- “Isabela, your boyfriend's here!”
- ―Camilo mocking Isabela in "We Don't Talk About Bruno".
Camilo Madrigal is a supporting character in Disney's 2021 animated feature film Encanto. He is the middle child of Pepa and Félix Madrigal, younger brother of Dolores and older brother of Antonio. The proclaimed "theatre kid" of the Madrigals, Camilo was gifted with the ability to shapeshift.
Background
- “♫ Seven-foot frame, rats along his back...
When he calls your name, it all fades to black...
Yeah, he sees your dreams, and feasts on your screams ♫” - ―Camilo describing his version of his long-lost uncle.
Born into the Madrigal family, Camilo is the middle child of Pepa and Félix, younger brother of Dolores, and older brother of Antonio. In addition to being the nephew of Julieta, Bruno, and Agustín, Camilo is also the cousin of Isabela, Luisa and Mirabel. He is Mirabel's second-oldest cousin and the same age as her, being only a few months older,[2] and shared the nursery together for their first five years.[3][4] On the night of Camilo's fifth birthday, he received the gift of Shapeshifting and he subsequently moved out of the nursery and into his own room. After receiving his magical gift, due to his good skill with the village kids and babies, Camilo became the Encanto's babysitter, helping mothers take care of their children.[5] When he is not working in town, Camilo sometimes also likes to use his shapeshifting gift to mock his relatives (mainly his father and Isabela).
Due to his gift being not very useful to the community, Camilo seems to be one of the members of the family with the fewest responsibilities imposed on him by Abuela Alma. Despite this, he also suffers from pressure and has insecurities like any of his relatives. Camilo hides his fears under his cheerful demeanor and is described as someone who "doesn't quite know who he is yet", hinting that he has self-identity issues. Unlike his sister or older cousins, he has no memory of Bruno since his uncle was very secretive in the last years he was still in the family and disappeared when Camilo was only five years old. Camilo grew up knowing nothing about Bruno and only listening some rumors from his relatives and the townspeople, he was able to establish an idea of what his long-lost uncle was like. When Bruno returns to the family after the fall of the Casa Madrigal, it is revealed that Camilo is the only one of his siblings who had no idea that Bruno never actually left and still lived within the walls of Casita, so he was initially confused by his presence.
Official Description
- Camilo is a teen who was born to entertain. Throw in his magical gift that allows him to switch up his appearance to be whomever he wants to be in the moment, and he's secured his place in the spotlight.[6]
- Camilo, Pepa, and Félix's middle child, is a shape-shifter. He usually changes his appearance to help people in the Encanto. But his gift becomes really useful when he wants an extra serving for breakfast. He loves to tell tall tales and is never afraid of speaking his mind.[7]
Development
Camilo's Costume Design by Griselda Sastrawinata.
