2-Year-Boy Is So Excited To See Himself In Disney’s ‘Encanto’

January 17, 2022

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The importance of representation in media has been a growing topic of concern, and companies have responded by adding more diversity to their characters, cast, and interviews.

It’s important for people from all different backgrounds, ethnicities, and races to feel seen and included, and one way that can happen is through media.

A movie that’s getting a lot of praise for expanding representation is Disney’s new hit Encanto. The movie follows the Madrigal family in Colombia as they navigate life with extraordinary powers – and challenges.

Since the movie has been released, people have been praising it for being inclusive and diverse, something that’s best summed up in an Instagram post of a mom of a young boy.

The mom shared that her 2-year-old son, Kenzo, was so excited to see “himself” in Encanto! One of the characters, Antonio, looks a lot like Kenzo. Both boys share dark skin and curly hair – something young Kenzo hadn’t seen in a character before.

Kenzo’s mom, Kaheisha Brand, shared a few photos of Kenzo next to Antonio and his little smile says it all:

In an interview with PopSugar, Brand said, “He seemed to be in awe, just smiling and staring at the screen. Then he stood up and looked back at his dad and me, still smiling. For him, I truly believe that he thought he was seeing himself because of the resemblance between him and Antonio.”

Since her post was shared on Instagram, it wasn’t long before it made its way to other platforms, including Twitter. There, other people joined in the conversation and uploaded photos of themselves next to the characters they found representation with!

Check out the photos below: