Contrary to the chart-topping song’s insistence, we can talk about Bruno — or, at least, the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) is talking about a new theme park attraction inspired by the animated feature “Encanto.”
What Happened: Lin-Manuel Miranda, who composed the “Encanto” song score, stated that the company was working on a theme park attraction, but offered no details on what it would encompass or when it would be opened.
“The Imagineers are on it,” he said in an interview with Business Insider. “I don’t know what they do or where they live, but I know they’re on it.”
Miranda had pitched the idea of an “Encanto” theme park attraction to Disney CEO Bob Chapek (something that fans were calling for) and insisted he was more interested in seeing that idea take root before the film generated a franchise.
"It was funny because everyone's like, 'Will there be a sequel? Will there be a show?' and I said, 'I want a ride before I want any of that,'" he stated.
See Also: Disney Communications Chief Geoff Morrell Resigns After Three Months
Why It Matters: While the design and construction of a new attraction will take time, Disney nonetheless rushed to cash in on the popularity of “Encanto.”
The Inside the Magic blog reported an “Encanto”-inspired garden was unveiled at the EPCOT International Flower & Garden Festival while the façade of the “It’s a Small World” attraction has been updated to include a brief visual montage highlighting the film’s hit song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” and a new “Encanto” float is part of the “Main Street Electrical Parade” at Disneyland Park.
Encanto generated $254.6 million in ticket sales and was the second highest grossing animated film of 2021 behind “Sing 2” from Comcast Corp.’s (NASDAQ:CMCSA) Universal Pictures. The film won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film and received Oscar nominations for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for "Dos Oruguitas" — Disney did not submit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” for consideration in the Best Original Song competition.
Photo courtesy of Disney
