Wish: Film Review
To celebrate 100 years of Disney, the studio brings us a new animation, Wish, that tells the origin story of the wishing star, which has appeared in several of its movies over the years.
Wish follows 17-year-old Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose), who lives in the kingdom of Rosas. Its leader King Magnifico (Chris Pine) is a sorcerer who keeps his citizens’ wishes locked up in his castle and grants one every year. When Asha senses a darkness in Magnifico, she makes a wish upon a star and asks for help saving the people of Rosas and their wishes from its ruler.
Wish isn’t just a standalone animation – it is a tribute to Disney movies in honour of its centennial. The song, When You Wish Upon a Star, was used in the 1940 animation Pinocchio and is the signature tune that appears alongside Disney’s logo at the start of their movies. Making wishes has also been a recurring theme within the animations over the years so it makes perfect sense for its 100th anniversary movie to lead with that concept too.
The nods to Disney movies are littered throughout Wish. Directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn have revealed there are more than 100 references to Disney films and characters within the story. Some are incredibly subtle whereas others are blatantly obvious, with appearances from Peter Pan and Bambi, Asha’s friends representing the Seven Dwarfs from Snow White, and a familiar-looking kingdom.
The animation team have also thrown the visuals back to the old days. The art style blends Disney’s traditional watercolour animation with modern computer animation, with a CGI 3D character often moving in front of a 2D painted background. It feels unusual at first because I’m so used to completely CGI animation but the old-school, slightly grainy visuals made me feel nostalgic for the Disney movies I grew up with.
The film doesn’t break any new ground in terms of the story, in fact, it feels rather lightweight and minor compared to its predecessor. However, it is still really enjoyable because of the vocal performances and solid songs, with the standouts including Welcome to Rosas and Knowing What I Know Now. I doubt any of them will match the staying power of Let It Go or You’re Welcome but I enjoyed them in the moment.
DeBose brings the songs to life effortlessly and her singing voice was so beautiful at times I had tears in my eyes. She also gives Asha a sense of wonder and naivete at first before she transforms into a fighter. Pine is ace as the evil king and his villain song, This is the Thanks I Get?!, is another highlight. Elsewhere, Disney mainstay Alan Tudyk is hilarious as Asha’s goat sidekick Valentino. I cracked up every time he spoke because his deep voice was so incongruous with his appearance.
I have seen a lot of really negative reviews of Wish and that makes me sad. It may be unoriginal but its heart is in the right place and it is a lovely ode to Disney’s legacy.
In cinemas Friday 22nd November and on Disney+ from Wednesday 3rd April