Disney’s Wish had an impossible task ahead of it, so should we fault it for not quite hitting the mark?
The Walt Disney company celebrates its 100th anniversary this year, and the animated movie Wish was expected to be a celebration of that legacy. Any other year this film would have been an alright addition to the Disney library, but within the greater context it feels less than special.
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The film is about kind hearted Asha, played by Ariana DeBose, who wants nothing more than to see the wishes of her fellow villagers fulfilled. King Magnifico, a powerful sorcerer voiced by Chris Pine, also appears to have the same desires and offers to take the villagers’ wishes from them in order to protect them from ever being broken. But when Asha discovers the King doesn’t really intend to grant these wishes, she enlists the help of a magic star and a talking goat, voiced by Alan Tudyk, to free the wishes and return them to their rightful owners.
The concept of wishes being physical entities was very intriguing to me. I was also interested to learn why King Magnifico refused to grant these wishes. Unfortunately, Magnifico was a very surface level villain. He kept the wishes simply because he was greedy and narcissistic. Although the movie hinted at a back story or origin I was shocked we didn’t receive one. Maybe I am overreacting, but it should be illegal to mention a character had a rough history and not tell us what that history is. The rest of the story is pretty simplistic.
Of course we can’t have a Disney film without some music. The moving melodies are a staple of a Disney animated movie and Wish is poised to celebrate the 100 years of rich songs. Maybe that burden is too great for any one movie to bear. Instead “Wish” is stuffed with a bunch of uninspired pop songs. None of them have the “epicness” of a classic Disney song. One could make an argument for the chorus of “This Wish”, but after Ariana Debose powers through her notes the rest of the song devolves into a singing animal hip hop number. I will admit that on occasion I belt out the lyrics to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” in the car ride to work, but I will never be caught doing a carpool karaoke rendition of “This Is The Thanks I Get?!”. Also I’ll say it: Lin Manuel Miranda’s influence on Disney has gone on for too long. I will never forgive him for “The Scuttlebutt.”
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One of the delights Wish does provide its viewers is the array of easter eggs and references to other Disney movies. Asha has seven friends each of which represent one of the seven dwarves, some familiar faces show up like Peter Pan, and Magnifico even steals the Evil Queen’s famous line. Of course, we also can’t have a Disney movie without a couple hidden Mickeys. So if you find yourself bored with the story keep your eyes peeled for some neat hidden details.
Maybe, I am being too harsh on Wish and maybe it doesn’t deserve to have the pressure of celebrating the 100th anniversary. A task that is much better achieved by the recently released short film, “Once Upon a Studio.” Wish is an alright film. Not Disney’s best but I wouldn’t put it at the bottom.
Maybe second to last.