How with the rest of the Madrigal family, Camilo was designed to reflect "family archetypes that are immediately relatable".[8] As in the final production, Camilo's shape-shifting power came about because the studio was interested in a teen who doesn't quite know who they are yet and are trying on a lot of different personas, inspired by teenagers still finding out who they are and continue to grow in life.[9][10] One of the first concepts of his gift was the ability to not only shapeshift into people, but also to be able to turn into animals.[11] To create his appearance, the studio initially thought of letting Camilo's hair cover one of his eyes in order to convey a negative attitude, before changing it to something more upbeat and "messy". One thing that didn't change was that his clothing had to reflect his theatrical personality. His ruana was originally going to have more reddish colors and he was going to wear dark yellow shoes.[12]
During the creation process, Camilo was originally imagined as an "angry teen" with an antagonistic role. He would have a sarcastic and arrogant attitude, using his power to cause chaos in the house. Camilo would also be rude to Mirabel and would even go so far as to briefly make fun of Abuela Alma, the family matriarch.[13] However, since Isabela is needed to be the most antagonistic of the grandchildren and Camilo's attitude would have made the family seem bad, this concept of the character was removed.[14] As shown in the final production, his personality was changed so that he was easy-going and amicable, with his pranks being to entertain rather than tease others. The only thing that didn't change from his initial personality was his joy in telling scary stories about Bruno. Camilo's transformation into his uncle was originally going to be more terrifying, having pointy teeth and having a psychotic expression on his face, plus he was going to be the size of a room.[15]
Voice
The actor and voice actor of Dominican descent, Rhenzy Feliz, was chosen to voice the character of Camilo. Before arriving to audition to participate in Encanto, Feliz had came to work in the 2017-2019 Marvel Comics. live-action television adaptation of Runaways, where Feliz played the character of Alex Wilder. However, since the actor was not well known for his musical talent, Feliz was very nervous when he had to record his verses in the song "We Don't Talk About Bruno". The actor listened to Lin-Manuel Miranda's demo of the song for a week straight in preparation for his recording session and practicing hard before shooting it.[16]
On the day of the song's recording, the voice actor was a bit hard on himself, given that it was his first time singing in a studio and he feared he'd be recast. Months after the film's premiere on Disney+, Rhenzy Feliz along with the rest of the cast were surprised by the sheer popularity of "We Don't Talk About Bruno" and described his experience recording his verses for the song, saying: "So nervous going in to do my verse! First time ever in a studio trying to sing, never taken any lessons, just not really where I feel most comfortable. Left thinking I had totally screwed it up and if they were considering recasting."[17]
Rhenzy Feliz described his character: "Someone who's a little crazy, a little dramatic, and someone who's a lot of fun, and a lot of energy, you're born an entertainer. So that's kind of Camilo. He's, like, this entertainer. He sort of wants to make everyone laugh, have a good time. And I sort of feel like that. I mean, I'm an actor, so when you sort of try and get that spotlight, it feels nice, it feels good. So he's kind of like that. And so he's out there, trying to get that attention. He has a good time and he's a lot of fun, but he loves his family."[18]
Personality
Camilo happily repeating himself a large plate of food made by his aunt, Julieta.
Described as a "theater kid"[19][20] and natural entertainer, Camilo is a fun-loving, easy-going, and energetic teenager. Unlike his quiet older sister and his timid younger brother, Camilo is more extroverted than them and the one that takes after their spirited parents the most. Social and charismatic, he is on good terms with many of the townsfolk, displaying a charming attitude when he interacts with them and having several friends his age in town.[21] While not boastful or vain, Camilo enjoys the spotlight and has a good sense of humor with a penchant for dramatic movements, such as twirls or exaggerating stories based on rumors (his tales about Bruno) for flair.[22][23] Camilo likes to use his gift to entertain and prank people, constantly trying to impress everyone.[24] He is noted to enjoy eating, particularly food by his aunt Julieta, and is seen trying to sneak seconds by pretending to be Dolores and serving herself much larger plates than any adult in the family. In the books and novels of the film it is revealed that when he is not using his gift to spend playing pranks or helping out in village, Camilo loves sports like football and enjoys playing mostly with the company of Casa Madrigal or friends from village.
Camilo enjoying dramatizing and shapeshifts into Bruno.
Young and still discovering himself, Camilo enjoys using his shapeshifting ability to try different personas and playing pranks or playfully teasing his relatives. Of all the family members, his cousin Isabela is notably the person he enjoys teasing the most, acting like an annoying younger sibling towards her. He consecutively mocks Isabela for her engagement to Mariano and every time the man is mentioned, Camilo shapeshifts into him to annoy her, much to her frustration. Another person that Camilo likes to tease and mock is his father Félix, as seen before Antonio's ceremony when he transformed into him and repeated his father's words in an amusing manner. Also to some extent, he may enjoy dramatizing about his uncle Bruno as a creepy and evil monster, though it's possible they are not out of any truly malicious feeling towards him. While mischievous and a bit impertinent, Camilo's antics are harmless and are simply playful in nature, often taking to being caught or scolded by his father in good stride, such as responding with a good-natured "worth a shot". When Isabela flicks flowers into his open mouth for his teasing, he merely spits them out with a sheepish look on his face, showing no annoyance when caught when he does mischief.
