“We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the breakout hit from Best Animated Feature winner “Encanto,” has been an unexpected chart-topper since the movie debuted on Disney+ at Christmas. The song finally got the live treatment at the Academy Awards Sunday night even though, you know, it wasn’t actually nominated for the Best Original Song Oscar.
Cast members Adassa, Stephanie Beatriz, Mauro Castillo, Carolina Gaitan, and Diane Guerrero performed the infections song alongside the previously announced Becky G and Luis Fonsi and a very unannounced Megan Thee Stallion. And while it indeed was a hoot (you can watch it below), it wasn’t exactly the live-action performance many of us were expecting (okay all of us were expecting), especially when the Lin-Manuel Miranda lyrics were swapped out with some platitudes about Oscar night.
“Encanto” was nominated elsewhere for Best Original Score (Germaine Franco ultimately lost to Hans Zimmer and his “Dune” music), Best Animated Feature, and Best Original Song (for “Dos Oruguitas”).
The song’s placement in the awards show actually raised eyebrows, as ABC started advertising the performance on the first day of Oscar voting, which some nominees felt was tipping the awards towards “Encanto” in an unfair way. Whether or not it unfairly influenced the actual awards remains to be seen.
One thing is for certain: the song is still a total blast and the live performance brought it to life like never before. Is it too early to start thinking about the Broadway show?