Film Review: Wish. 100 Years Of Disney Animated Magic.

Disney’s latest film Wish released just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday. The film celebrates Disney’s 100 years of existence with a story about the legendary wishing star which comes from the Pinocchio song “When you wish upon a star”.

The film follows a young girl named Asha (Played by: Ariana DeBose), a young girl who is a candidate to become the apprentice of King Magnifico (Played by: Chris Pine), a sorcerer king of Rosas. Asha wants to be able to grant people’s wishes, especially that of her 100 year old grandfather. When she finds out that Magnifico is hoarding the engrafted wishes for himself her perception of him changes.



One night after her dreams are seemingly crushed she makes a wish upon a star. Her wish was so powerful that the star itself came down from the heavens and began to make the forest enchanted. Asha tells the star about Magnifico and agrees to help her rescue the wishes. Meanwhile, Magnifico sees the star as a theta to his power, and uses dark magic to try and capture its essence for himself.



First, the positives. Arguably, the best part of the film is its soundtrack. Aside from a rather underwhelming villain song, the music definitely gives you a warm feeling inside and tells you what to feel in the scene.

The story itself isn’t trying to force some kind of message as some might expect. It tells a mostly original story about wishes and how they are a part of you and that you should never give up on your dream. It also tells a cautionary tale about wanting to control everything and fear of losing it all on the villain side of things.



Another positive some may highlight is the amount of references. While the film is in no way connected to any other Disney film, they do multiple references both visually, in conversation and in character traits. For example, Asha’s group of friends at the castle all share personality traits of the Seven Dwarfs.

Now for the negative. Firstly, the animation isn’t that great. They attempt to blend hand-drawn visuals with 3D models, but unlike films like Klaus it doesn’t really work all that great. You can definitely feel that some points of the animation feels unfinished, and that was a stylistic choice. It’s sad because Disney did consider making this a hand-drawn film early on.



Perhaps the biggest flaw with the film is Asha herself. While not bad per see, she feels like the usually cookie-cutter female protagonist that you have seen in many Disney animated films within the past decade like Tangled, Frozen, Moana, and Encanto. There isn’t much to distinguish herself from other recent female protagonists. Unlike the Disney Renaissance era, where Ariel and Belle were very distinct from one another.



And lastly, while not quite as bad, the villain’s motivation of moderating the wishes of his subjects isn’t that unfound. While it is later revealed that he hoards the wishes for his now power, it is true that certain wishes can indeed be harmful without realizing it. So, having some overseer approving what wishes are granted is actually a good idea.

Overall Rating: 6.8/10



While not perfect, it is one of the better films Disney has released in a while. You can tell that some effort was put into it, unlike Strange World or Raya and the Last Dragon. It feels like Disney is trying to course correct after the multiple complaints they have had in recent years. Also it should be noted that Asha isn’t a Disney Princess and doesn’t become one at the end. However, she does become something else; you’ll have to see to find out.

One cute detail in the film’s end credits shows portraits of multiple characters from various Disney films over the past century—definitely a treat for fans. And yes, there is a brief mid-credits sequence for those who decided to see all of the portraits in the credits.

What did you think? Did you see Wish this Thanksgiving? Did you think it was worth seeing in the theater? Let us know your thoughts.