Camilo offering assistance to an overwhelmed mother.
Despite his wisecracking and impish demeanor, Camilo has a very tender, sweet, and responsible side, especially towards his family. Much like Mirabel, Camilo is good with children and infants, frequently using his gift to play with them and care for them as part of his service to the village, and also a caring brother to Antonio, as he tries to help him relax during his ceremony by jokingly impersonating their father. In a family photo, he has his arm lovingly around him and then, when the family loses their powers, Camilo pushed past his own pain of losing his gift to worry over how Antonio was feeling. Unlike how he constantly teases his father, Camilo is very sweet to his mother Pepa and it is clear that he is very close to her, to the point of being nicknamed "Mamá's Boy".[25] While dealing with his emotional mother, he treats her in a soothing manner when trying to get her to calm down and puts up with being accidentally jolted by her without complaining. When Mirabel tries to go after the Miracle Candle in the crumbling Casita, Camilo (along with Isabela) runs after her to help her get it and save the miracle because all his life Abuela Alma has told them that it is the most important object in the Encanto, demonstrating his protective drive to help his family.[26][27][28]
Camilo showing a more expressionless and sarcastic side after the fall of the house.
While not addressed or shown in the film, Camilo does suffer from pressure and has insecurities like much of his family, though he hides it under his cheerful demeanor. Although he enjoys his gift, it makes him questions his sense of self, and constantly shapeshifting for others does tire him out.[29][30] When the secret about Bruno's vision and the impending destruction of the Casita is revealed, Camilo is visibly stressed and was clutching his entire head in fear. His rare moments of stress can affect his gift, such as him involuntarily changing into a baby's head. Although he likes to exaggerate his expressions when he transforms into other people, Camilo himself displays a dry wit. After being sad about losing the Casa Madrigal, Camilo snarkily emphasizes that the family is left homeless and protested not being allowed to speak the truth as he points to the rubble of the house with an incredibly neutral expression. In the novelization, Camilo's personality is notably more rude, sassy, sarcastic, and arrogant than in the film. At Mariano and Isabela's failed proposal dinner, Camilo happily tells his father about Bruno's vision and Mirabel hears him wondering if she's going to make him lose his gift, when in the film Camilo was nervous because the magic was in danger. After the Casita collapses, Camilo makes an unflattering and cruel comment about Mirabel when they are in the ruins of the house, whereas in the film he was busy worrying about Antonio.
Physical appearance
Camilo is a 15-year-old[31] Colombian boy with a slender build, light golden-brown complexion, curly, dark auburn hair, hazel green eyes, and freckles across his nose and cheeks, along with dark tint on his eyelids. Of all the grandchildren, Camilo is the one who most resembles his Abuelo Pedro. Although they have various differences in skin color, facial structures and hair, Camilo's features and facial expressions are very similar to Pedro's, in addition to inheriting a large part of his way of dressing. Like his late grandfather, Camilo wears a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his collar opened with the buttons mismatched, and the rest is left largely unbuttoned and loose, except for the right side tuck into his pants. He also wears a yellow ruana with darker yellow streaks, black pants and black flip flops with white etchings. Symbolizing his shapeshifting ability, Camilo's clothes have a chameleon motif, with chameleons on his shirt collar, ruana, and sandals.
Powers and abilities
Camilo shapeshifting into his cousin Luisa.
