For 100 years, Disney animation has existed and built a legacy in family entertainment. It’s hard to imagine a childhood untouched by their work. Their latest film features many references to the studio’s storied history, and though that’s a lot of fun, a story needs more than that to thrive. Wish could be improved in multiple aspects, such as the story and the music.
Rosas is an island kingdom in the Mediterranean where teenager Asha (Ariana de Bose) hopes the become the new apprentice to King Magnifico (Chris Pine). Magnifico is a sorcerer. He studied until he became an extremely powerful one, and he takes the wishes of his citizens and keeps them safe. He grants some of those wishes occasionally. At her interview to be his apprentice, Asha realizes Magnifico is not going to grant any wish that could potentially threaten his power. And he refuses to return the wishes to the people. Asha is so upset that she wishes on a star to change the situation. And a star is what she gets. It’s the kind of help she’s going to need if Magnifico is going to be stopped.
Familiar Disney elements make Wish worth watching but most of the studio’s previous stories have more of that undefinable magic that make their productions last. A recycled feeling permeates the narrative in many ways. It is unfortunately not a top-tier entry into the Disney canon.
“The greater the challenge, the higher we rise.”
This film starts with a lot of expected fairy tale trappings. The plucky young heroine, the kingdom in trouble, the villain with magical powers, the funny sidekick. But the individual details here don’t generate a lot of interest. And they don’t always provide solid plotting. Asha lives with her mother and, I think, great-grandfather (that’s not completely clear). Her great-grandfather is 100 years old and has waited a long time for his wish to be granted. It sounds like Magnifico has had a long reign but he’s been able to hide his tyrannical tendencies until now?
That’s hard to believe because Asha’s pushback against his control isn’t that strenuous. It doesn’t seem to take much to prompt Magnifico into his villainous behavior. He may promise his queen that he won’t use that book of evil magic he keeps locked up but we know he will by the end. Pine was a great choice for Magnifico’s voice, though. He does his own singing and he’s pretty good. Just as he was in Into the Woods. And Magnifico actually looks a bit like Pine, with the photogenic features and blue eyes.
Another typical detail of this kind of tale is the animal sidekick. Asha gets a goat, Valentino (Alan Tudyk). The star touches a lot of animals when it arrives, giving them the gift of speech, and Valentino is one of them. Much of what humor we do get comes from him. There could be a lot more comedy, however.
“I believe I have just been threatened.”
The artistic portions of this production are really a mixed bag. The design, for example, was good when it came to the look of Rosas and some of the costuming. I also liked the way the wishes looked like the core memories in Inside Out. But the star that visits Asha looked like an emoji. And none of it felt distinctive when compared to the design of some other recent Disney fairy tales, like Tangled.
As for the music, there’s nothing as memorable as Encanto‘s “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” here. I do like the fact that Asha and Magnifico duet on “At All Costs” just before he shows his true colors. I don’t recall that Disney Animation has ever had a hero and villain duet before. Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice wrote music with a lot of energy but the masterwork of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman has not been equaled. The fact that de Bose is such a talented singer did help keep the songs enjoyable.
More plotting questions are raised by the resolution of the story. The modern physics idea that we are all made of stardust plays into the climax in a way that proves to be, well, anticlimactic. The story also misses a chance to develop an intriguing idea of revolution more deeply. Also, the plethora of references to other Disney movies is a double-edged sword. They are delightful but they are also an unflattering contrast with this film. All of the reminders of past films just highlight the things Wish struggles with.
3 stars out of 5
Wish is playing in theaters.
