What Can Disney Animators Teach Us About Multicultural Marketing?

A long, long time ago…way back in 2021, Disney released Encanto. The film earned over $260M worldwide, a moderate box office success. Not to mention all the popularity and virality it garnered from its Grammy-winning, Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping song, We Don’t Talk About Bruno. 

Now, you’re probably thinking: $260M is kind of meh for a Disney movie. And you’d be right. Although it was a hit with critics, the effects of the pandemic were still having an impact on theater-goers’ attendance in December of 2021. 

But we’re not here to talk about the box office or critical success of the film. We’re here to talk about the lesson that we –– a multicultural marketing agency –– pulled from the film. A lesson that brands marketing to diverse audiences should take to heart. In case you’re unfamiliar with the film (shame on you if you haven’t seen it), it’s about a Colombian family in the mid 1900s with themes of generational trauma, redemption, and of course, all the typical magical Disney-esque stuff. 

Now, even with all the historically and culturally accurate elements featured in the film, one thing really stood out to us. A detail that isn’t expounded upon. A detail so tiny that we had to do some digging to find out whether it was intentional or if we were just seeing things. And that detail was when the main character, Mirabel, pursed her lips to gesture towards a gift intendended for her little cousin.

To a mainstream audience, this kind of detail certainly goes unnoticed. But to Colombian audiences (or audiences with a connection to Colombian culture), these extremely nuanced elements make quite the impact. 

The diversity is in the details.

We learned that the character animator studied their culture and added the lip-pointing in to add an extra layer of authenticity. And as an agency dedicated to providing clients and brands with the most authentic, cultural understanding of diverse audiences –– we had to tip our hat to this guy.

Nowadays, a lot of brands and agencies have learned the significance of using their marketing to reach new, multicultural audiences. But unfortunately, these efforts often never go past the superficial phase of just including “diverse faces” in their creative work.

So when we see huge businesses like Disney and their animators taking the initiative to push for authenticity and attention-to-detail –– no matter how small the detail –– it inspires us. It reminds us that it’s the little things that make a big impact. 

And in our experience, digging deep and finding unique ways to connect with audiences –– even in the tiniest of ways –– will always yield the biggest results for our clients.

Check out how we tap into deep cultural insights to connect brands with new audiences here.