The Oscars will talk about Bruno, yes, yes, yes.
The 94th Academy Awards, which will take place on March 27, will feature the first live performance of “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” the breakout sensation from Disney’s animated musical “Encanto.” This year’s telecast will also include tributes to James Bond and “The Godfather,” which is turning 50.
We don’t talk about Bruno…except at this year’s #Oscars!
Catch the 94th Academy Awards hosted by @MoreReginaHall, @amyschumer, and @iamwandasykes LIVE Sunday, March 27 on @ABCNetwork! pic.twitter.com/9DZ23urvSM
— The Academy (@TheAcademy) March 16, 2022
“Encanto,” a nominee for best animated film, opened in theaters last year and generated $250 million at the global box office. The movie about a Colombian family who lives in a magical house turned into an internet favorite after premiering on Disney Plus. “We Don’t Talk About Bruno,” a group number in which the Madrigals lament about their estranged relative, Bruno, isn’t nominated at this year’s Oscars. In fact, the musical-theater bop was not even in the running for best original song because Disney decided to instead submit the love song “Dos Oruguitas” for awards consideration. But the Academy Award producers couldn’t deny the song’s ubiquity in popular culture and arranged to bring the animated tune to life at this year’s telecast in the hopes that it would inspire fans to tune in.
“Dos Oruguitas” will compete against Beyoncé Knowles-Carter’s “Be Alive” from “King Richard,” Van Morrison’s “Down To Joy” from “Belfast,” Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell’s “No Time To Die” from “No Time to Die,” and Diane Warren’s “Somehow You Do” from “Four Good Days” for best original song.
Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the music for “Encanto,” has defended Disney’s decision to push “Dos Oruguitas” for awards contention. Miranda’s Oscar nomination for best original song puts him one step closer to achieving EGOT status, having previously earned an Emmy, Tony and Grammy.
“I’m still proud of ‘Dos Oruguitas’ as the submission,” Miranda previously told Variety. “When those are the parameters, you have to pick the thing that best exemplifies the spirit of the movie, and it contains all of it inside this song – as opposed to a journey of a particular character. It’s the foundational story, but I’m not going to say it wasn’t hard [to choose].”
Amy Schumer, Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes will host this year’s Academy Awards. Jane Campion’s revisionist Western “The Power of the Dog” is going into the night with a leading 12 nominations, followed by Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi adaptation “Dune” with 10 and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake, Kenneth Branagh’s semi-autobiographical “Belfast” each with seven.