The Encanto Fan Theory That Makes The Bruno Rule More Tragic

"Encanto" is Disney's latest romp through the animation landscape. The movie premiered on November 3, 2021, and the film — which stars Stephanie Beatriz, John Leguizamo, Maria Cecilla Botero, and Alan Tudyk — follows the story of the Madrigal family, who flees violence and conflict before coming into contact with a magic candle that creates not only a home for the refugee family, but an entire paradise that is protected from outside influence ... as long as the candle continues to burn. 

A side effect of this environment infused with magic is that almost the entire family is imbued with some kind of special power, with the exception of the main character, Mirabel Madrigal (Beatriz). Bruno (Leguizamo) is one of the original inhabitants of "Encanto," as he was with his mother and siblings when they found this mystical land: the gift given to him, though, is considered a curse. That's because Bruno possesses the power to see into the future. 

This burden causes him to go missing before the main events of the film, and he is remembered in a song that tells its listener not to bring the character up. However, a recent fan theory regarding this has managed to capture the attention of a few "Encanto" fans, as it adds a new touch of sadness to the whole affair.

Over on Reddit, user jealous_penguin45 postulated a theory by saying, "During the song, no one in the family seemed that angry with Bruno [...] It's the townspeople who seem truly upset/fearful of him. I think Abuela was heart-broken over both losing her son and the fact that his gift wasn't a blessing to the village that they aimed to serve."

The user added that the other adults in the Madrigal family seemed just fine talking about Bruno, albeit secretly, but that they quickly shut down conversations once the matriarch appears. This implies that "don't talk about Bruno" isn't a rule for everyone so much as a rule to not upset Abuela. In that regard, the reason that the rule is painted in such a black and white nature is because the main character of the movie is Mirable, who is much younger than most of the others, "and thus doesn't understand the nuance of the rule."

Other users thought this made sense, with Reddit user mcavanah86 joking that the entire premise of the movie was about not upsetting Abuela. Reddit user PeterBanning added that many families totally have an issue that nobody is allowed to talk about, but totally talks about anyway. 

This entire theory makes Bruno's role tragic because it shows just how much his absence is felt by his mother, as the mere mention of him causes her distress. Reddit user Khale77 finished the conversation by saying, "I was also upset about how horrid Abuela was but at the end I was quite sure that her deal was because she had not processed her trauma and that's pretty ambitious for an animated movie[.] I was kind of put back on my heels and charmed in a lot of ways."