Wish review

WISH: 

DISNEY’S 100^TH ANNIVERSARY MILESTONE COULD HAVE USED MORE MAGIC! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: ** ½ out of 4

DISNEY

Asha and Valentino in Disney’s Wish

 

            Disney celebrates 100 years of magic with Wish, the latest animated feature from Walt Disney Animation Studios and directed by Chris Buck (Tarzan, Surf’s Up, Frozen 1 and 2) and Disney story artist Fawn Veerasunthorn (Frozen, Zootopia, Raya and the Last Dragon) in her directorial debut. It’s no secret that Disney’s been on a rather bumpy roller coaster lately with some of their recent movies (both animated and live-action) not quite winning over as many audiences as they used to with very hit-or-miss qualities. 

            After last year’s Strange World failed to find much of an audience, Disney went back to what they always did best, the fairytale story with a twist and that’s where Wish comes in. The movie looked interesting when I first saw the trailer, I thought it had a very unique animation and art style that blends CG animation with traditional hand-drawn animation, and I thought the concept had a lot of potential while the story seemed like another Disney animated fairytale. 

            However, I was ready for the movie to surprise me as what films like The Princess and the Frog, Tangled, and Frozen did when I saw those for the first time. Turns out me initially thinking it looked like a run-of-the-mill Disneyfilm was warranted because this is one of the most average Disney movies I’ve seen in a long time. 

            It’s not one of Disney’s worst animated films nor do I even think it’s bad, but compared to their other films that pushed the envelope of the classic Disney formula, I found it to be really lacking and to put it bluntly, forgettable. Still better than Home on the Range and Chicken Little, I guess. 

            The film follows Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose-Hamilton, The Prom, West Side Story (2021)), a sharp-witted young girl who makes a wish upon a star so powerful that it’s answered by a cosmic force, a little ball of boundless energy known as Star (Who looks just like a Luma from Super Mario Bros.). Together, Asha, Star, and a talking goat named Valentino (voiced by Alan Tudyk-Wreck-It Ralph, Frozen, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story) confront a formidable foe in the form of the sorcerer ruler of Rosas named King Magnifico (voiced by Chris Pine-Star Trek franchise, Wonder Woman 1 and 2, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves) to save her home and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wonderous things will happen. 

            The film also features the voices of Angelique Cabral (Friends with Benefits, Enlisted, Life in Pieces) as Queen Amaya, Victor Garber (Titanic, Argo, Sicario) as Sabino, Natasha Rothwell (Love, Simon, Sonic the Hedgehog 1 and 2,Wonka) as Sakina, Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows, Blue Beetle, The Garfield Movie) as Gabo, Evan Peters (Kick-Ass, X-Men franchise, WandaVision) as Simon, Ramy Youssef (See Dad Run, Mr. Robot, Poor Things) as Safi, and Jon Rudnitsky (Home Again, Set It Up, Nobody’s Fool) as Dario. 

            Overall, Wish is a fine animated feature for kids and families to watch over the holiday season, but for a film that’s supposed to culminate 100 years of Disney magic, it leaves a lot to be desired. There are things about it that work, the storybook-like animation as mentioned before is beautiful to look at, the film even opens up like a classic Disneyfilm with a storybook in the beginning, the premise revolving around the origins of the wishing star is clever, and some of the musical numbers are fun and full of energy. 

            But for every idea that works, the film feels the need to contrast it with tired Disney clichés or narrative elements used in other Disney films with little variety. Talking animal sidekick, check, comic relief song sequence (In this film’s case, there’s 2 and neither one of them is memorable), and some of the most forced Disney references I’ve ever seen, if you want a textbook example of how NOT to reference Disney movies in a Disney movie, listen to Magnifico’s dialogue when he becomes consumed with dark magic. 

            Again, I can’t say this is a bad movie, but I think what rubs me the wrong way is that it’s supposed to be the movie that celebrates Disney’s 100^th Anniversary and the film itself just isn’t that special. The plot is structured like any other Disney fairytale story with a lot of the same plot points as others, mostly forgettable songs with a few exceptions, and characters that leave very little impression. 

            Asha is the typical dreamer who is sometimes a little quirky and has a good heart which is fine, and King Magnifico does have some enjoyable moments as this power-hungry and egocentric ruler almost like if Gaston had the powers of Maleficent (He also has the best song in the movie). But the side characters, I don’t remember anything about them not even most of their names or what their personalities were. 

            Compare this to movies like Tangled or Frozen, you remember just about every character from those movies even if they only have a bit role. I remember the two thief brothers and the assortment of goons in the pub from Tangledor the shop owner and Duke of Weasel-Town (Excuse me, Weselton!) from Frozen because they’re all unique and leave a lasting impression after you watch it, can’t say the same for Asha’s family and friends sadly. 

            Wish is a visually impressive, but narratively thin Disney outing that’s perfectly inoffensive and fine for kids and families to go see. But compared to the countless other animated Disney films from the studio’s 100 years that are far superior in terms of storytelling and characters, it just makes you wish you were watching one of those instead…I didn’t mean to do that just now!