Shapeshifting: Camilo has the power of shapeshifting, he can assume the form of any living person he has seen. When shape-shifting, his clothes shape-shift with him to match those of the person whose shape he is assuming. Camilo's control of his gift is quite refined, as he is able to shape-shift only certain parts of his body if he wishes so, alter the size of his forms, and can take on more exaggerated features. Stress, shock, and pain will cause him to involuntarily and wildly shape-shift. When frightened by Bruno's vision, Camilo quickly transforms into Mirabel and Bruno, which soon followed by his mouth becomes lopsided and his eyes end up bulging and looking away from each other. When he is afraid or nervous, his head will turn into an infant's atop of his adolescent body and his arms turn small and skinny. Camilo's power is not capable of hiding wounds. If he were to injure himself while he has shapeshifted into a different person, then shifts back to himself, the injury would still be there.[32]
Camilo's physical abilities combined with his gift allows him to dodge falling pieces from the house.
His power does have certain limits, such being only able to shape-shift to people and cannot shift into animals or objects.[33][34] Camilo also cannot mimic traits beyond a physical level and turning into his magical family members does not give him their gifts. An example would be when Camilo shape-shifted into Bruno, he was able to copy Bruno's glowing green eyes (which only happens when the real Bruno looks into the future). However, he cannot copy his uncle's ability to see into the future. Similarly, if he were to turn into Luisa, Camilo would only have her natural strength (which is somewhat higher than a normal human's) rather than her superhuman strength.[35][36][37]
- Other skills: Camilo also has good agility and speed, demonstrated when he used his gift to become children and adults to slide, jump, and run through the falling pieces of the house. While his voice can also change to match the person his shape-shift into, Camilo can naturally do vocal impressions well after a lot of practicing.[38] Unlike most of his family has caters to one specific job, Camilo does various odd jobs due to a being a "Jack of all trades" person that can do anything.[39]
Appearances
Encanto
Camilo in town while having fun with his gift.
Camilo's first appearance is in a flashback where Abuela Alma explains to a five-year-old Mirabel about how their family was blessed with magic and how the Miracle Candle will give each family member a magical gift on their fifth birthday. In the present, Camilo is getting ready to start the day and heading to the village with the rest of his family to help around. While The Madrigals are in town, Camilo was seen dancing along with the rest of his family and offering a young mother a pillow so she can catch some sleep while he cares for her infant child. During "The Family Madrigal", Mirabel describes him to the Town Kids as someone who likes to make others smile and at some point Camilo is also seen playing ball while using his shapeshifting power on different townspeople. Since the day was also his younger brother's, Antonio, fifth birthday and gift ceremony, Camilo soon returned home to help prepare for the celebration.
Camilo and his cousin Luisa greeting guests at the entrance of Casa Madrigal.
While preparing Antonio's gift ceremony, Alma saw Camilo leaning lazily against a bannister and instructed him to help a townsperson named José with a banner over Antonio's door, to which Camilo obediently turns into José to help. By nightfall and before Antonio's ceremony was about to begin, Camilo along with his cousin Luisa were given the task of greeting the guests to the Casa Madrigal. He used his gift to imitate the appearance of the guests while greeting each of them kindly, such as hugging Osvaldo or high-fiving Cecilia, before heading inside. Later Camilo joined his family to greet Antonio and give him some encouragement to relax. Camilo playfully turned a miniature version of his father Félix and mocked his way speaking, which brought a smile to his younger brother's face. When Dolores informed them that Antonio's gift ceremony would begin shortly, the family departed to wait in their designated places, Félix ushered everyone out and Camilo once again imitated him, causing Félix to grab him by the shoulders and haul him out, with Camilo quickly stating that he was done imitating him.
Camilo cheering Antonio on before his gift ceremony.
