Who co-wrote the screenplay for Encanto alongside Jared Bush?

Charise Castro Smith co-wrote the screenplay for Encanto alongside Jared Bush. She also co-directed the film with Bush and Byron Howard, making her one of the principal creative figures behind Disney’s 2021 animated musical.

Castro Smith joined the project after establishing herself as a playwright, actor, screenwriter, producer, and director. Her background in live-action drama and theatre helped shape Encanto’s focus on family relationships, inherited expectations, and emotional reconciliation rather than treating its magical powers as the story’s only subject.

The screenplay follows Mirabel Madrigal, the one member of her immediate family without a supernatural gift. Her investigation into cracks appearing in the family’s magical house gradually exposes tensions surrounding Alma, the family’s grandmother and leader. The screenplay’s central idea is that a family’s value does not depend on perfect performance or useful abilities.

The writing credits can cause confusion because several other figures contributed to the film’s story. Byron Howard was a director and story contributor, Nancy Kruse was among the story contributors, and Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote the songs. The screenplay itself is credited to Bush and Castro Smith.