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OOC INFORMATION
Name: Lore
Contact: eternalferret
Age: 36
Other Characters: none

CHARACTER INFORMATION
Character Name: Isabela Madrigal
Age: 21
Canon: Encanto
Canon Point: End of the movie
Character Information:

Personality:

Isabela is the so-called Golden Child of the Familia Madrigal. Perfect in every way, she's destined to become the matriarch of her generation of the family. At least, that's how it appears from the outside. She's beautiful and graceful, perfect to the point that it's absolutely sickening and obnoxious. She's positively effervescent. It's obvious that the people of the Encanto absolutely love her, and she does everything in her power to maintain that level of affection. But behind that smile hides the repressed energy of someone who never got to be a rebellious teenager. She was never given the space to make mistakes and find out who she truly wants to be. From the moment she was born, she had the weight of Abuela's plans and expectations laid on her narrow shoulders. That pressure has forced her into a mold: The Perfect Girl who is above everyone else. It gives her major Mean Girl vibes. But if Abuela is happy, that's all that matters. La Familia Madrigal is all Isabela has and knows, and she's accepted that her place is to follow the path laid before her by Abuela... even if that means marrying a man she has no interest in.

When she's yelling at Mirabel after the failed proposal she points out that "everything was perfect. Abuela was happy. The family was happy." No mention of whether or not she was happy. Her happiness has never mattered. Abuela has made that perfectly clear. Abuela's so joyous about the proposal, calling Mariano "a fine young man for the perfect Isabela to bring the next generation of magical blessings and make both of our families stronger." When she says this, Isabela looks so uncomfortable. At first glance, it could easily be interpreted that she doesn't like Abuela gushing over her like this when Mariano hasn't even proposed, yet. Not to mention the fact that Dolores overheard that he wants 5 children. But the discomfort can be her letting slip how little she wants to actually go through with the plan. It's not her idea. It never was. Abuela started things in motion and La Familia was just expected to follow along. At no point was Isabela asked what she wanted. She's been stuck in the role of perfect eldest child, fighting as hard as she can to live up to Abuela's impossible expectations. She loves her family more than anything. She will do anything to help protect the family and keep their precious gift burning, even if it means sacrificing her own happiness.

Her gift is the ability to make plants grow. She uses this gift to keep the Encanto beautiful and the crops flourishing. She also uses it to make people happy. Before Antonio's ceremony, Tia Pepa was panicking over the flowers in the house. Isabela calmly drifts down on a vine swing, passing her a bouquet. Sure it was showy as hell, but it also served to distract Pepa from her panic and bring about those blessed clear skies she's always muttering about. Because of the pressure for perfection, she'd never even considered using her gift for anything other than creating perfect blooms and lovely arrangements.

Then... there was the cactus.

Perfect Isabela bloomed like one of her flowers. She smiled and laughed, looking happier than she ever had. But the moment Abuela appeared, she withered. No amount of powerful character growth songs can change the overwhelming devotion to her grandmother. It's obvious that she wants so desperately to be heard, to be given the freedom to be herself and make her own choices. But she couldn't go against Abuela. She was left watching her little sister stand up for her. She was dismissed as "out of control." That sort of pressure wears on a person. It's no wonder she wants so desperately to be free.

For the first hour of the film, we see the Isabela that Abuela wants us to see. Beautiful, poised, resplendent in shades of pale pink and purple. Her voice is light, delicate and airy. When she sings she sounds every bit like the Disney Princess we'd expect. Once Mirabel pushes her buttons enough to make her snap, though, everything changes. The mold shatters. Her singing voice drops to more of an Alanis Morrisette sound, losing every ounce of the Princess vibe. She stains her dress and hair with brilliant botanical colors, all of them mixing to turn most of her dress from princess pink to rebellious black and blue. Her body language even changes. Gone are the graceful poses and confident ladylike daintiness. Her chin drops, she's no longer standing ram-rod straight, and she holds her arms more, making her look younger and less certain of herself. When she smiles, it's a wider more genuine looking smile. All of this shows Abuela's influence and power over her falling away. The problem is that she doesn't know who she really is underneath all of that just yet. She's not perfect and she's ready to acknowledge that she doesn't want to be. She's got a lot of growing to do, and that will take some sunlight and fertilizer, but she's ready to see how far she can grow now that she has the freedom to do so.

Isabela might not completely know who she is, or who she wants to be, but there are a few things that will not change. She's a Madrigal and her family always comes first. She just needs to learn how to not lose herself in the process. She's colorful and vivacious and loves making people happy. There is still definitely a lot of snootiness left over. That's not going to go away overnight, especially if she's thrust into an unfamiliar situation. She's a good person at heart... she just doesn't always show it. She's complicated and messy but at the heart of it all, she just wants to be happy.

5-10 Key Character Traits:
-Loyal
-Extroverted
-Graceful
-Charming
-Repressed
-Loving
-Devoted
-Obedient

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