After being yanked out, Camilo joined his other relatives to listen intently to Abuela Alma's speech about the candle that blessed their family, while his aunt Julieta hugged him affectionately. When Mirabel goes to help Antonio to his door when asked by him, the guests and family worry that the ceremony will fail and Antonio will not receive his magical gift, with Luisa placing her hand on Camilo's shoulder reassuringly as they watch Antonio walk to his new door. He loudly cheered when his brother got his gift and snapped his fingers in excitement when Antonio rode his jaguar into his new room. As the party moved into Antonio's magical bedroom, Camilo and Dolores looked happily at their younger brother and Abuela gathered the family for a photo to celebrate Antonio's gift, which everyone unknowingly excluded Mirabel from. While enjoying the food during the party and talking with Julieta and Señora Pezmuerto, Camilo and everyone else heard from a panicked Mirabel that there were cracks in the Casa Madrigal. When everyone came to investigate, the cracks weren't there and Alma ushered everyone back to the party.
Camilo shapeshifts into Mariano to prank his cousin Isabela during breakfast.
The next morning, Camilo turned into his sister Dolores to steal a second serving of breakfast and was confronted by Mirabel, who was trying to get information about the fading magic from Dolores. Camilo stood silent as his cousin rambled on until his father appeared along with the real Dolores. Félix scolded to Camilo for turning into his sister to get more food and Camilo reverted back into his own form saying it was worth a try, and just seconds after speaking was whacked by Casita's nearby window panel for his trick, which he took in good stride. During breakfast, he sat next to Isabela and his uncle Agustín, who is left surprised to see Camilo's large plate of food. As the family started eating, Camilo is seen watching how Abuela Alma affectionately treats Isabela and he listed with a mischievous smile to Dolores' announcement regarding Mariano Guzmán's proposal to Isabela that would take place that night. Sitting next to Isabela, after Alma finished speaking, Camilo shapeshifts into Mariano and made kissy faces to tease her, which she responded by flicking flowers into his mouth. When breakfast concludes, Camilo joins everyone in the family chant "La Familia Madrigal" before returning to her daily activities.
Camilo singing his version of Bruno as a scary and evil monster with rats on his back.
Later, Camilo joined his family in "We Don't Talk About Bruno" after Dolores' verse to telling Mirabel about their estranged, missing uncle Bruno. Having no real memories of his uncle, due to him leaving when he was five and Bruno being reserved when he was still in the family, Camilo choose to dramatize his uncle as a boogeyman-like figure for fun. In his verses he describes his uncle in a negative way similar to his parents by shapeshifting into a version of Bruno with shining green eyes, with an evil grin and surrounded by rats, moving in sinister ways. While trying to scare Mirabel, he also tells her that Bruno enjoys the darkness, the suffering of others and is feasts with the screams, so that later it is the turn of the townspeople to tell of the misfortunes that Bruno has brought with his gift. As Abuela and the Guzmans are approaching the house, Camilo takes the opportunity to taunt Isabela and hilariously yells to his cousin about her fiancé's arrival at the house before again morphing and flexing as Mariano. After assisting his family about the arrival of the Guzmáns, Camilo helped his family prepare the table while he happily repeated his verses about Bruno and dancing with his father and Agustin.
Camilo tells his father Félix about Bruno's vision.
After everything was ready for Mariano and Isabela's imminent marriage proposal, Camilo sat down next to Dolores and Félix. During dinner, Dolores leaned in to whisper to him that Mirabel was in Bruno's vision that foretold that the magic was disappearing. Shocked by this news, Camilo choke on his food and rapidly shifted into Bruno and Mirabel before returning into his own form with bungled face. After straightening his features, Camilo whispered to his father Mirabel's secret, making Félix spit out his drink on Mariano and Señora Guzmán, which Camilo replies with a bashful smile. As the atmosphere became more awkward, the rest of the family found out Bruno's vision too and cracks started to appeared in the dining room. As everyone panicked and Pepa started forming a thundercloud, Camilo dunk his head down from ensuing chaos until his powers started to fritz and turned his head into an infant's due to fear. When he returned to normal, Camilo watched uncomfortably as the doors of the house were thrown open due to the storm clouds and the townspeople watched as the proposal dinner had been ruined.
Camilo trying to calm his stressed mother Pepa after the failed proposal dinner.
