Forgiveness

Lessons in forgiveness from the film Encanto

by Alexandra Palmer

Suitable for Whole School (Pri)

Aims

To use the film Encanto to consider the importance of forgiveness.

Preparation and materials

• You will need the PowerPoint slides that accompany this assembly (Forgiveness) and the means to display them.
• Have available the following clips from the film Encanto and the means to show them during the assembly:
  
  - ‘Encanto teaser trailer’, available at: https://youtu.be/togmdDHG3Pw (1.30 minutes long)
  - ‘Mirabel’s fight with Abuela’, available at: https://youtu.be/MVlahzuWsDw (the clip is 3.02 minutes long, but you can stop it at 1.58 minutes)
  - ‘Abuela finds Mirabel’, available at: https://youtu.be/Gdew0-5YvQ0 (1.25 minutes long)
  - ‘Abuela figures out that Mirabel is the magical gift’, available at: https://youtu.be/vAVLRO_Q_NM (1.55 minutes long)
• Optional: you may also wish to use the extension activity (Forgiveness - Extension Activity) that accompanies this assembly.

Assembly

1. Show Slide 1.
   
   Ask the children, ‘Who has watched the film Encanto?’
   
   Either summarize the story or ask the children who have watched the film to explain it.
   
   Encanto is an animated film about a magical family called the Madrigals. They live in a magical house called the Casita, which is hidden in the mountains of Colombia. When each family member turns five, they are given a magical power that they use to help the villagers. However, one of them, Mirabel, did not receive a magical power when it was her turn.
   
   
2. Explain that you are going to show a trailer for the film.
   
   Show the video ‘Encanto teaser trailer’ (1.30 minutes long). 
   
   
   
   
3. Show Slides 2 to 5.
   
   Go through the slides, which focus on four of the characters and their gifts. Encourage the children to guess each character’s gift from the clues in the trailer and then, on each slide, click to reveal the answer.
   
   - Mirabel’s elder sister, Luisa, has the gift of superhuman strength.
   - Mirabel’s cousin, Camilo, can shapeshift, changing his appearance.
   - Isabela, Mirabel’s eldest sister, has the gift of making flowers grow from nothing.
   - Antonio, Mirabel’s youngest cousin, can talk to and understand animals.
   
   
4. Show Slide 6.
   
   Ask the children, ‘How does Mirabel get on with Abuela?’
   
   Ask the children to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down, depending on their view.
   
   
5. Explain that generally, Mirabel and Abuela don’t get on very well. One day, they have an argument that causes the Casita to crack and break around them.
   
   Show the video ‘Mirabel’s fight with Abuela’ (the clip is 3.02 minutes long, but you can stop it at 1.58 minutes).
   
   
   
   
6. Ask the children, ‘Why is Abuela so angry?’
   
   Possible answers include the following.
   
   - She blames Mirabel for the cracks that are forming in the Casita.
   - She blames Mirabel for Bruno’s disappearance.
   - She blames Mirabel for Luisa’s loss of strength.
   
   
7. Ask the children, ‘What does Mirabel realize?’
   
   Possible answers include the following.
   
   - She will never be good enough for Abuela because she doesn’t have a gift.
   - Luisa, Isabela and the others will never satisfy Abuela, or themselves either.
   - Abuela saw the worst, not the best, in Bruno.
   
   
8. Ask the children, ‘Why is the miracle ending?’
   
   Possible answers include the following.
   
   - Abuela blames Mirabel because she doesn’t have a gift.
   - Mirabel blames Abuela because she feels that Abuela doesn’t care about her.
   
   
9. Ask the children to put up their hand to show who they think is in the wrong: Mirabel, Abuela or both of them.
   
   The answer is that both women are very angry, and neither of them have said kind words to one another.
   
   
10. Show Slide 7.
    
    Ask the children, ‘What should Mirabel and Abuela do?’
    
    Possible answers include the following.
    
    - Say sorry to one another.
    - Sit down and listen to one another without interrupting.
    - Forgive one another for the mean things that they have said.
    
    Show Slide 8.
    
    
11. Explain that, in fact, Abuela goes to find Mirabel and they start to listen to one another.
    
    Show the video ‘Abuela finds Mirabel’ (1.25 minutes long).
    
    
    
    
12. Tell the children that, after this clip, Mirabel comes to understand why Abuela is angry: her husband was killed when her children were very young, and she missed out on the life that she thought she would have. Both characters then go on to forgive one another.
    
    
13. Show the video ‘Abuela figures out that Mirabel is the magical gift’ (1.55 minutes long).
    
    
    
    Ask the children, ‘What does Mirabel realize?’
    
    Possible answers include the following.
    
    - Abuela had suffered a lot of loss and sadness, which is why they were given the miracle.
    - They could fix the problem together.
    
    
14. Ask the children, ‘What does Abuela realize?’
    
    Abuela realizes that Mirabel does have a gift: the gift of helping out and solving problems.
    
    
15. Ask the children, ‘How do you think both characters feel when they have forgiven one another?’
    
    Possible answers could include words such as happy, relieved, warm inside and so on.

Time for reflection

Explain that a lesson from Abuela and Mirabel’s relationship is to listen to one another, say sorry, forgive and move forward. That means that we shouldn’t hold anything against the person who has hurt us.

Tell the children that, in the Bible, there was one person in particular who taught us how to forgive others.

Ask the children if they can guess who that person was.

Explain that the answer is Jesus.

Show Slide 9.

Explain that just before Jesus died on the cross, he forgave the people who had placed him there, including the Roman soldiers and the Jewish priests. His forgiveness would also have included Judas, who had betrayed him for 30 pieces of silver.

Jesus showed us that forgiveness is not a feeling, but a decision that we make.

Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for films, and how they entertain and teach us lessons.
Thank you that we can learn from our mistakes and arguments.
Thank you for the times when we’ve said sorry and we’ve been forgiven.
When we fall out with others, please help us to forgive, move forward and build stronger friendships.
Amen.

Extension activities

1. The extension activity supports Slide 8 of the assembly. After Mirabel and Abuela have forgiven one another, they are surrounded by butterflies. 
   
   Give each child a copy of the sheet that accompanies this assembly (Forgiveness - Extension Activity). Ask them to design a pattern for the butterfly’s symmetrical wings that represents change and transformation.