What kind of a message is the beginning of this film sending?

Why? Probably being too gung-ho about the ethic of progressivism and treating it like a virtue, at the expense of even basic acknowledgement of the immense struggle and sacrifice necessary to build our civilization. That type of respect is a generally conservative ethic, and focusing on the future is a generally liberal ethic. If you go too far in the conservative direction you get ossification and an inability to adapt to a changing world, and too far in the opposite direction and you destroy the foundation of your civilization because you simply take it for granted.

Encanto is yet another modern Hollywood movie that shows how widespread that type of hyper-progressive, hyper-leftist thinking is.

There are other examples of it in the movie too. Like repetitions of the strong female trope, the myth of the successful matriarchal society, and yet another tired retread of the trope of the bumbling useless man. (The first male who speaks at any length literally has clownish features for no plot reason and is oblivious to them, and a female has to heal him as he humorously and cluelessly tries to give life advice to his daughter, obviously undercut by the fact that his face is grotesquely injured from his own mistakes.)

In this story, I think you mean "foremother", not "forefathers".

Because they are actively trying to tear it down (literally) for actions by people that were consistent with the values of the day?

Well said

Precisely.

Then they wonder why people in rural areas, who get up early and work hard daily to produce the raw materials required for all this stuff, have differing political views than someone in a city who sleeps in, has no job and spends most of their time at their local coffee shop trying to out 'highhorse' strangers on the internet.

You're not saying anything that anybody dosen't already know. Why do you right-wingers always feel the need to shove your right-wing viewpoints where nobody asked for them? This is just a Disney kids' movie, and you and the OP are just reading into it a lot of s*** that isn't there in the first place. It's not a political movie, but yet you're trying to politicize it anyway. Get a life, please----everything is not about you or your tired-ass right wing views. Do that on the board of a political movie, not here. It's always you right-wingers goin around the internet and IRL trying to shove your right-wing views down everybody's throat. I don't see left-wingers doing that as much as you crazy fckg right-wing nuts do. Every damn thing in life isn't about being right-wing or left-wing---the fact that this is the only way you see life--through such a narrow-minded lens is really sad and pathetic. Your crazy whackjob cult leader with the transplanted hair lost---get the hell over it, please.

I'm on disability pension and can't believe what I'm reading here.
Don't you think that I know that other people work just because I can't work?
That is very prejudiced.
And no matter what you think about Hollywood, they know that people have to work as well.
Besides, the people in this movie do work.
It is never stated exactly how many people live in the Encanto.
But except for the Madrigals, they are just normal people with normal lives.
And the Madrigals must work as well.
It is the most clear with Julieta, who is the local healer, and Luisa, who has to do all the heavy lifting in the town.
But they all have to do something for the community or face Abuela's wrath.
While the magic will make some things much easier for them, it is not like they get anything for free.
So please, stop seeing a message that isn't there in a fantasy movie!

This is a musical fantasy film. Did you get this upset over Fantasia 2000?

Exactly, why did the creators insert politics into a kids' movie? It's like they wrote the press releases before the script.

Because some people are so stupid they can't appreciate a kids movie as a kids movie without trying to adult rationalize it.

I guess so. It was a weak story overall, but my kid didn't mind. For a kid's movie it's as deep as any of the Despicable Me movies. Which is not up to the old Disney's or Pixar's standard.

But in the first year of Biden multiple immigrant caravans have come across the border and been allowed into the country without so much as a COVID test....