Disney’s Encanto has become another animated sensation that people cannot stop talking about. From the music, to the family, and story line, the film has already become a timeless classic important to so many, including two-year-old Kenzo Brooks. This adorable Two-year-old’s reaction “to seeing himself” in Encanto is why representation matters.
Kenzo recently went viral after his mom, Kaheisha Brand, took photos of her son, showing the remarkable resemblance between him and a character in the film named Antonio. She posted the photo on Instagram with the hashtag #representationmatters, and the photos went viral with everyone agreeing.
“The image of him sitting and staring was actually the first picture I took. He seemed to be in awe, Brand told BuzzFeed in an exclusive interview. “He would stare at the screen and turn around smiling. The second picture is when he got up and just looked up at us smiling.”
She continued, She continued, “It was the sweetest thing, so perfect! It made my heart smile to see how happy he was.”
On Twitter, the photo has been retweeted over 83,000 times and has garnered close to 1 million likes. Kenzo even caught the attention of Encanto director Jared Bush himself.
Absolutely adorable! DM me! I wanna send ya something from the Madrigals!❤️❤️❤️
— Jared Bush (@thejaredbush) January 2, 2022
“I know what it [Encanto] meant for our family, but the reactions we’ve gotten has been totally unexpected,” Brand commented on their viral attention. “There has been an outpouring of love. People have been so appreciative that this picture has echoed what so many people have been feeling. Representation matters.”
She continued, “I think there is empowerment in positive representation. It is important that he see images that reflect him. I’m grateful for the creativity behind this movie and the diversity amongst the Black and brown characters.”
And of course, we have to agree, just look at Kenzo’s smile when he sees “himself” on television. Hopefully, there will be more moments like this to come! If you have yet to see Encanto below is a brief synopsis of the film.
According to IMDb, Encanto follows the story of A young Colombian girl has to face the frustration of being the only member of her family without magical powers.
Have you seen Encanto? Let us know what you think of the movie!
