Review: Wish

With titles such as The Little Mermaid (2023) and Haunted Mansion (2023) released earlier this year, Disney’s copious reproduction of classics has seemingly paused with the release of its latest fantasy animation, Wish (2023). However, the originality and freshness of the film immediately come into question; Wish is infused with nostalgic references to previous films and familiar characters that span over Disney’s one-hundred years in celebration of the studio’s impressive centenary. While the sentiment is sweet, the plot of the film is thwarted in the process, as nostalgia seems to overpower the ingenuity of Wish.

Nostalgia seems to overpower the ingenuity of Wish

The film follows seventeen-year-old Asha (Ariana DeBose) – the kind, brave heroine who seeks to rescue her diverse kingdom, Rosas, from danger. This comes in the form of their enchanted and comedically narcissistic King Magnifico (Chris Pine). As sorcerer and monarch of Rosas, Magnifico invites his people to share their deepest wishes with him, assuring them that they are protected and potentially granted by his magic. But this comes with a catch: once the wish is shared with Magnifico, it is forgotten by the individual, erasing an important part of their identity. Magnifico’s ill intentions with the wishes are soon unravelled by Asha, who after seeking her 100-year-old grandfather’s wish (a nod to the Disney milestone) to be granted, realises the king has captured the people’s wishes in order maintain his control of the kingdom and feed his own power.

Wish

In order to save the wishes of the people, Asha, like many Disney heroines before her, wishes upon a star. The scene features DeBose’s vocals on ‘This Wish’, the fan-favourite song from the original motion picture soundtrack, as a little yellow orb shoots down from the sky – the very Star that Asha wishes upon. The song is a nod to Disney’s classic ‘When You Wish Upon a Star’, first featured in Pinocchio (1940), but kept alive by the famous Disney intro. Star is therefore an eternal character that spans across Disney’s one-hundred years, taking the shape of this childlike and lovable tritagonist that appeals to older and younger audiences alike. It is he and Valentino (Alan Tudyk), the comedic goat and classic Disney sidekick, who set out to help Asha free the wishes of the people of Rosas, and defeat the powerful and narcissistic Magnifico.

Wish neglects the romance plot and the need for a charming prince, rather focusing on Asha’s own self-discovery and sense of adventure

Asha perfectly captures the modern-day Disney princess; she is courageous, compassionate and selfless. She is willing to defy the customs of the kingdom and its powerful ruler in order to protect her friends and family. Just like the film’s predecessors, Moana (2016) and Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Wish neglects the romance plot and the need for a charming prince, rather focusing on Asha’s own self-discovery and sense of adventure. Furthermore, she is of Afro-Hispanic decent, the second African princess following Tiana from Disney’s The Princess and the Frog (2009), and the first Hispanic Disney princess. She is truly a refreshing addition to the princess canon. Yet Wish foils the opportunity to appropriately introduce their new and promising Disney princess, instead opting to profit off the trend of nostalgia that unsubtly consumes the plot of the film and DeBose’s new character.

This is seen once more in Asha’s diverse and dynamic group of friends; while diversity is commendably at the forefront of the film, with Asha’s friends’ ranging in ethnic backgrounds, this merely becomes a profitable aesthetic feature as their cultures are unexplored and personalities are rather copy-and-pasted from yet another classic Disney film. We have seven friends, including ‘Grumpy’ Gabo (Harvey Guillén) and ‘Sneezy’ Safi (Ramy Youssef), drawing an immediate parallel to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937). While it is fun to spot the occasional ‘easter egg’, Wish becomes consumed by cheesy references to the point where the film loses its originality and freshness. Asha’s friends, much like everyone else besides herself and Magnifico, blur into the background of the film, solely recognised as yet another nostalgic plot device as opposed to new and diverse characters.

Verdict:

Wish follows the formula of a classic Disney film perfectly, set in an enchanted kingdom with a promising new Disney princess and her lovable sidekick, but any sliver of originality and appreciation for the characters are ultimately overpowered by the film’s heavy reliance on nostalgia, turning the film into a lazy cash grab on behalf of Disney.