Wish Review: Promising Premise loses the magic along the way

The premise and cast in Wish is top-notch. Unfortunately, the shallow story, unmemorable songwriting and unremarkable animation make the latest film from Disney Animation forgettable.

On the plus side, Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine deliver compelling protagonist and villain performances. DeBose infuses the requisite amount of awkward charm as Asha. Pine brings the right douchey, self-indulgent, power-hungry flair to King Magnifico. Unfortunately, the story never measures up to the intriguing premise.

In the kingdom of Rosas, wishes literally come true, well for a specifically chosen few at least. In Wish, the citizen of Rosas declares their wishes to Magnifico. When a person makes a wish, they forget their wish while Magnifico decides whether the wish should be granted. If he thinks the wish poses a threat, then he holds onto the wish. If the wish is in his best interest, then he grants the wish during a massive ceremony. Asha disagrees with the king’s approach. She accidentally makes a wish on a star and with the power of a star helps her gather support for a rebellion against the king.

The premise is interesting. However, Wish just doesn’t provide enough depth to the characters or flesh out the world of Rosas compared to Jennifer Lee‘s previous efforts like Zootopia or Frozen. Nor does it come close to matching the emotional highs of Encanto. Side characters usually help flesh out a Disney kingdom. Asha has a best friend in Dasha as well as a talking goat companion in Valentino (voiced by Alan Tudyk). Unlike Eddie Murphy‘s Dragon in Mulan or Olaf in Frozen, Valentino serves as pure comedic relief with no emotional depth.

There are plenty of songs, but none of them stand out. DeBose and Pine are talented vocalists, but can’t elevate these lyrics beyond being pleasant to listen to. Wish caps off everything with several haphazard shoutouts to previous Disney films that come off like a celebration of all things Disney. Unfortunately, this film just isn’t worth celebrating.

Wish Review Score: 4.5

Below Average

Let’s take a deeper dive into the elements of Wish that stood out. You can stream other, superior Disney animated films on Disney Plus.

The king’s apprentice

Aisha begins the day full of optimism. Her grandfather Sabino (Victor Garber) is turning 100-years-old. She’s just received an opportunity to interview for a position as Magnifico’s assistant.

Before meeting the king and queen, she heads to the square where she gives a tour of Rosas to tourists. Then, she meets up with her friends. They all offer their opinion on Asha’s chances.

After an awkward start, the interview with Magnifico goes well until Asha asks the king to consider granting her grandfather’s wish. Asha is horrified to hear how Magnifico holds onto the wishes. Magnifico quickly turns on Asha. He makes a big show out of putting Asha on stage during a wishing ceremony only to reveal he’s granting another Rosarian’s request.

Asha has similar characteristics to Mirabel. She’s full of passion and love for her people. In Encanto, Mirabel’s love is more contained to just her family. Asha truly loves the people of Rasas. When she feels Magnifico is mistreating her people, she can’t hide her revulsion.

Asha’s introduction is solid. Although, like most elements in Wish, Asha’s similarity to other Disney animated protagonists makes her an unmemorable addition.

The Danger of a Wish

The citizens of Rosas issue their wishes to Magnifico with the hope he will grant them at some point. When a person gives Magnifico their wish, they forget the wish. Magnifico decides based on the nature of the wish whether it’s worth granting or not. If it poses a risk to Rosas or his reign as king, he won’t grant the risk.

Magnifico could give their wish back and restore personal hope. Asha points out that Magnifico may not be able to grant that particular person’s request, but that the individual could still accomplish their dream using their own means.

The prospect of a wish being dangerous is an intriguing one, but the film doesn’t really do much with the concept of a bad wish. If Magnifico had provided a concrete example of a time when a wish went bad and harmed Rosas, then his approach would have felt more realistic rather than cartoonish. Unfortunately, Magnifico’s villainous beginning has to do with thieves who destroyed his family home.

A helpful star

The best emotional scene in the film involves a heartbreaking conversation with her grandfather and mother. Asha reveals Magnifico is keeping Sabino’s dream and offers to tell her grandfather. Sabino is hurt by the reveal and accuses Asha of trying to hurt him.

Asha runs off and makes a wish for a star. The star comes to life. The animation of the star is pretty cute. Unfortunately, the star’s only function seems to be to make animals speak. The star also doesn’t speak so it really comes off as just something cute to look at.

The star also doesn’t serve much purpose in Asha’s goal or in uniting Rosas against the king. Using the star is somewhat of a crutch used to get Asha’s friends to believe in what she’s saying about the king.

Wish final thoughts

Overall, Wish is an unfortunate misstep for Disney animation. There are some good voice performances and a promising premise, but there’s little emotional or comedic appeal.

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