How funny that this film would be called Wish, or maybe a better word is unfortunate. When its trailer came out, and people commented on how its "storybook illustrations come to life" visual style looked more like unfinished 3D animation than moving drawings, you bet there were puns aplenty about how the movie openly admits it's just "Spider-Verse from Wish" -- or, more aptly, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish from Wish" but that one sounds a bit clunky.
Indeed, for all the talk of how Wish would be a grand return for Disney Fairy Tales™ that also, I guess to commemorate Disney's centennial, would somehow "personify" the wishing star we see in many of their films, the reception wasn't exactly across-the-board ecstatic. On top of how weird the animation looked to people -- which is odd since we know Disney can nail 2D-looking 3D, as with 2013's The Paperman -- several critics remarked on how a lot of the post-2010 Disney movies (Pixar, too) reduce themselves to "Pick a culture to explore; make generational trauma the villain" and, more importantly, have interchangeable adorkable/awkward/"quirky" female protagonists that oft sound more like Millennial YouTubers than fairy tale heroines.
Ever since Tangled, the new "princesses" have tried to replicate the vibe of Mandy Moore's Rapunzel on some level. Wish also exemplifies that weird trend of post-Tangled Disney/Pixar films of having one-word titles that don't sound very whimsical or exciting. (Kudos to DALLEE 3: It tends to get this right when generating fake posters for "Pixar's *INSERT HISTORICAL ATROCITY HERE*".) If they ever adapt H. C. Andersen's The Princess and the Pea, mark my words that it'll just be named Pea.
The plot: The ruler of the Mediterranean kingdom of Rosas, one King Magnifico, has the magical ability to keep the "wishes" of the populace in his custody to grant/return as he sees fit; each citizen has to give theirs up as they come of age. His new apprentice, Asha, senses that evil is afoot and discovers that she is able to make wishes irrespective of the king's approval, turning towards the stars and even summoning a sentient wishing star named... Star. And yes, the plushie should be in stores now.
Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, and Alan Tudyk, who naturally plays the comic animal sidekick, are all fairly funny in their roles from time to time and I may even have vibed with one of the songs. Sadly, my verdict mirrors the one that everyone else seems to have: I will not be remembering this movie in a few weeks, beyond the myriad jokes at its expense.
I suppose the Wish situation might partly be explained by the awakening that's been happening all throughout 2023, where mainstream movies get to be truly good and artful again, and so people realize that Disney's films may not be all that interesting -- and, moreover, may not be worth defending under pretenses of activism. We are more aware than ever that options exist. Even if you truly refuse to bring back 2D animation and opt to meet people halfway by making a sort of 2D-3D hybrid, we can find more seamless attempts in such movies as Klaus (which is also a better call-back to older Disney designs than this is) and, like I said, the Spider-Verse films.
I do think people act a bit dismissive toward the picture, and there are things to appreciate in it -- particularly its storybook opening sequence that mimics the typography of the one from Snow White; other images recall the likes of Pinocchio, Peter Pan, Pocahontas, etc. Alas, I think the best version of the movie was lost to another timeline where less corporate meddling took place. (Did I mention that the songs were written, not by someone with experience in musicals, but by a person who's written songs for Justin Bieber?)
We should also give Wish this, however: It made droves of people, be they fans (the thinking, non-zealous kind) or film critics, truly appreciate what this studio used to give us, especially during the Disney Renaissance -- from the superior emotional resonance of the songs to the heavy stakes and grandiloquent visuals (most notably in Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and The Hunchback of Notre Dame), not to mention the variety of the 2D-animated styles compared to now, when most of the movies look like they inhabit pretty much the same universe.
If you want a true celebration of Disney's magic over the past century 'til now, I'd rather you check out the Disney+ short Once Upon A Studio (which I managed to enjoy despite being reminded not two days later of what Disney has become, as they announced another slew of remakes, even one of effing Frozen). Asha, the latest addition to the world of Disney princesses, joining hands with Snow White, the first-ever of the princesses, is significantly more poetic and moving than anything in Wish.
210 out of 299 found this helpful