Wish

The problem with “Wish,” Walt Disney’s official 100^th anniversary 2023 production, is not that it is a bad film. It is that is surprisingly typical. While undeniably there are many younger viewers – and young at heart, obviously – will be entertained, in the long run this is not going to be remembered as one of the greats. Directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veersunthorn have both made better films.

On the Mediterranean island of Rosas, 17-year-old Asha (Ariana DeBose) applies to become apprentice to king and sorcerer Magnifico (Chris Pine). Magnifico is loved by the people for granting a person’s wishes out of dreams given to him by his subjects. When Asha finds out that Magnifico’s actions are not so generous, and she is visited by the very star that she wished on, Asha resolves to free Magnifico’s captured wishes and return them to their owners.

Grant Watson said in his review, “There is a superficial resemblance here to Neil Gaiman’s novella Stardust, but really the origins of the story are fairly obvious: the events are initiated by a character wishing on a star. This is not the only reference to Disney’s animated history to be found in Wish. The production runs awash with visual and character-based cues from Mickey Mouse to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and many others. According to one Internet source I read, these nods run to at least 40.” This becomes into something of an Easter egg hunt, distracting from and weakening the main storyline. One or two might have been understandable. 40 is overdoing it.

Asha is a reasonable main character and Magnifico a somewhat decent villain, but the film’s supporting cast runs far too broad and numerous. Besides from Asha’s mother (Natasha Rothwell), grandfather (Martin Stein from “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow,” Victor Garber), and pet goat (Alan Tudyk), she also has seven close friends – each one resembling one of Snow White’s seven dwarfs. While viewers might remember royal baker Dalhia (Jennifer Kumiyama) and the grumpy Gabo (Harvey Guillén) by the end of the movie, it seems unlikely they will also be able to name and identify Hal (Niko Vargas), Simon (Evan Peters), Bazeema (Della Saba), Safi (Ramy Youssef), and Dario (Jon Rudnitsky). The film becomes overflowed with characters, all to make a film reference.

Watson said, “Aesthetically there is a bold attempt to blend computer-generated animation with a flat, painterly look intended to resemble hand-drawn traditional art. As an experiment it is interesting, but as an overall presentation the look backfires. The loss of detail makes the animation look weaker. More than once I was reminded of a cut scene in a videogame.”

The songs, by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, seem to make all of the expected beats without making a specific “knock-out” musical number. The same goes for Dave Metzger’s orchestral score, which feels fitted to the events on the film yet never inspires much enthusiasm. Watson said, “These drawbacks represent Wish in a nutshell: it is competent but boring, typically Disneyesque yet unenthused and forgettable.”

The quality of the Walti Disney Animation Studios goes up and down with time, like any company that has been around forever. “Wish” seems to capture the studio in an unused period. Watson said, “2022’s Strange World was uncharacteristically poor, and looking forward there is nothing announced but sequels. It is slightly unfortunate that Wish‘s closing credits are decorated with images of Disney’s long legacy of animated features (although, notably, The Rescuers, The Black Cauldron, and a handful of 1940s films fail to get a look in.)” They are there to be special, but just remind us how much better Walt Disney can be.

There are problems with the film. Like Magnifico quickly changing sides, the motive of the movie changing from Asha wanting to be the apprentice to getting everyone’s wish back, Magnifico finding out and wanting to find Asha, and all of the stuff that makes it feel like it is changing movies so quick. I think it has nice animation for the most part and the music can be upbeat and catchy, but for the 100^th celebration, the company could have done a lot better. This isn’t entirely bad, but it is forgettable. If you want to check it out on Disney+, I don’t think it will hurt, but I don’t recommend it.

Later today, I will do my yearly holiday film. Stay tuned for that.