Wish: Movie Review

Cast: Chris Pine, Ariana DeBose, Alan Tudyk, Victor Garber
Directors: Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn

Disney's latest, aimed at celebrating its 100 years of creating magic and wonder, literally takes a course into its own marketing with this extension of When you wish upon a star.

Ariana DeBose plays Asha, a young woman who lives in the kingdom of Rosas, and who is hoping to become the apprentice of the seemingly benevolent chief sorcerer King Magnifico (Pine). But when Asha discovers the king hordes his subjects' wishes after they give them to him as part of a citizenship ceremony, she becomes disillusioned that nobody will ever get their true heart's desire.

Wishing upon a star one night, Asha sets in motion a series of events that will change the kingdom of Rosas forever.

Wish is a curious mix of hand-drawn and CGI animation and appears to be part of the larger Disney 100 celebrations. Look carefully in the woodland scenes and you'll see famous inhabitants from the past - though in truth, Wish doesn't need you to look carefully as it aggressively rams down your throat its echoes of the past in ways that shun any kind of subtlety.

While it's blessed with many musical elements, Disney's Wish feels like it loses its way somewhat in the narrative and becomes more obsessed in being a celebration and a marketing exercise even though the film's heart is in the right place.

Pine and DeBose make for good leads, with Pine particularly leaning into the more malevolent edges with real ease, but Wish itself feels a little flat in parts, despite the family elements being clearly on show. Some of the magic is lost in the film, which is deeply ironic given how much the movie leans on the magic.

It's not entirely a disaster and perhaps the younger end of the audience may be charmed by some of its cuter elements; but there is a message in Wish's central story that's hard to shake.

Its citizens lose part of their soul when they give up their dreams for Magnifico - perhaps in truth, Disney has lost some of its magic for older audiences and needs to get back to providing wonder and awe, rather than just leaning heavily on nostalgia to try and drive the feelings of the past into the minds of the present and future.