Enjoy this breathtaking number of ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ rat fan edits

If you’ve watched Encanto, you’ve probably had at least one of its soundtrack bangers stuck in your head. It has been a huge success, with many hits focusing on the power and intergenerational baggage of every Madrigal family member. This includes the outcast of the Madrigal family — poor, poor Bruno — whose earworm “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” has spent 10 weeks on Billboard’s Hot 100 list, much of it in the top five. Since the film’s release, this song has been living in my head rent free. And the YouTube algorithm has helpfully caught on to my numerous rewatches of the official music video, so it’s been serving me some Choice fan edits.

Here’s the kicker: They’re all about rats. Each fan edit I have seen on my homepage has been related to Bruno’s rats. I don’t know how or why there are so many of them (rat-centric fan edits, not rats), but I do feel compelled to share them, as they are true objects of beauty.

In “We Don’t Talk about Bruno,” the man’s supposed villainy is described through his “7-foot frame” and the “rats along his back.” It sounds like hyperbole, but here’s the thing about Bruno: The latter accusation is more or less true. They are his friends. They live with him, and play among his things — like running along the vinyl on a record as it’s playing, or piling into a hanging pair of his pants. The man has made entire shadowboxes for his rat friends, which he refers to as his “entertainment.”

I can’t really judge him. I might be able to judge him a little. However, the rats seem to be better friends to him than his real family. They have chosen to drag their name through the mud instead of trying to figure out his true nature.

Here’s a version of the “7-foot rats” video that includes Photoshopping an image of a rat’s face over Bruno’s, every time he says “rats.”

And here’s a full-length version of the song with “rats” continually edited in.

I won’t deny stoking the fire of the algorithm. Every time I click on one of these, YouTube serves me several more — you could say they keep coming, much like rats.

Disney has a long history of animated rodents. They have appeared in films like “The Big Short” and other urban movies. Zootopia. Some people even dream about becoming chefs. Ratatouille. Here’s a fan edit This actually incorporates Remy, Pixar’s little chef.

Honestly, in the Disney rat power ranking that lives in my head (don’t ask me about this), Bruno’s rats aren’t ranked that highly. There are so many of them, I don’t feel any sort of attachment to individual rat characters. However, as a whole? Unstoppable.