Ironic Yet Enjoyable, Wish Reminds of What Disney Can Be and What It’s Become
Oh, how the mighty have fallen. It’s easy to be weary of Wish, the newest animated parable from Disney, meant to commemorate the company’s 100th anniversary through a barrage of Easter eggs and self-congratulatory platitudes about the importance of following our dreams. Despite adopting an original story, the film from co-directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn falls prey to a multitude of clichés that have become synonymous with the studio in recent years. For every attempt at newness (the art style, the studio’s first Afro-Latina heroine), there is a recycling of old trademarks (the goofy sidekick, the patterned musical vignettes). Therein lies the dilemma of Wish’s ironic charms: To what extent is something a cliché when judged on its own merits? And can a movie like Wish even be evaluated without endless comparisons to its forebears?
Set in the kingdom of Rosas, a magical land ruled by the charismatic King Magnifico (Chris Pine), Wish centers on earnest 17-year-old Asha (Ariana DeBose). Upon almost landing an apprenticeship at his majesty’s palace, her idealism is crushed as she realizes that the ruler whom she exalted isn’t all he seems. Magnifico’s claim to fame is granting his constituents’ wishes, and entrusting him with your wish means being freed from the burden of feeling that absence—in other words, you forget. However, it soon becomes apparent that the king does not plan on granting most of the wishes he’s been given, hoarding them in his palace where they will never see the light of day. When Asha’s own wish is answered by a cosmic force, she and her friends set out to save their community from Magnifico’s control.
On its own terms, Wish isn’t half bad. The fairytale at its center is adorable and, combined with the opaque watercolor effect of its 2D and 3D animation, creates the illusion of a children’s book come to life—something made even more evident by the film’s storybook introduction. To that point, it’s easy to wave away any questions that arise such as, “Why did no one else see through the king’s veneer, when his whole thing is stealing people’s dreams?” The moral lesson matters more than any in-universe logic: There’s value in teaching children about the strength that comes from being part of a collective, and that individualism will only get you so far. Pine’s totalitarian ruler is the kind of classic Disney villain the company has been phasing out in recent years and, if nothing else, the concept of a young person becoming disillusioned with the leadership in her country after getting a look behind the curtain feels prescient. Better teach these kids now, before it’s too late!
Still, the irony of praising a film about nonconformity from a media conglomerate with such an iron grip on our culture is not lost, and Wish certainly relies on tired formulas. If you thought Olaf from Frozen was annoying, watch out—there are multiple hyperactive sidekicks here. The anthropomorphic star, who looks like a Kirby character and doesn’t talk, is cute, but “baby” goat Valentino (Alan Tudyk) is sure to quickly irritate adults. Meanwhile, the human characters for the most part have the exaggerated cadence and mannerisms of Disney Channel actors who perform as though there are casting agents watching, waiting to whisk them on to more promising opportunities.