Miranda talks about Bruno, and the 'Encanto' phenomenon

NEW YORK (AP) — A month after “Encanto” debuted in theaters, Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the movie's Colombia-inflected songs, took a long vacation. By the time he returned, something almost as extraordinary as the enchanted home of the movie had transpired.

“Encanto” became the first movie soundtrack since 2019 to reach No. 1 on the Billboard charts earlier this month. The film's most popular song, “We Don't Talk About Bruno,” became the highest-charting song from a Disney animated film in more than 26 years, ranking higher than even “Let It Go.”

The music of “Encanto” was suddenly everywhere. Everyone was talking about Bruno.

“By the time I got back, ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno' had kind of taken over the world along with the rest of the ‘Encanto’ soundtrack,'” Miranda says, laughing. “It helps you have the perspective of: The opening weekend is not the life of the movie. It’s just the very roughest draft. Two months out, people are talking about Bruno, and his whole family.”

It's not unusual for songs by Miranda, the composer of “Hamilton” and “In the Heights," to capture the zeitgeist. But what the soundtrack to “Encanto” is doing, long after it arrived in theaters on Nov. 24, is almost unheard of — particularly during a pandemic that has muted the ability of movies to make a lasting impression. “Encanto,” a warm celebration of family centered on the Madrigals, a Colombian clan with magical powers, has been the most successful animated film at the box office during the pandemic, with $223 million in ticket sales worldwide. But the soundtrack explosion — prompted by its Christmas debut on Disney+ — has propelled a rare kind of pop-culture sensation.

“Encanto” didn't displace just anybody from the top spot. It...