From 1937’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” to the more recent “Encanto” and even newer “Elemental”, the Walt Disney Company has produced countless movies that have shaped the childhoods of millions around the world.
And now, inspired by Disney’s 100-year anniversary, “Wish” is presented as a love letter of sorts, focusing on a theme that spreads across most of the studio’s films: wishes coming true.
It’s also been described as the origin story of the wishing star from “Pinocchio” (1940). But is “Wish” any good?
Viewers are introduced to the magical kingdom of Rosas, founded by one King Magnifico (Chris Pine) and Queen Amaya (Angelique Cabral). Once its citizens turn 18, they present a wish to the king, who chooses just one out of the many to be granted each month.
Meanwhile, the central protagonist is 17-year-old Asha (Arianna DeBose), who meets Magnifico. Her request? For her 100-year-old grandfather’s wish to be granted – but the king, initially welcoming, refuses, claiming it’s a threat to his power.
Upon learning that Magnifico never returns ungranted wishes or the memories of them to their respective owners, Asha wishes upon a star… and lo and behold, an actual star falls from the sky!
This, however, is no ordinary star – it’s Star, upper case, Disney’s iconic celestial body brought to life! Together with Star and her group of friends, Asha embarks on a dangerous mission to restore everybody’s wishes.
So, what works here? Asha, voiced by the Oscar-winning DeBose (“West Side Story”), is a terrific Broadway performer who’s more than up to the task of making her character, well, sing.
She pours her soul into her vocal performances and imbues Asha with a likeable charm. It also helps that she’s accompanied by the bubbly Star and an adorable talking goat, voiced to scene-stealing perfection by Alan Tudyk.
As the villainous Magnifico, Pine also does a competent job. With his voice dripping with charisma and later menace, he certainly tries his best with a character that’s regrettably one-dimensional.
Sure, he strives to be as dramatic as those who came before him, such as Jafar from “Aladdin” or Frollo from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”, but ultimately, Magnifico isn’t all that magnificent.
The songs – a pillar of Disney films for many years – are performed well by DeBose and Pine but are generic and forgettable. You’re not likely to leave the cinema humming a tune, and they also sound way too modern for the medieval-style setting.
Visually, the studio tries something new by combining traditional 2D animation with 3D effects, as a way of paying tribute to its hand-drawn history and digital present.
It’s a noble effort but, alas, the results can be quite jarring, with the characters and background not meshing well; it often feels like a poor green-screen effect, causing the scene to lose dimension.
Overall, though, “Wish” is weakened by its effort to cram too many references to Disney’s previous movies. What is clearly intended to be a tribute to the studio’s glory days comes across as trying too hard.
And this is indeed a shame, as the concept of wishes potentially being dangerous is laden with promise. Sadly, this is pushed aside to make way for a generic good-versus-evil tale, sacrificing a fresh and original story in its wake.
As a result, while it’s not without its merits, “Wish” will likely end up making you wish there was more substance and not just nostalgia to prop it up.
As of press time, ‘Wish’ is screening in cinemas nationwide.