Wish Review

Directed By: Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn
Written By: Jennifer Lee, Allison Moore, and Chris Buck
Runtime: 92 minutes
MPA Rating: Rated PG for thematic elements and mild action.

Ariana DeBose – Asha
Chris Pine – King Magnifico
Alan Tudyk – Valentino
Victor Garber – Sabino
Angelique Cabral – Queen Amaya
Natasha Rothwell – Sakina
Jennifer Kumiyama – Dahlia
Harvey Guillén – Gabo
Evan Peters – Simon
Niko Vargas – Hal
Della Saba – Bazeema
Jon Rudnitsky – Dario
Ramy Youssef – Safi

The new Disney animated feature Wish marks the studio’s 100th anniversary. The film acts as a culmination and an homage to its predecessors and works splendidly well as part of Disney’s centennial celebration. While it’s not specifically a prequel, Wish acts as a general origin story to the wishing star from Disney stories of yore. Wish is by no means one of the best Disney animated features, but it’s still a fine entry with many enjoyable aspects and an eye-pleasing aesthetic.

Set in the magical kingdom of Rosas, Wish follows the young teenager Asha (DeBose), who seeks to become the new apprentice of her homeland’s ruler, the powerful sorcerer King Magnifico (Pine). In the land of Rosas, all citizens who come to live there give up their heart’s greatest desire in a coming-of-age ceremony at 18 years old. Then, Magnifico erases that wish from their memory and grants a citizen their wish once a month. Asha is seeking the job of Magnifico’s apprentice with the hope that it will work as a shortcut for her 100-year-old grandfather Sabino (Garber) to finally receive his heartfelt wish.

Asha’s meeting with King Magnifico starts well, but she upsets the monarch when she suggests that Magnifico return the citizens’ wishes since he refuses to grant Sabino’s wish. Heartbroken by the king’s dismissal, Asha wishes for something more, and it creates a powerful magic, causing the arrival of a mischievous, playful entity named Star. Asha and her baby goat companion, Valentino (Tudyk), befriend Star, and Star even grants Valentino a macho human voice. Together, they seek to free the citizens’ wishes from Magnifico, so the people can regain their hopes and dreams that Magnifico has removed. Magnifico becomes threatened by Star’s magic. While the king may have been well-intentioned when he established his new kingdom and enacted strict rules regarding magic, he grows mad with power and becomes consumed with his obsession to acquire Star’s magic.

While the story of Wish is relatively simplistic, it’s still utterly charming and fun. Plus, it has one of the better soundtracks for a Disney animated musical in recent memory, which is backed up incredibly well by DeBose as Asha and Pine as Magnifico, who continues to prove his chops as an exceptional singer. Dave Metzer, Julia Michaels, and Benjamin Rice composed a magnificent group of songs for the film, with the standouts being “This Wish” by DeBose and Magnifico’s catchy villain song, “This Is the Thanks I Get,” sung by Pine. g

What holds Wish back from being far greater are some undeveloped ideas, such as what exactly Star is and how its magic works. There is some vague exposition that Star’s magic resides in all living things, so all beings are essentially the same as Star, but that doesn’t make sense considering Star’s capabilities. The wishes Magnifico hoards and keeps captive are alive because they carry other people’s hopes and dreams. That makes sense, but is Star merely a larger collection of other people’s hopes and dreams? Does Asha have more powerful magic within her? Is Star a wishing star in training trying to gain its twinkle? The film doesn’t offer much in the way of a better explanation or exploration of Star’s magic. Asha wished for Star, and Star appeared. However, everyone is also a Star as well. It muddles the story up a bit.

Elsewhere, the prologue notes that Magnifico lost his previous home because of human cruelty and greed; hence his strict, authoritarian, and overprotective rule over Rosas. Magnifico’s origin warranted further exploration, which could have made his corruption by dark magic sadder and even more tragic. That aside, Chris Pine does exceedingly well portraying the narcissistic Magnifico and his descent into madness. Once Magnifico realizes there is magic greater than his own, Pine turns on the oily charm.

Co-directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn opt for a unique visual aesthetic for Wish. It mixes modern CG animation tools with a rustic, hand-drawn style. The backgrounds and Rosas resemble Disney’s historical watercolor animation that imbues the film with a grainy, rustic quality that looks very appealing. It appears to mix a traditional Disney style with CG animation that’s different from cel-shading. Both the story and animation pay homage to Disney’s history. The animation style lends the experience an illustrated storybook quality, adding to the film’s magical charm. The animation presentation feels very fresh for Disney, so hopefully, it isn’t the last time Walt Disney Animation Studios attempts something like this.

While Wish can come off as self-congratulatory as a way for Disney to celebrate its history, it’s still a fun, magical adventure filled with charming characters and countless Disney Easter eggs.

8.0

The final score: review Very Good

The 411

Disney's Wish is an enjoyable, festive celebration of Disney magic and history. It's a cute film with good songs, music, and a lovely, unique visual aesthetic. Chris Pine makes for a great oily villain. Some ideas are a bit underdeveloped. Hopefully, it's not too long before Disney makes another attempt at utilizing this film's specific animation style because it looks enthralling. Moviegoers should be advised not to leave during the closing credits, or they will miss the most important part.