‘Encanto’ Directors Jared Bush And Byron Howard On Three Oscar Noms And The “Infectious” Song “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”

Disney’s Encanto received three nominations today for Best Animated Feature, Best Score, and Best Original Song. Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard spoke to Deadline shortly after their nominations were announced, with Howard stating the feeling “is overwhelming and fantastic and wonderful.”

Jared Bush and Byron Howard won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature in 2016 for Zootopia, but this is their first nomination for a musical movie. “Jared and I really wanted to do a musical together,” says Byron Howard, “cause we loved working together on Zootopia. And then teaming up with Lin[-Manuel Miranda] so early on was huge for the movie.”

Although “Dos Oruguitas” secured the nomination, many wonder why “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” wasn’t the choice. “I’m not surprised that a lot of people have gravitated towards it because it’s just so fun,” says Howard. “When Lin first delivered that, it was infectious from the moment we heard it. It’s a very unusual song, you know, it’s almost like a spooky ghost story song.”

“And then with “Dos Oruguitas,” it was so critical for the storytelling,” says Bush. “It’s really the core of what the movie’s about for Mirabel and her grandmother. That’s why that felt very emotional to us, and Sebastián Yatra’s version of it with just beautifully sung.”

While they aren’t currently working on a project together, Bush and Howard say they will continue to work together. “We absolutely adore each other ever since we met more than a decade ago,” says Bush. “I think we felt like long lost brothers and we’re very much in the same head space as far as storytelling. So that’s, that’s something that we really protect and treasure.”