After the Guzmán family left and Isabela's proposal dinner failed, Camilo regained his composure and focus on trying to calm his anxious mother in her room, as she is nervous that magic and the house were in danger. While he gently attempted to serve Pepa tea and attempting to lovingly guide her through calming breathing techniques, Mirabel (who was running between the walls of the house at the time chasing Bruno) startled Pepa into accidentally zapping Camilo with lightning, which lead into a series of injuries for the teenager as he widely transformed into his family members, much to Pepa's dismay. In the morning, on Abuela Alma's orders after the adults in the family discussed the danger that Bruno's vision represented, Camilo went looking for Mirabel since she been missing since last night. While looked around the courtyard, Camilo's gift acted up again and he involuntary turned his head into a baby's, much to his annoyance. Unknown to Camilo, Mirabel and Bruno witnessed this event from the second floor, which they took as sign the magic was dangerously close to disappearing forever.
Camilo is saved by Casa Madrigal while trying to get to the Miracle Candle.
Later that same day, Camilo and the rest family returned to courtyard to find Alma and Mirabel arguing and to see their argument escalate to yelling and accusations that the other was the one hurting the magic and the family. By the time the heated argument dies down, the ground beneath them starts cracking and the house starts falling apart as the candle starts fading fast. While it's very quick and a bit blurred out, Dolores instinctively puts her arm around Camilo to try and protect him as their parents look on and scream in horror as they realize the Miracle Candle is in danger. Because the candle that kept the miracle alive in all of Encanto was about to fall out of the window, despite Dolores trying to protecting him, Camilo joined Mirabel and Isabela in trying to retrieve the candle. As he weaved through the fallen debris with his gift, Camilo jumped up off a railing to reach a high ledge in a form of a tall person, but his gift faded before he could reach it. Casa Madrigal helped him break his fall by sticking out a railing for him to catch and land more safely on the ground. When he landed, Camilo looked in dismay at his hand and both he and Isabela, who also had to be saved by the house, realized that they had lost their gifts.
Camilo sadly looking at the rubble of the Casa Madrigal.
The house then quickly pushed Camilo and the family out, except Mirabel, before it fully crumbled down, though she was able to reach the candle, but as the crumbling ended, the candle's long-lit flame dies in her hands. After the house completely collapses, devastated by the lost of his home and his gift, Camilo sadly surveyed the ruins with the rest of his family and expressed concern over Antonio's well-being, while Felix checked on him to make sure he is not hurt. When Julieta noticed Mirabel went missing, the Madrigals and the other townspeople spread out to search for her. By the next day, Camilo and the family saw that Mirabel and Alma (who reconcile with each other) returned to Casita's ruins to reunited with their family, with a cynical Camilo interrupting the reunion to remind the optimistic Agustín that the Madrigals were still homeless, much to his father's annoyance. During "All of You", as Alma apologizes to her family for holding on too tight, fearing she would lose them too after losing Pedro, and refines the miracle as simply themselves rather than the magic, she also beckons Bruno hiding behind the rubble to rejoin the family.
Camilo is the only one completely confused by the presence of his uncle Bruno.
While all the adults were absolutely overjoyed by Bruno's return, Camilo was the only person present confused by his presence, especially when both his siblings reveal that they had known their uncle never actually left, with Antonio smiling at his uncle's return to the considering him a friend and Dolores proudly admits that she knew Bruno never left and nudges Camilo hard in the arm. With family all together, everyone came together to fix the house and the entire town also pitched in as thanks for all the Madrigals had done for them over the decades. While they were working on repairing the Casa Madrigal, Mirabel handed Camilo a shovel which he tries to spin to look cool but accidentally drops it, causing Camilo to look around to make sure no one saw that. After completing the house, Mirabel added a doorknob the family made just for her to the front door, causing a new source of magic to be born that brings Casita back to life and returning the gifts of the Madrigals, but also making a new front door with all the Madrigals carved into it, including those who married into the family, Félix and Agustín. Then Casita takes everyone inside and the family then celebrated the returned of their home and gifts with a family picture. Camilo stood next to Bruno and Félix as they posed for the photo and when everyone smiled shouting "La Familia Madrigal", Casita unexpectedly crushed the entire family, creating an imperfect family image.
