Disney’s “Wish” may have been “100 years in the making,” but the film itself felt haphazard and poorly executed.
Disney’s newest animated movie “Wish” marks the conglomerate’s 100th birthday, with ads painting the film as “a hundred years in the making.”
However, what was supposed to be a cinematic cumulation of wondrous, palpable magic ended up a bland, haphazard imitation of the classic style of vintage Disney movies.
The movie follows the idealistic teen Asha (Ariana DeBose), who discovers King Magnifico (Chris Pine), the ruler of her nation Rosas, has no intention of granting any of the citizens of Rosas wishes.
When they turn 18 years old, each citizen gives up their wish to Magnifico who promises there may be a chance he’ll grant the wish one day; however, when he uses magic to extract wishes from his subjects’ souls, he erases the memory of the wish.
After making a wish to free everyone’s wishes from the king’s clutches, a cosmic force — a star named Star — answers Asha’s pleas and they join forces to defeat Magnifico.
While the film’ premise seems fit for a classic fairytale, it lacks identity and direction. Since “Wish” is supposed to be the movie celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary, it should encompass the heart of a Disney movie through charming characters, catchy tunes and an overarching theme.
However, “Wish” is too uninspired to commit to an original plot and instead relies on a predictable storyline and cameos from animated Disney characters to fabricate the facade of an original story.
DeBose (“West Side Story,” “Hamilton”) as Asha was the film’s standout performance. She proved herself to be a vocal powerhouse in songs such as “This Wish” and “Knowing What I Know Now.” Her vocal portrayal as Asha effortlessly encapsulates the protagonist’s earnest, passionate nature.
Pine (“Wonder Woman,” “Don’t Worry Darling”) also delivers an impressive performance as Magnifico, portraying a power hungry narcissist through his malicious and aggressive line delivery.
Despite exceptional vocals and voice acting from DeBose and Pine, the script and song lyrics were dull at their best and tortuous at their worst. With the exception of “Knowing What I Know Now” and “This is the Thanks I Get?!” each song sounds the same. The tunes simultaneously imitate the sound and chorus of a show tune and the lyricism of a hip-hop song by Lin-Manuel Miranda, who — shockingly — had no contribution to this movie.
The true standout song is Magnifico’s villain song “This is the Thanks I Get?!” but not for good reason. As the villain’s musical number, it should convey his malice and depict him as a threat — however, the awkward rhythm and lyrics are deeply unserious.
Disney has an obsession with quirky and off-beat humor but in “Wish,” the trope is tired and overdone. Several times throughout the film characters’ songs are interrupted by misplaced jokes. A children’s movie doesn’t have to be brilliantly comedic, but the lazy humor often distracts from the plot, especially in regards to Asha’s dorkiness.
Asha is not a lifeless character by any means. Her personal growth and emotional depth shined throughout “Wish.” However, her awkward and idealistic personality is seemingly copy-pasted from like-minded Disney heroines like Rapunzel and Moana.
Aesthetically speaking, the film’s scenery is astonishing. Resembling watercolor painting techniques, the animated background is stunning and the design of Rosas — mainly inspired by Mediterranean culture and architecture — is gorgeous as well. The cool-toned color palette perfectly encapsulates a dreamy, fairytale-esque atmosphere.
The character designs are also thoughtful. In the past, Disney has faced criticism for “same face syndrome” in their movies, but in recent years they have made an effort to diversify their characters’ appearances. The characters in “Wish” are a step in the right direction, as each character has their own unique features, including different facial structures, hair and body types, making the film more visually appealing.
In addition to signifying the studio’s anniversary, “Wish” was marketed as an innovative film by combining both 2D and 3D animation. However, Disney’s attempt at 2.5D animation — a blend of both 2D and 3D animation techniques — utterly fails. The 2D background and 3D characters are beautiful on their own but when placed side by side, the animation looks awkward and unfinished. The effect makes the movie look like an animation for a video game advertisement.
Movies such as Dreamworks’ “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish” and Sony Pictures’ “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse” serve as examples of how studios can produce films with creative, stylized animation, but Disney appears too unambitious to delve into unfamiliar territory. Even if “Wish” was Disney’s attempt at a new animation style, their attempt was painfully inadequate.
Disney was once a titan of the entertainment industry, ushering in era after era of imagination and innovation. However, today’s Disney films are a shell of its former self, producing forgettable, regurgitated projects.
“Wish” is in theaters now.
Featured image courtesy of Disney.
