Encanto: Why Pedro Had To Sacrifice Himself

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In Encanto, Pedro gives up his life to save his family, and there's an important reason why it had to happen. Pedro Madrigal has a complicated story in Encanto. Years before the film's events, Pedro and Alma Madrigal (María Cecilio Botero) fled their village with their triplets as marauders attacked. Pedro tried to confront the marauders to save his people and town, and the attempt cost him his life. Following Pedro's death, Alma received a miracle that saved the town. The miracle granted Alma a magical candle, a sentient house, and her family members even received powers when they grew older.

Pedro's story is even more tragic than the film portrays. The Encanto script reveals there was a lot left unsaid between Pedro and Alma. In the film, Pedro gives Alma a look before going off to face the marauders, but that look has deep subtext. The script reveals Pedro's eyes tell Alma, "Everything will be okay." His look tells her that she will "thrive," and their children will have a new home and a "better life." The marauders even listen to Pedro's pleas in the script, but they ignore them anyway. "And just like that… Pedro is lost," the script says.

Related: The Real Reason The House Had To Be Destroyed In Encanto

Though Pedro's story is tragic, there's a reason why it happened. Art of Encanto explains that Latin America has many cultural ideas alluding to magic in everyday life. However, the book also notes that Colombian magic realist literature often depicts magic coming from a sense of pain. "I knew that many people from Colombia and Latin America identify with the idea of being displaced from their home town, so telling that tale with aspects of magical realism felt right for Abuela Alma’s backstory," Co-Director Charise