This Adorable 2-Year-old Looks Exactly Like Mirabel From “Encanto”

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A post shared by Hannary Araujo (@hannaryaraujo)

Since its release in November 2021, Disney’s Encanto has captured the hearts of millions of viewers, young and old. Set in the mountains of Colombia, the movie tells the story of the magical Madrigal family and features a colorful cast of characters that highlights the diversity within different Latin American cultures. The film has been well-received not only for its enchanting storyline and spectacular soundtrack but also for the rich variety of representation present in its animated characters. Fans from all over the world have shared stories of how they themselves or others close to them have identified with one of Encanto’s unique characters—a first for many when it comes to animated Disney films. And now, another little 2-year-old girl has captured the internet’s heart with her endearing reaction to seeing her own physical resemblance to the movie’s main character Mirabel.

Little Manu Araújo Marques couldn’t contain her excitement as she watched Encanto for the first time and saw a young Mirabel on the screen. Luckily, her mom caught the whole thing on camera. In the video, the toddler can be heard exclaiming in Portuguese as she points at the TV, “It’s me, mommy! It’s me!” Mirroring the little girl’s excitement, her mom responds, “It’s you? Look at mommy, let me see if it’s you.” And when Manu turns around to show her face, the resemblance is unmistakable. But to make things even cuter, the excited child even gets a glimpse of what she might look like in the future once she sees Mirabel as an adult. “I grew up, mommy,” the toddler exclaims after seeing the character’s transition. “How beautiful,” her mom responds. And the video ends on Manu’s innocently joyful smile that will absolutely melt your heart.

The adorable video instantly went viral after it was reposted on Twitter, gaining almost 20,000 likes and over 2,000 retweets. It even caught the attention of Stephanie Beatriz who is the voice actress for Mirabel in the film. Several other people were touched by the video as well, recognizing what was happening during the heartwarming moment in spite of the language barrier. For many, the video highlights the importance of why representation in popular media matters so much and the incredible power it can have for viewers. In Manu’s case, even the fact that Mirabel wears glasses—the first main animated female character in a Disney movie ever to do so—was a big factor.

“There's nothing better than seeing your child's joy—especially being represented in a Disney movie!” says Manu’s mother, Hannary Araújo. “My biggest fear when I learned that Manu would wear glasses would be bullying at school! But over the course of the movie, I completely changed my mind and saw that princesses wear glasses too!…you don't know the importance this generates in a child's life! Just as she is being represented by a princess, I want other children to feel the same joy as hers—the same magic!”

Scroll down to see the video of Manu’s adorable reaction to seeing herself in Mirabel, the main character of Disney’s Encanto.

This 2-year-old's reaction to seeing herself in Encanto‘s Mirabel is absolutely priceless.

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A post shared by MANU (@manubaby03)

The video went viral, highlighting the importance of representation and even catching the attention of Stephanie Beatriz who voices Mirabel in the film.

🥰😍👏🏽🦋 #Encanto https://t.co/JjtVSVlilZ

— Stephanie Beatriz (@iamstephbeatz) January 14, 2022

Kiddos seeing characters that look like them in Disney films brings so much joy to my heart.
Representation matters 💛💛💛 https://t.co/rQVNthyjSg

— Libby (Bee) (@YourHumbleBee) January 15, 2022