viewed her not telling the family Bruno was living in the walls as protecting him. The family were so horrible to him that she probably thought it was for the best for them not to know

I didn't realize this until now but in choir we sang We Don't Talk About Bruno and during the part of the song when everyone is overlapping each other Dolores's words actually do change on the sheet music

"She never revealed that information to anyone" (about her hearing Bruno) SIR. She actively tells Mirabelle in her first verse of We Don't Talk About Bruno, that "I could always hear him sort of muttering and mumbling" AND she states that she fed erepas through the wall. (sorry is I didn't spell that right)

I always assumed that Delores didn’t tell anyone about Bruno living in the walls because the family actively doesn’t want to hear about him, so Delores decides to respect that by not mentioning him.

Just realised. When she sings the phrase "Betrothed to another", that's the first time we hear her talk or sing louder than a whisper. For her, that's her screaming from the rooftops

The movie I was obsessed with when I was young was The Dark Crystal. Favorite movie of all time. Shame I hardly ever find someone who's seen it

This video has inspired Lydia the Bard to make a Villain song for Dolores, and it’s completely original!

There's actually some theories that she tried to tell everyone about Bruno, but nobody believed her

Theory: If you think about it, Dolores is actually seeking the best outcome for the family by getting rid of the powers, I say this because the powers make each family member feel superior/inferior to another thus making them be awful at communicating, which leads to Casita forming cracks and the magic being unstable. By getting rid of the magic it brings everyone to an equal level in all their eyes, this is shown when the only time we see everyone in the family happy (including Dolores) and communicating properly is while they were rebuilding Casita, before that Bruno was lonely living in the walls and not being able to help or be with the rest of the family because they viewed most of his visions as bad omens, another example is that as soon as Antonio got his power he wasn't the one who was getting his stuff from the nursery, it was his mother. But once everyone felt/was equal they all talked and interacted positively with each other, and I don't think one day of house rebuilding will change how they treat each other when they have powers, especially how they view themselves as better then the towns folk, having Casita reside outside outside of the main town area, only interacting for business and arranged marriages, with the exception of flaunting their magic for the town whenever someone comes of age or just in day to day life. Dolores has probably heard a LOT of things she wishes to forget, ranging from people dying painfully to stuff not appropriate for minors to hear. She can hear how broken everyone in the family is treated and knows what the townsfolk actually think of their family, but she didn't know that there was a way to get rid of the magic... until she heard the first crack when Mirabel doesn't get a gift, she is also probably jealous of Mirabel not having a gift based on the one she got. So in conclusion, not only is Dolores the true good guy, but getting rid of the magic was truly the best result and Dolores being sad on the door when the magic returns is because she knows things will return to the way they were before with its return. Sub Theory: Dolores still had incredible hearing even while the magic was gone because she was able to hear Mirabel talking to Mariano about her of over the sound of everyone else rebuilding Casita.

This video was a visual feast, with stunning visuals and captivating scenes.

wow, this explains so much, thanks! IMA TELL ALL OF MY FRIENDS! btw imagine Dolores being able to hear the other side of the planet, hearing all the noises the planets make, I would hate that lol

it's also worth noting that on all the magical doors, the family members eyes are closed except Dolores and Bruno

i think mat forgot a important argument: when casita reapeared, it did so hapier than ever. not a single frame of the ending shows the building cracking. That's because dolores never acted out against her family. she acted out against the miracle. Casita broke because the madrigal's started some mad beef with eachother, but everything dolores did was so she and her mother and uncle could be freed from an overbaring gift. Why bother to reveal bruno's whereabouts when abuela would just shun him back to exile? why bother to tolerate isabela's bathrovement when she knew it was all a ruse to keep abuela happy? and most important of all: why would she keep her mouth shut about bruno's profecy when she knew the """miracle"""" would likely die if she revealed it in the most hurtfull way possible?

Ok one thing no one is commenting on: The song "We don't talk about Bruno" has two things. First, Isabela is singing over Dolores in the "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine." Second, when Dolores is saying "betrothed to another," the end of her line fades out and Isabela takes over from there. Something as irrelevant as "hey sis I want not a sound out of you" felt so shoved in there, as if to assert Isabela's presence over Dolores'

7 foot RATS ,RATS along his rats. Best song

I am actually feeling sorry for dolores now. Thats a bittersweet ending of the movie when she unwillingly gets her "powers" back.

Let’s be honest, MatPat is the embodiment of “Coincidence? I think NOT” meme

Have you notice that the poster for Encanto has Bruno hidden behind a plant

To be honest, I think the reason why Dolores never told anyone about Bruno, is because no one let her. When Mirabel asked her Aunt about Brunos vision, she got interrupted 3 times by Pepper, befor she could even come up with the question. I think Dolores tried to tell them, but as soon as she mentioned the name, she was repeatedly silenced.

I always though Dolores didn't mention Bruno in the walls because at one point she probably did talk about but then her family gaslit her into believing it was just rats. She even says it to Mirabel "The only one worried about the magic is you, and the rats talking inside the walls" Dolores can't understand animals so she has to have been told by someone that when she heard Bruno it was actually rats

In "we don't talk about Bruno", you can actually hear Isabela and Dolores singing "I'm fine" together, my interpretation is that both of them were not satisfied with their current life, but still had to live a life that Abuela wanted them to live

Fun fact: in the music video it’s actually Isabella singing ‘I am fine and I am fine’

If that's the case, then I can see Dolores' actions coming to a head in a potential Encanto sequel.

Is Delores actively tryina hurt the family, no Is she tired of being passed over, yes Remember, Delores has prolly been used by Abela her whole life to spy on ppl and meddle in their business so she prolly knows, very well, that Isabella doesnt like the dude but that Abela wants Isabella married because "shes the most perfect" So the way Mirabel feels about Isabella prolly goes double for Delores because their the same age

Hey mat you missed an important detail: Dolores couldn’t hear the cracks the first night cause the cracks weaken your powers Luisa tells mirabel the next day “last night when you saw the cracks I felt weak” so that would apply to Dolores as well

for me it looks like she is actually smiling on the door, she just has big lips so it looks a bit weird. also during the song she actually said that she can hear bruno multiple times: in her own verse she says she can hear him muttering and mumbling and then she repeats "I can hear him now" while isabela is talking to mirabel

Another fun fact you inspired someone to make a villan song for Dolores

I believe I saw that the creators confirmed that Dolores’ room is actually sound proof. So technically hearing the eye twitch all night she probably meant that she heard it all night at the party. But I do agree that Dolores said and kept specific information.

No matter how crazy the title is- Matpat always finds a way to prove it.......

Dolores’s gift is an actual disorder called hyperacusis, a literal disorder. Imagine getting a one in a million of getting a superpower and you get a disorder dialed up to 20

Honestly, I can understand why she would want her gift gone, being the resident secret keeper for a house is hard enough, let alone a whole town