Miracle Candle

Miracle Candle

TheMiracle Candle (better known as theMagic Candle or simplyAlma's Candle) is the always lit vessel that contains the miracle that blessed theMadrigal family and theirhouse withmagic inDisney's2021 film,Encanto.

Before being imbued with magic, the candle was the wedding candle ofPedro Madrigal andAlma Madrigal.^[1][2] The miracle was born from Pedro's sacrifice and Alma's love for her family^[3], resulting in "a connection between Abuela's unconditional love and the magic", and the candle's flame flickering signify the magic wavering.^[4][3]

Role in the film[]

On the night a youngMirabel Madrigal was to be given a magical gift of her own,Alma Madrigal shows the candle to Mirabel before telling her the story of how it transformed into a vessel for the miracle that gave them protection from the threat she and many others fled from, shortly after she lost her husband,Pedro Madrigal, along with the miracle within the candle creating amagical house for Alma and her triplet children to live in. The candle's magical flame never went out and its wax showed no signs of it melting away, as long as the candle kept burning strong, the magic that saved them will always remain with them. WhenJulieta,Pepa, andBruno Madrigal were old enough to be given rooms of their own, Alma used the candle to bless the three with magical powers to help the town they called,Encanto. Julieta and Pepa's children were also given powers from the candle for the same reason, except for Julieta's youngest daughter, Mirabel, whose door vanished.

Years later, when it was time forAntonio Madrigal to be given his own magical gift, it was revealed that the candle didn't bless Mirabel with one, along with a flashback showing the candle's flame flickering for a short second after the door to what would have been Mirabel's room faded away. Alma shows the candle to the people who came to see Antonio get his gift, as she reminds them that it was the candle that has blessed her family with a miracle, and tonight its magic will bless Antonio with his own magical gift, like his mother and siblings before him. After Antonio was given his gift and everyone began to celebrate in his new magical room, Mirabel notices that the candle's flame nearly went out after her family's house began to crack. She tries to tell Alma and the others of what she saw, but by the time they all left Antonio's new room to see this, the cracks were gone and the candle's flame kept on burning bright and strong. Later that night as Mirabel goes to check on the candle, she overhears her grandmother asking the late Pedro to help her ensure that they don't lose their home again. This gets Mirabel to make it her personal mission to save the miracle by discovering what is happening to it.

Learning that Bruno had a final vision before he left, Mirabel went to find it on her own and later discovered that she is the reason that the magic is leaving them. When Mirabel was in Bruno's tower, Alma had noticed that something was wrong with the candle, but chose not to say anything or to think too much about it. Mirabel's father,Agustín Madrigal, wanted to keep the vision a secret from the others, but they didn't count onDolores and her strong hearing gift; knowing that she'll end up telling the others. Sometime after Mirabel failed to keep the vision and cracks away from Alma, along with the fading magic getting worse with the growing cracks,Luisa losing her gift andCamilo's shapeshifting ability beginning to "glitch", Mirabel discovers her uncle Bruno has been living within the walls of their home. He tells her that on the night she didn't get her gift, Alma had begun to fear that the magic was leaving them and begged Bruno to look into the future to help them gain a better understanding, he sees the candle being knocked down as their home begins to crack before the candle went out. With Mirabel being at the center of his vision, Bruno feared how it would affect her and chose to keep it a secret in order to protect her. The fact that Mirabel's future wasn't decided is what got her to get Bruno to show her more in hopes that it could help them find a way to keep the candle's miracle flame from going out. This has the two seeing the candle burning brighter in the expanded vision and all Mirabel has to do to make that happen is to hugIsabela, to her dismay.

Even though Mirabel was able to do so as the two sisters hugging in front of the candle made it burn brighter while the cracks begin to disappear (and fulfilling Bruno's vision), the heated fight between Mirabel and Alma caused the candle to become in danger again, along with their fight making the cracks a lot worse than they were before. Mirabel risks her life in order to reach the candle as the Casita begins to crumble all around them. Both Isabela and Camilo also tried to reach the candle, but their magic gifts faded away before they could do so, and were forced to flee with the others. By the time Mirabel was able to grab it, its wax had begun to melt all the way down and after the building became a pile of debris, the candle's long-lit flame dies in Mirabel's hands after 50 years. This catastrophic event left the family without a home and their gifts, thus not allowing them to help the people in the Encanto.

Heartbroken by her failure to keep the miracle safe, Mirabel runs away. Alma finds her at the very river that the Madrigals were given their miracle. It's revealed that she and Pedro were holding the candle in their hands on their wedding day and later placed it next to their wedding photo. When they were forced to leave their home they took the candle with them. It was Pedro's love for his wife and children that imbued the candle he placed into her hands with the miracle after he was killed trying to protect them. Alma had seen the miracle as her second chance and was determined to ensure that it always stays with them, but her fear of losing it resulted in forgetting why they were blessed with it in the first place; the pain and pressure from forcing the family to be perfect is what caused the magic to die. In the end, the magic returned to them after the Casita was rebuilt by the reconnected family and the town's people working together.^[5] Even though the candle was gone, in place of the original miracle, the magic returned to them, born from Mirabel's love for the family and the Casita acts as the new vessel, giving off a multi-colored glow.

Trivia[]

• The image of Alma on her door has her holding the candle.
  • Most posters, wallpapers, and much of Alma commonly feature her holding the magical flamed candle.
  • Also, Alma's clothes are decorated with teardrop-shaped flames to reference the candle's always light flame.
• Like Casita and Mirabel's dress, the candle is decorated with images of butterflies.
• In the novelDisney Encanto: The Deluxe Junior Novelization, it is revealed that the candle never melts or drips, as well as never going out.

Gallery[]

TheFunkoPop! of Abuela Alma holding the candle

Miracle Candle inDisney Emoji Blitz

Screenshots[]

Mirabel holding the candle

As a wedding candle

References[]

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Media (/) • • • • • Disney Parks • • () Entertainment: • • Parades: • • • • Fireworks: • • • • Christmas: Characters Encanto: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Deleted: Locations • • • • Songs • • • • • • • • See also •