Wish

“In this animated musical-comedy, Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a powerful wish that’s answered by Star, a ball of boundless energy. Soon, Asha and Star must face a formidable foe and prove that one brave human can make wondrous things happen.”

Now 100 years of movie-making magic, Disney releases perhaps its most appropriate film: Wish, keeping with its long-lasting theme of making wishes upon a star to make your dreams come true.

Now available for purchase digitally, Wish tells the story of the kingdom of Rosas, ruled by Magnifico (Chris Pine) and his wife Amaya (Angelique Cabral), the King takes and protects the wishes given to him willingly by his subjects, each month holding a ceremony that will grant one citizen their wish come true, however, once the wish is given away, the subjects lose all memory of their strongest desires if and when the day comes it is granted. Now looking for an apprentice, 17-year-old Asha (Ariana DeBose) interviews for the position, with the hopes to get her grandfathers wish granted next, who has been waiting decades. She learns that there are some wishes Magnifico refuses to grant due to unforeseen circumstances that could threaten his rule. After his further refusal to consider giving back the wishes to his subjects so they can pursue them themselves, Asha makes her own wish upon a star, a wish to returns everyone’s wishes to them, a wish that manifests itself in the form of a living star that has the power to grant her wish and more.

You can always count on Disney to include suitable themes in their animated films that help inspire younger audiences. The theme of following your heart, working to make your own wishes come true is especially important in this day and age. It’s compounded by the fact that in the story when you give your wish away, you lose all memory of it, all desire to grow, achieve, contribute; all the more reason to take control of your own destiny and not wait around for things to be handed to you.

The songs in the film can be hit or miss. “The Wish” is definitely the showcased song. I also really liked “Knowing What I Know Now”. Both are very inspirational and catchy songs. Additionally on the technical side, I really enjoyed the animation style, a cross between CG and traditional line-drawn, the blend perfectly celebrates Disney’s animation evolution over the past century. I hope they continue to push boundaries with new and interesting animation styles.

Asha is a very believable and likable addition to the Disney character line. She isn’t perfect, but her intentions are well-meaning and she genuinely wants to help other achieve their dreams. While she may not look at the big picture of things like Magnifico does, I think that her core belief in seeing the best in people and having faith in those around her makes her a good character. Naïve perhaps, but a good example of how things should be in a perfect world. Her side-kick, Valentino (Alan Tudyk), is another great thing about the film. The goat is extremely funny, not too over-the-top, and just overall well voice-acted by Tudyk. The film is also rounded out by some unique and humorous supporting characters.

Unlike other traditional Disney animated films, the antagonist isn’t really clear at the beginning, which is interesting since it isn’t the typical evil-y drawn stereotypical baddie that is very one-dimensional. Magnifico does what he does because of his past, losing people he loved due to magic and turmoil that ruined the place he once lived. Believing that what he’s doing is protecting everyone, he very much thinks what he is doing is right, even if it means depriving some of his subjects from their desires, most of them harmless and selfless. It isn’t until what he perceives to be a threat to his rule, one that could bring back the kind of conflict that endangered him earlier in life, that he decides to go down a darker path. Because Magnifico is a complicated villain, I honestly didn’t like how the film concluded his story.

Some aspects of the film that I liked, such as Magnifico being a complicated character, were also some of the reasons I felt the film lacked in focus, especially in a Disney animated film. It’s hard to say without a doubt who is right between Magnifico and Asha. Perhaps it becomes obvious in certain circumstances such as the wish he refused to grant her grandfather, but his reasoning for doing it is the protection of the kingdom and all his subjects. It delves into themes of freedoms, free-will, and other more adult-oriented aspects, but then tries to simplify them to fit neatly into two black and white categories. Because of that, Wish can feel muddled at times.

We were given a digital code to review this film, which is out now for purchase digitally. The digital copy also includes quite a few bonus features such as interviews, deleted scenes and songs, and more. Physical copies, DVD, Blu-ray and 4k will be released on March 12^th.