Encanto was one of the biggest movies of the last few months, with tons of streams on Disney+ and the love of kids all over the world. Something that helped push this movie to the top? The soundtrack even spawned a No. 1 hit. So, who was behind the bestselling music for Encanto?

Lin Manuel Miranda created music for ‘Encanto’

One of the most famous notable names on the Encanto album was Lin Manuel Miranda. The actor, singer-songwriter, and composer has been a major creative force on Broadway. He wrote and starred in hit musicals like In The Heights and Hamilton.

Mirando has also had success in Hollywood. He used his composing talents for the Moana and Vivo soundtracks, sang and starred in Mary Poppins Returns, and got to bring In the Heights to the big screen. He also directed the Oscar-nominated Tick, Tick…Boom. 

All his previous work made him the obvious choice to create the music for Encanto. Miranda, who is Puerto Rican, planned a trip to Colombia—the story takes place in Colombia—to learn more about the musical styles he should use in the movie. It was a strategy he used while working on Moana, too. 

“That was a part of the world I really knew nothing about,” he told Rolling Stone, referring to the Polynesian folklore that was part of the movie’s story. “The fun is falling in love with this culture, falling in love with the rhythms, and then writing as you’re falling in love. And that was exactly what happened with Colombia too.”

The barrier-breaking composer who worked on ‘Encanto’

Miranda took care of the soundtrack, but what about the score for the movie? Germaine Franco, the first female composer for a Disney movie, created the background music for Encanto. She had previously worked on Coco, another hugely successful Disney movie. 

Like Miranda, Franco worked hard to infuse the music with Colombian elements, using traditional instruments like an arpa llanera, a type of harp. 

“Just like Coco, it wasn’t a documentary, so you want to use the rhythms, but you also give yourself artistic license to be able to score it for the picture, what works within the rhythm of the scene and the dialogue,” she shared with Rolling Stone. “It was a mix of storytelling and what worked visually.”

Who voiced the characters of ‘Encanto’?

Miranda and Franco created the music, but there was a huge cast of talented vocalists who brought the songs of Encanto to life. Stephanie Beatriz, John Leguizamo, Wilmer Valderrama, Maluma, and Diane Guerrero all sang on the soundtrack, including the No. 1 hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno.”

Artist and composer Mauro Castillo also voiced a character in the movie and he gave his perspective on the way Colombian music influenced the Encanto soundtrack. 

“It’s a Disney movie!” he told Rolling Stone. “Disney has a history of 59 movies — this is the 60th, and there are a lot of innovations this film is introducing within those norms.”

“It’s one of the things that as a creator, you have to grapple with,” Castillo continued. “I’m a musician and a producer and I have my independent projects, and you say, ‘This is what’s in my heart’ — but you also have to tell a story, step by step.”

Miranda and Franco created some of the biggest songs of the year, with kids and adults alike singing the music from Encanto all over the world. 

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