'Encanto' song surpasses Frozen's 'Let It Go' as highest-charting Disney hit

MANILA, Philippines — Some animated films are meant to give us all the feels and recently, Disney's "Encanto" is the latest one pulling our heartstrings. Especially with how Madrigals are very much like a traditional Filipino family, "Encanto" hits home as it makes us stop and appreciate our families.   

Hitting close to home, it is no surprise that its soundtrack, "We Don't Talk About Bruno," has easily become the highest-charting song from a Disney animated movie in 26 years, surpassing Oscar-winning song "Let It Go" from another Disney hit movie "Frozen."

"We Don't Talk About Bruno" also reached fourth place on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

The film follows the Madrigal family, where most of the members have what they call the "Gift" (a.k.a. a magical power). They also live in a magical house they call "Casita" and everything relies on keeping a candle's flame alive. While it sounds right out of a children’s book, the layers of this story are so much more than that, and can definitely make audiences, even adults, relate to its dramatical plot twists. 

The movie had a 30-day theatrical run in November last year in the US and Canada, dropped on Disney+ a month later, and went on to become one of the highest-grossing animated films last year.

"We Don't Talk About Bruno," credited to Carolina Gaitán, Mauro Castillo, Adassa, Rhenzy Feliz, Diane Guerrero, Stephanie Beatriz, and the "Encanto" cast — reached its new peak position of No. 4 on this week's chart, thanks to 29 million streams and 8,000 downloads sold. Those numbers helped it surpass Idina Menzel's rendition of "Let It Go," which reached No. 5 in April 2014.

The only other songs from animated Disney films to reach a top-five position on the chart are:

• Peabo Bryson and Regina Belle's "Aladdin" smash hit "A Whole New World," which hit No. 1 in 1993;
• Elton John's "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from "The Lion King" (No. 4 in 1994),
• and Vanessa Williams' "Pocahontas" soundtrack song "Colors of the Wind," which also reached No. 4 in 1995.

The film's accompanying soundtrack album previously became only the sixth animated soundtrack in history to top the Billboard 200 ranking, before falling to No. 3 on this week's chart.

In terms of box office, "Encanto" has become one of the biggest animated hits of the pandemic era, posting $93.1 million domestically and $222.6 million globally to date.

RELATED: Disney releases 2nd Filipino-inspired advert 'Stepdad'