Bruno’s practice of knocking on wood in Encanto may have been the result of not only his superstitious nature, but the beliefs of others around him.
Warning: This article contains SPOILERS from Encanto!
Throughout Encanto, Bruno performed many distinctive behaviors, including knocking on wood (and his head) multiple times. As Disney’s latest animated feature, Encanto tells the story of the Madrigals, a Colombian family that received a miracle. This miracle blessed the family with not only an enchanted home in a hidden valley but special powers for each Madrigal child. However, not every child benefitted from his or her powers. For example, Bruno could see into the future. After having a vision that Mirabel, his niece who had not received a power, might endanger the family, Bruno realized that his powers could hurt his family. Due to this, he decided to “leave” and go into hiding inside the walls of their house.
For the majority of Encanto, the Madrigals believed that Bruno had truly abandoned their family, so Mirabel was shocked to find him secretly living at home. She was additionally confused by many of Bruno’s quirky behaviors, such as talking to rats and acting as various characters with different personalities. One other notable action was Bruno’s practice of knocking on wood. After Mirabel mentioned his last vision, Bruno knocked on multiple wooden surfaces around him and his head twice.
Initially, this may just seem like one of Bruno’s eccentric tendencies due to having lived inside the walls of the house for so long. However, the repetitive action also has meaning. According to one theory (via Reddit), Bruno’s practice of knocking on wood is the result of not only his superstitious nature but the treatment he received from others.
One common superstitious belief is that knocking on wood is a way to ward off bad luck. Given that Bruno knocked on wood after Mirabel mentioned the vision that drove him into hiding, the idea that Bruno is highly superstitious makes sense. Bruno also performed several other well-known behaviors meant to prevent bad luck, including throwing salt over his shoulder, avoiding stepping on cracks, and both holding his breath and crossing his fingers while passing through doorways. Due to his ability to see the future, Bruno may have already been slightly superstitious before moving into the house's walls. However, years of isolation may have made these tendencies more prominent, resulting in Bruno repeatedly performing every superstitious practice.
In addition, Bruno’s specific fixation with preventing bad luck may have been in response to the beliefs of those around him. Since Bruno often predicted negative events, both the townsfolk and his family assumed that he caused bad things to happen. Although Bruno knew that his visions did not affect the future, he had to deal with people constantly treating him as if he was responsible for his predictions. Due to this, Bruno internalized the idea that bad luck surrounded him and began taking action to block it, such as by knocking on wood. This practice, along with Bruno’s various other superstitious behaviors throughout Encanto, helped reveal how Bruno’s powers negatively affected his life due to others’ perceptions of him.
