Many cultural critics mourn the death of the monoculture. However, there are few companies more engrained in cultural consciousness like Disney. Between its films, experiential offerings, and a plethora of personal characters, the company rooted itself in the history of American pop culture. Its tendrils are long and have helped shape discourse about film and television for decades. One needs to look no further than those who decry animation as “cartoons for kids” to see the impact of their dominance. To celebrate its 100th anniversary, Disney chose to focus Wish – the animation studio’s 62nd feature – on the “origins” of the star. What we get is a feature-filled with loving tributes to the company’s history. Sadly, this also leaves the audience with bad songs and a shockingly thin story.
Following the story of Asha (Ariana DeBose), Wish takes us to the mystical realm of Rosas. In this kingdom, King Magnifico (Chris Pine) offers a trade: safety for your wishes. About fifteen times a year, Magnifico grants his citizens’ wishes, but only once he confirms the wish will not upset his utopia. When Asha discovers her 100-year-old grandfather (Victor Garber) will not get his wish granted, she fights with Magnifico. In the aftermath, Asha sings to the sky as she wonders about Rosas’ future. Suddenly, a living-breathing star, named Star, comes out of the sky. With Star’s help, Asha hopes to return the wishes that will go ungranted to the people.
From its opening number, Wish suffers for serving too many masters. This begins with its seemingly corporate mandate to celebrate Disney as a company over telling an innovative story. For decades, Disney created nods to its previous films by reusing cell animation visuals and animatics. For example, Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella feature the same dance sequence to close the story. Robin Hood utilized character designs from the Disney talking-animal library. At times, Wish opts to utilize similar pastiche. However, it does on a much higher scale, with mere minutes between these easter eggs (sometimes showing multiple in the same scene). This often sacrifices story in favor of delivering a moment of fan service.
Few companies have utilized fan service quite like Disney. The concept, which seemed to gain power when used by Star Wars, Marvel, and even 2013’s Mickey Mouse, gave the fans unique moments they’d longed to see. In an IP-driven era of television and film, giving audiences what they wanted seemed like a strong pitch. Yet the divides and changing sensibilities of some fandoms hurt some of these products, while those with vision could serve both masters. That’s where Wish finds its struggle, as it utilizes the fan-service to play on nostalgia and fan-knowledge, rather than integrate the concepts into the heart of the story.
When one starts to pull at the threads of Wish, the storyline quickly falls apart. Rather than use the concept of giving up one’s “wish” for safety and exploring that complicated philosophical trade, there seems to be mass delusion over getting one’s dream returned to them. This also supports the idea that we would prefer a one-time payout of our highest dreams rather than struggle to achieve them over time. Additionally, some individuals become a shell of themselves when they lose their wish. It’s remarked on a few times but also seems selective in those affected. Each of these threads on their own could be interesting to explore on their own, and could frankly be the entire premise of a future Disney film. Yet Wish jumbles them all together, does little to explore any of these concepts, and plows ahead with its frankly underwhelming protagonist.
Early in the movie, Magnifico tries to speak to Asha about the wishes. When she immediately pushes for her grandfather’s wish, Magnifico remarks that it usually takes longer for potential assistants to ask him for the favor. We’re meant to believe that Asha is strong of heart and mind, but it’s clear that her interests are based on her own perceptions of the world. She’s an idealist, but the film never tries to grapple with the reality of her situation. Instead, she’s proven to have the “correct” opinion over and over again, specifically because of Magnifico’s increasingly bad decisions. There’s almost no grey area in this movie. Life is not that cut and dry.
To make matters worse, the songs throughout Wish fall unbelievably flat. The standout ballad “This Wish” is stuffed with platitudes. The same issues plague “Welcome to Rosas,” “I’m a Star,” and “Knowing What I Know Now.” Additionally, each feels wildly formulaic. Shockingly, these are much better than “This is the Thanks I Get?!” – which instantly enters the discussion for the worst Disney Villain song of all time. This frankly abysmal and forgettable series of songs put Wish at afurther disadvantage.
Finally, we’ve discussed the plethora of ideas in the screenplay. It’s a movie full of ideas, never focusing on any one-central concept. Unfortunate colloquialisms making their way into the script (“Peep the name,” “Ungrateful much?” and “the prob” are all uttered in this movie) that instantly date Wish. Yet perhaps the most frustrating comes in character design. Even though the cell-shading concept is a new look for Disney, the actual character design is nearly identical to those in Encanto, Strange Worlds, or Onward. Disney/Pixar needs to show more variation in their design, as this makes the side characters difficult to identify.
Ultimately, Wish will have its fans. In fact, our own writer – Josh – was quite high on it. However, it’s difficult to get excited about a movie that feels as empty as Wish does. Disney must step back and not rely on our love of existing stories. They need to create the next great chapters in the company’s legacy. Wish has the elements within it to be that movie. However, forcing it to handle a strange concept and then also serve as a celebration of original art, never allows it to live up to its potential.
