Just as I was a few minutes away from the theater to see Wish (the 62nd animated feature from the company), I thought to myself: How many times has that word been used in their past films?
Songs that came to mind include “I’m Wishing” from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), “A Dream is a Wish your Heart makes” from Cinderella (1950), and, of course, the king of all Disney songs, “When you wish upon a star” from Pinocchio (1940). If one were to make a word cloud of the dialogue (and songs) in Disney films, “Wish” would most likely turn up more than any other word (with the possible exception of “Dream”). With that logic, it seemed a movie like Wish would be inevitable to be released on the centennial of the most known movie studio in history.
An original story, the film starts (as all good old school mouse house flicks do, with the opening of a book) with us learning of the kingdom of Rosas, ruled by King Magnifico (Chris Pine) and his wife, Queen Amaya (Angelique Cabral). A sorcerer, Magnifico is in charge of all the individual wishes of the population, making a monthly ceremony dedicated to granting one wish to come true.
Enter 17 year old Asha (Ariana Debose), who applies to be the King’s apprentice while also trying to finally have her 100 year old grandfather Sabino’s (the always wonderful Victor Garber) wish (it should be noted when someone gives the king a wish, they don’t remember what the wish is). Not all is as it seems, and Asha is left with nothing but to wish upon a star, which surprisingly (though not really) results in a star coming down to help her (looking a lot like the stars in Super Mario Galaxy).
In the back of my mind throughout the movie, I was paying attention to the songs, seeing which would be the newest viral sensation. Of the songs, I am going to take a guess that it will be the song “this is the thanks I get?!?!” sung by Chris Pine’s Magnifico (this man is rather underappreciated for his talent). The rest of the songs may not have the same punch or memorability as Frozen (2013), Moana (2016) or Encanto (2021), but they are still catchy.
What is easily the most memorable thing about the film is the animation. About ten minutes or so into the film, I realized it was not the standard computer 3-D animation we get from other studios, but a mix with the classic style of 2-D from the past. The results are simply superior
Parents, it’s a Disney animated movie, so yeah, enjoy it with your kids. There is more than enough here to put you and the kids through a lot of great emotions (they will surely love Valentino who is voiced by the polished vocally master Alan Tudyk).
With 100 years of some rich history, the makers of Wish are not afraid to make this film a love letter to our childhood memories. I admit the film will need more than one viewing to catch all the easter eggs, but some are rather obvious (from a deer named Bambi to the characteristics of Asha’s seven friends). Apparently, these callbacks are some of the reasons why rottentomatoes.com has (at the moment) this film at 50%, which simply baffles me.
Wish is clearly not a movie that compares to the likes of classics like Fantasia (1940), Pinocchio (1940), Bambi (1942), Beauty and the Beast (1991), or The Lion King (1994), just to name a few.
Still, I personally wish the company would do more movies like this than any more live-action remakes, and I truly hope I’m not alone in that thinking.
Overall:
Nothing else to say 