From the appearances of nearly every Disney animated protagonist over the film’s closing credits to the many self-referential Easter eggs scattered throughout, Wish was clearly designed to allow the studio to pat itself on the back for its 100th anniversary.
Such a celebration turns out to be an act of hubris almost as glaring as the way that the “00” in the “Disney 100” logo has been designed to resemble the symbol for infinity; the forgettable, generic Wish is unlikely ever to be mentioned alongside the company’s most legendary achievements.
The plotting, the characters, even the songs have a rote, familiar quality. And references to earlier Disney movies have already been done to death, both cleverly (Ralph Breaks the Internet) and annoyingly (the live-action Pinocchio).
With enough time, distance, and nostalgic yearning, nearly Disney cartoon eventually finds its defenders when its initial wave of young fans comes of age — who would have predicted Treasure Planet would develop a cult following? — but for audiences who’ve seen this sort of thing countless times before, this tale of dreams deferred and desires exploited pleasantly enters and exits the consciousness without finding a foothold.
All the usual boxes are checked: Spunky protagonist with at least one dead parent? That would be Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose) who lives in the kingdom of Rosas. Seemingly benign authority figure who’s actually corrupt and evil? Meet King Magnifico (Chris Pine), a powerful wizard who collects the wishes of Rosa’s citizens and keeps them safe; the citizens forget what they’ve wished for once they’ve consigned that desire to Magnifico, but once a month, he grants the wish of one lucky subject.
When Asha applies to be Magnifico’s apprentice, she realizes that he picks and chooses wishes based on whether he thinks they’re “dangerous” or not, and that those captured wishes fuel his magic powers. It becomes clear that Magnifico is a despot who uses the excuse of public safety and welfare to rationalize his tyrannical behavior; Asha’s theft of her 100-year-old grandfather’s wish unleashes Magnifico’s dark side, and when she wishes on a star, the star itself comes down to Earth to help Asha liberate the kingdom.
She’ll need a little help from — here come more clichés — her animal sidekick Valentino, a goat who’s been given the ability to speak (in Alan Tudyk’s voice) by the star, as well as a passel of pals; so many pals, in fact, that Wish barely has room to give them distinguishable personalities, although Harvey Guillén is a standout as the eternally suspicious Gabo.
If Wish plants a notable flag in the Disney landscape, it’s as a political narrative: Screenwriters Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore craft a villain who literally holds the hopes and dreams of his people hostage in order to feed his own power, and when he deprives them of what they want, he assures them that it’s for their own good. That’s an idea that could be taken to dark and fascinating places in a post–January 6 landscape, but the film addresses this notion only fleetingly before ladling on more emotionally shallow goo about the power of wishes.
The songs by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice serve to direct traffic in a familiar way (“Welcome to Rosas” tunefully tosses out exposition much like”Belle” in Beauty and the Beast or Encanto’s “The Family Madrigal”; Magnifico gets a standard villain number, “This Is the Thanks I Get?”) without really sticking in the memory, at least on a first listen. On a visual level, the film does at least skillfully contrast the glowing orb of the wishing star with the more realistic terrain of Rosas and its citizens, although even the sight gags are plagued with the familiarity that permeates the rest of the production.
DeBose, so unforgettable in West Side Story, does what she can to elevate Asha beyond the usual teen-with-spunk, and Pine clearly relishes a rare excursion into on-screen wickedness. But for a film that’s meant to sum up a century’s worth of groundbreaking animated feature production — the song “When You Wish Upon a Star” is even baked into Disney’s corporate logo — Wish plays more like a collection of deleted tracks than greatest hits.
Director: Chris Buck, Dawn Veerasunthorn
Screenwriters: Jennifer Lee, Allison Moore
Cast: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Harvey Guillén, Niko Vargas, Evan Peters, Ramy Youssef, Jon Rudnitsky, Della Saba
Producers: Peter Del Vecho, Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster Jones
Executive producers: Jennifer Lee, Don Hall
Production design: Michael Giaimo, Lisa Keene, David Womersley
Directors of cinematography: Rob Dressel (layout), Adolph Lusinsky (lighting)
Editing: Jeff Draheim
Music: Dave Metzger, score; Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, songs
Sound: Nia Hansen, sound designer
Production companies: Walt Disney Studios
In English
95 minutes