Once Upon a Studio
Camilo returns alongside his family at the Disney Animation Studio for a group photo with all the characters from the previous films to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the studio and The Walt Disney Company's founding in 1923 by Walter Elias Disney and his brother Roy Oliver Disney.
In a deleted scene, Camilo can be seen with Alice, Skippy, and Abby Mallard encouraging Hiro Hamada to get the highest score in the game Fix-It Felix Jr. while Zazu watches them impatiently because at that moment all the Disney characters have to gather to take the group photo to celebrate the studio's 100th anniversary.[40] In the final product, Camilo joins with the rest of the Disney characters to take the studio's celebration photo.
Relationships
Gallery
Trivia
- Camilo's birthday is on December 28, coinciding with Holy Innocents Day, which also serves as the equivalent of April Fool's Day.[41][42]
- Early in production, the character's name was Carlos, who was described to be funny and a great singer with a habit of telling "tall tales". He was also initially going to be Mirabel's "arch-nemesis" and more antagonistic towards her, but the staff eventually shifted that dynamic to Isabela.[43][44]
- Given his shapeshifting ability, Camilo's name serves as a pun for "chameleon".[45] Chameleons serves as Camilo's personal iconography, evident by the chameleons on his clothes, door, and Mirabel's dress.
- Camilo is also named after Camilo Gracia Escobar, who was the Encanto staff's tour guide in Colombia.[46]
- His name means "temple servant", "freeborn", or "noble".
- Camilo sounds very similar to "cambio" (change), referencing his shapeshifting ability.
- The name "Camilo" also means Altar Server, which fits with the Madrigal family religious theme.
- His original name "Carlos" also has a theme associated with Camilo's personality. In the Latin culture, a person with the name Carlos is often considered to be very creative, sociable, and charismatic, who also makes others smile wherever he goes and has a close relationship with his family.
- Camilo is the only one of his siblings to not know or discover that his uncle Bruno was really hiding in the walls within Casa Madrigal for ten years using their gift; Dolores heard him regularly in all that time while Antonio, once he got his gift, was approached by the rats living with Bruno.
- Among his generation in the family, he is also the least informed about Bruno overall. While Luisa and Isabela, like Camilo, also didn't discover Bruno's actual whereabouts and were surprised by his return, they and Dolores were old enough to at least know their uncle was a good person, never speaking of him in a negative light. With the rats' intervention, Mirabel and Antonio, who respectively knew Bruno as much as and even less than Camilo, are able to meet and befriend him and see his gentle nature.
- Thus, this makes Camilo's confused reaction when Bruno returns, compared to the rest of the family who are just happy to have him back, understandable. Since he was the only one amongst his generation to have been left entirely out of the loop about his uncle throughout the film and the only one in the family who doesn't actually know what Bruno is really like, he has almost no idea of what's happening other than "Tío Bruno is back."
- Camilo is the only one among his siblings and cousins who describes Bruno in a negative way, which may seem unfair. However, granting Pepa's story of Bruno ruining her wedding and how Camilo is implied to be a "Mamá's Boy", it makes sense that Camilo would see the man who "ruined" his mother's wedding as evil. In addition, Pepa was very annoyed when someone mentioned Bruno.
- Among his generation in the family, he is also the least informed about Bruno overall. While Luisa and Isabela, like Camilo, also didn't discover Bruno's actual whereabouts and were surprised by his return, they and Dolores were old enough to at least know their uncle was a good person, never speaking of him in a negative light. With the rats' intervention, Mirabel and Antonio, who respectively knew Bruno as much as and even less than Camilo, are able to meet and befriend him and see his gentle nature.
