Wish
Year: 2023
Director: Chris Buck & Fawn Veerasunthorn
Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine & Alan Tudyk
Runtime: 95 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 04/12/23
Director: Chris Buck & Fawn Veerasunthorn
Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine & Alan Tudyk
Runtime: 95 mins
BBFC: U
Published: 04/12/23
There’s been an abnormal amount of pressure placed on Wish and that’s almost entirely Disney’s own fault. With the company celebrating their hundredth anniversary they’ve been doubling down on the nostalgia of their long history of animated films. Wish even went so far as resurrecting the age old formula of wishing on a star, kingdom’s from long long ago, and a dark powerful sorcerer. It evokes an air of Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and The Little Mermaid; so audience expectations were appropriately tuned to expect that nostalgia fuelled fairy tale. Suffice to say nostalgia is a dangerous thing to tap into as whilst it can pay dividends if it succeeds, it can just as easily burn everything down if expectations aren’t met. Wish is unfortunately a victim of the latter, though I wouldn’t say that’s the fault of the film but rather unattainably high expectations.
After discovering how to harness the power of wishes, the sorcerer Magnifico (Chris Pine) establishes the kingdom of Rosas and installs himself as their monarch. People come from far and wide to live in Rosas and surrender their wish to Magnifico in the hope that one day their wish will be granted.
When Asha (Ariana DeBose) applies to become the new sorcerers apprentice she learns a terrible truth about Magnifico and so makes it her mission to free the wishes and return them to their owners.
After discovering how to harness the power of wishes, the sorcerer Magnifico (Chris Pine) establishes the kingdom of Rosas and installs himself as their monarch. People come from far and wide to live in Rosas and surrender their wish to Magnifico in the hope that one day their wish will be granted.
When Asha (Ariana DeBose) applies to become the new sorcerers apprentice she learns a terrible truth about Magnifico and so makes it her mission to free the wishes and return them to their owners.
I would say that Wish largely succeeds in trying to recapture that feel of classic Disney, but I’d actually argue that it works mostly to its detriment. Whilst it is refreshing to have a pure, no frills fairy tale from Disney in 2023, it highlights just how simplistic the stories always were, and that reflects negatively on the characters.
Nobody has any kind of depth to them, they are all exactly what they appear to be, and have no personality other than their one character trait.
You’ve got the archetypal hero, villain, sidekick, best friend, skeptic, and coward, plus a whole bunch more; and not a single one of them is original or particularly interesting.
Wish is a musical as well, something I have to say I didn’t expect. I also wonder if it would have been better without them because whilst none of them are bad, absolutely none of them are memorable. It feels like songwriter Julia Michaels looked at the success that Lin Manuel Miranda had with Moana and Encanto and did her best to imitate it, and the result is kind of hollow.
Nobody has any kind of depth to them, they are all exactly what they appear to be, and have no personality other than their one character trait.
You’ve got the archetypal hero, villain, sidekick, best friend, skeptic, and coward, plus a whole bunch more; and not a single one of them is original or particularly interesting.
Wish is a musical as well, something I have to say I didn’t expect. I also wonder if it would have been better without them because whilst none of them are bad, absolutely none of them are memorable. It feels like songwriter Julia Michaels looked at the success that Lin Manuel Miranda had with Moana and Encanto and did her best to imitate it, and the result is kind of hollow.
I admire the desire to change up the visual style. A lot of 3D CG animation looks the same, and ever since they first adopted it Disney have struggled to be the leader of the pack in terms of quality. Wish brings back the visual stylings of 2D animation layered over 3D models and environments. The result is kind of a hybrid between the two, not to the same extent as something like the 2018 Netflix film Klaus, but it definitely toes the line between the styles and presents a new look for Disney animation. What I like most about this is it amplifies the fantasy themes so well, and it gives the film its own personality.
I think I would have preferred it had it been a traditional 2D animated film but this is a fair compromise between the lengthy and expensive hand drawn process and the quicker and more cost effective computer animation. Crucially it gives the film personality, and it makes Disney stand out once again. Here they aren’t trying to play catch up with their competitors, they’re carving their own path and giving their film a distinctive style. I’d much rather see this kind of approach to their other projects in the future.
Wish’s greatest fault is the films insistence to play into nostalgia and have the history of Disney Animation Studios at the centre of its story. I understand why directors Chris Buck & Fawn Veerasunthorn have done it but overall, I think that it hurts the film because it struggles to find an identity of its own. This more classical approach also means the characters aren’t as strong as they are in more modern Disney films (from the Renaissance Era onwards to be specific), and there are literally no surprises in store.
It does have a unique visual style, so I’ll give it props for that, but the songs drag it back down again because they feel so much like Lin Manuel Miranda knock-off’s, once again stripping the film of its own identity.
I think Wish is a good family film, and something that kids will love. But for a film so concerned with magic it is significantly lacking in it.
I think I would have preferred it had it been a traditional 2D animated film but this is a fair compromise between the lengthy and expensive hand drawn process and the quicker and more cost effective computer animation. Crucially it gives the film personality, and it makes Disney stand out once again. Here they aren’t trying to play catch up with their competitors, they’re carving their own path and giving their film a distinctive style. I’d much rather see this kind of approach to their other projects in the future.
Wish’s greatest fault is the films insistence to play into nostalgia and have the history of Disney Animation Studios at the centre of its story. I understand why directors Chris Buck & Fawn Veerasunthorn have done it but overall, I think that it hurts the film because it struggles to find an identity of its own. This more classical approach also means the characters aren’t as strong as they are in more modern Disney films (from the Renaissance Era onwards to be specific), and there are literally no surprises in store.
It does have a unique visual style, so I’ll give it props for that, but the songs drag it back down again because they feel so much like Lin Manuel Miranda knock-off’s, once again stripping the film of its own identity.
I think Wish is a good family film, and something that kids will love. But for a film so concerned with magic it is significantly lacking in it.