Camilo Madrigal

Described as a "theater kid"[19][20] and natural entertainer, Camilo is a fun-loving, easy-going, and energetic teenager. Unlike his quiet older sister and his timid younger brother, Camilo is more extroverted than them and the one that takes after their spirited parents the most. Social and charismatic, he is on good terms with many of the townsfolk, displaying a charming attitude when he interacts with them and having several friends his age in town.[21] While not boastful or vain, Camilo enjoys the spotlight and has a good sense of humor with a penchant for dramatic movements, such as twirls or exaggerating stories based on rumors (his tales about Bruno) for flair.[22][23] Camilo likes to use his gift to entertain and prank people, constantly trying to impress everyone.[24] He is noted to enjoy eating, particularly food by his aunt Julieta, and is seen trying to sneak seconds by pretending to be Dolores and serving herself much larger plates than any adult in the family. In the books and novels of the film it is revealed that when he is not using his gift to spend playing pranks or helping out in village, Camilo loves sports like football and enjoys playing mostly with the company of Casa Madrigal or friends from village.

Camilo enjoying transforming into Bruno Camilo enjoying dramatizing and shapeshifts into Bruno.

Young and still discovering himself, Camilo enjoys using his shapeshifting ability to try different personas and playing pranks or playfully teasing his relatives. Of all the family members, his cousin Isabela is notably the person he enjoys teasing the most, acting like an annoying younger sibling towards her. He consecutively mocks Isabela for her engagement to Mariano and every time the man is mentioned, Camilo shapeshifts into him to annoy her, much to her frustration. Another person that Camilo likes to tease and mock is his father Félix, as seen before Antonio's ceremony when he transformed into him and repeated his father's words in an amusing manner. Also to some extent, he may enjoy dramatizing about his uncle Bruno as a creepy and evil monster, though it's possible they are not out of any truly malicious feeling towards him. While mischievous and a bit impertinent, Camilo's antics are harmless and are simply playful in nature, often taking to being caught or scolded by his father in good stride, such as responding with a good-natured "worth a shot". When Isabela flicks flowers into his open mouth for his teasing, he merely spits them out with a sheepish look on his face, showing no annoyance when caught when he does mischief.

Camilo helping in the village Camilo offering assistance to an overwhelmed mother.

Despite his wisecracking and impish demeanor, Camilo has a very tender, sweet, and responsible side, especially towards his family. Much like Mirabel, Camilo is good with children and infants, frequently using his gift to play with them and care for them as part of his service to the village, and also a caring brother to Antonio, as he tries to help him relax during his ceremony by jokingly impersonating their father. In a family photo, he has his arm lovingly around him and then, when the family loses their powers, Camilo pushed past his own pain of losing his gift to worry over how Antonio was feeling. Unlike how he constantly teases his father, Camilo is very sweet to his mother Pepa and it is clear that he is very close to her, to the point of being nicknamed "Mamá's Boy".[25] While dealing with his emotional mother, he treats her in a soothing manner when trying to get her to calm down and puts up with being accidentally jolted by her without complaining. When Mirabel tries to go after the Miracle Candle in the crumbling Casita, Camilo (along with Isabela) runs after her to help her get it and save the miracle because all his life Abuela Alma has told them that it is the most important object in the Encanto, demonstrating his protective drive to help his family.[26][27][28]

Camilo interrupting the reunion Camilo showing a more expressionless and sarcastic side after the fall of the house.

While not addressed or shown in the film, Camilo does suffer from pressure and has insecurities like much of his family, though he hides it under his cheerful demeanor. Although he enjoys his gift, it makes him questions his sense of self, and constantly shapeshifting for others does tire him out.[29][30] When the secret about Bruno's vision and the impending destruction of the Casita is revealed, Camilo is visibly stressed and was clutching his entire head in fear. His rare moments of stress can affect his gift, such as him involuntarily changing into a baby's head. Although he likes to exaggerate his expressions when he transforms into other people, Camilo himself displays a dry wit. After being sad about losing the Casa Madrigal, Camilo snarkily emphasizes that the family is left homeless and protested not being allowed to speak the truth as he points to the rubble of the house with an incredibly neutral expression. In the novelization, Camilo's personality is notably more rude, sassy, sarcastic, and arrogant than in the film. At Mariano and Isabela's failed proposal dinner, Camilo happily tells his father about Bruno's vision and Mirabel hears him wondering if she's going to make him lose his gift, when in the film Camilo was nervous because the magic was in danger. After the Casita collapses, Camilo makes an unflattering and cruel comment about Mirabel when they are in the ruins of the house, whereas in the film he was busy worrying about Antonio.

Physical appearance Camilo is a 15-year-old[31] Colombian boy with a slender build, light golden-brown complexion, curly, dark auburn hair, hazel green eyes, and freckles across his nose and cheeks, along with dark tint on his eyelids. Of all the grandchildren, Camilo is the one who most resembles his Abuelo Pedro. Although they have various differences in skin color, facial structures and hair, Camilo's features and facial expressions are very similar to Pedro's, in addition to inheriting a large part of his way of dressing. Like his late grandfather, Camilo wears a white long-sleeved shirt with the sleeves rolled up, his collar opened with the buttons mismatched, and the rest is left largely unbuttoned and loose, except for the right side tuck into his pants. He also wears a yellow ruana with darker yellow streaks, black pants and black flip flops with white etchings. Symbolizing his shapeshifting ability, Camilo's clothes have a chameleon motif, with chameleons on his shirt collar, ruana, and sandals.

Powers and abilities Camilo transformed into Bruno Camilo shapeshifting into Bruno and returning to his original form.

Shapeshifting: Camilo has the power of shapeshifting, he can assume the form of any living person he has seen. When shape-shifting, his clothes shape-shift with him to match those of the person whose shape he is assuming. Camilo's control of his gift is quite refined, as he is able to shape-shift only certain parts of his body if he wishes so, alter the size of his forms, and can take on more exaggerated features. Stress, shock, and pain will cause him to involuntarily and wildly shape-shift. When frightened by Bruno's vision, Camilo quickly transforms into Mirabel and Bruno, which soon followed by his mouth becomes lopsided and his eyes end up bulging and looking away from each other. When he is afraid or nervous, his head will turn into an infant's atop of his adolescent body and his arms turn small and skinny. Camilo's power is not capable of hiding wounds. If he were to injure himself while he has shapeshifted into a different person, then shifts back to himself, the injury would still be there.[32]

Camilo doing Parkour Camilo's physical abilities combined with his gift allows him to dodge falling pieces from the house.

His power does have certain limits, such being only able to shape-shift to people and cannot shift into animals or objects.[33][34] Camilo also cannot mimic traits beyond a physical level and turning into his magical family members does not give him their gifts. An example would be when Camilo shape-shifted into Bruno, he was able to copy Bruno's glowing green eyes (which only happens when the real Bruno looks into the future). However, he cannot copy his uncle's ability to see into the future. Similarly, if he were to turn into Luisa, Camilo would only have her natural strength (which is somewhat higher than a normal human's) rather than her superhuman strength.[35][36][37]

Other skills: Camilo also has good agility and speed, demonstrated when he used his gift to become children and adults to slide, jump, and run through the falling pieces of the house. While his voice can also change to match the person his shape-shift into, Camilo can naturally do vocal impressions well after a lot of practicing.[38] Unlike most of his family has caters to one specific job, Camilo does various odd jobs due to a being a "Jack of all trades" person that can do anything.[39]