- For Camilo's magical door, Jared Bush stated it was "tricky" to visualize Camilo's shape-shift ability with a static image, therefore the three silhouettes were put on his door to represent his gift and the door's portrait of him isn't meant to be seen as his younger self.[47]
- Although the staff decided to limit Camilo's shape-shifting ability to only people early in the production process, some concept art of Camilo in the The Art of Encanto depicts him turning to animals.[48][49]
- During the ending credits, Camilo's magical door was the only one missing. Jared Bush stated that this was unintentional because they had too much artwork and needed to simplify it for the final production.[50]
- In earlier versions of the film, Camilo's appearance would have changed after Casita fell; implying that he was hiding his true self. This was ultimately scrapped to focus on Mirabel.[51][52]
- In the novel Disney Encanto: A Tale of Three Sisters, Camilo gets embarrassed by his parents showing affection in public, and gets annoyed with them for doing so.
- According to the novel Disney Encanto: The Deluxe Junior Novelization, Camilo often shows up at meals as someone besides himself and loves playing football with Casita.
- There may be two interpretations for why Camilo is shown at every meal helping himself to larger plates of food than most members of the family. The first is that because, in his mid-teens, he is in puberty he is achieving a growth spurt. While the second is because his gift may tire him physically, he may end up needing a lot of energy.
- A deleted scene reveals that Camilo's transformation into Bruno was originally a giant that reaches the size of a room. In this version Camilo would also be shown telling stories about Bruno to the townspeople.[53]
- The idea for Camilo's version of Bruno being 7 feet tall originally came from a story Camilo tells a group of kids (versus what we see in the film, where he first mentions it during "We Don't Talk About Bruno"). Camilo then changes his mind and goes with "8 feet."[54]
- Camilo saying "Worth a shot" after he impersonated Dolores during breakfast was a nod to Maui's "Worth a shot" joke in the film Moana, with whom he also shares the ability to shapeshift.[55]
- Several fans have come to theorize that, due to his playful and theatrical personality, Camilo's room is a giant theater full of mirrors, with an auditorium so that family members and friends can come to watch him perform. This theory has been credited by Jared Bush, who comments that he has always liked the idea that Camilo's room was full of mirrors for him to practice his new personas out.[56][57]
- According to Jared Bush, Camilo's favorite drinks are coconut water and lemonade.[58]
- Camilo and Bruno are the only members of the family to wear traditional Colombian Ruanas.
- Because Bruno had left the family when he was just a child a few months after he got his gift, for most of his life Camilo was the only boy in family with magic, as Félix and Agustín married into the family and Antonio was born five years later after Bruno's disappearance (receiving his magical gift at the beginning of the film). This probably wasn't easy for Camilo since he didn't have someone to turn to for advice.[59]
- Camilo is similar to Alberto Scorfano, the deuteragonist from Luca.
- Both have a yellow color scheme, curly brown hair, freckles on their cheeks, and green eyes.
- They are fun loving who like football and food.
- They are likable and gregarious shapeshifters whose charisma draws people to them.
- They have a close bond with children; Alberto enjoys playing and entertaining the children of Portorosso, while Camilo is the Encanto babysitter helping the mothers take care of their children.
- Although they can be mischievous and a bit cheeky, their antics are harmless and just playful in nature rather than mean-spirited.
- Their names in their respective countries (Italy and Colombia) mean "noble"; alluding to how Alberto is willing to protect Luca from Ercole Visconti on several occasions, while Camilo prioritizes Antonio's well-being after they lose their gifts.
- Both had a distant relative who abandoned them when they were young. The difference is that Alberto has memories of his father before he abandoned him, while Camilo had no memory of his uncle Bruno when he was still in the family.
- According to Jared Bush, Camilo possibly knows some secrets in the village due to being mistaken for someone else when he shapeshifts, similar to Dolores when having to keep silent.[60]
References
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External links
Camilo Madrigal on Encanto Wiki
- Camilo on the Heroes Wiki
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