Encanto’s final song is getting overlooked

polygon.com:

Encanto’s infectiously catchy song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” continues to break records, its tender lullaby “Dos Oruguitas” is the only one up for Oscar consideration, and its standout number “Pressure” has its adherents. But while there are certainly plenty of debates about which one of the movie’s songs is really is the best, one of them is rarely brought up: the final number, “All of You.” And that’s a shame, because not only is it a great song, it also marks a first in Disney history: an actual finale number.

With “All of You,” songwriter Lin-Manuel Miranda weaves together a softly triumphant song that beautifully emphasizes the movie’s themes and wraps up the journeys of the large cast of characters. Not only is it a terrific number, it also embraces the sensibilities of Broadway musicals in a specific way Disney movies generally don’t.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the ending ofEncanto.]

While Disney movies have leaned on Broadway’s values since Howard Ashman revived the animated musical format with The Little Mermaid, one key element has always been missing: a big finale number. The original songs in Disney musicals usually taper off around the middle, and often the last song isn’t the best note to end on. (I’m looking at you, Frozen Troll Song.) If there is a finale song, it’s usually just a brief reprise of the movie’s biggest number, like inThe Hunchback of Notre Dame, where jester Clopin just kinda sings one stanza of the opening number for 30 seconds. Moana — another Lin-Manuel Miranda joint — comes closest to a finale, but it’s still just a slowed-down version of a song from earlier in the film.

Enter Encanto. From the beginning, directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard wanted to evolve the