Wish is the story of Asha (Ariana DeBose), a Kingdom of Rosas resident. As is tradition, upon her 18th birthday Asha will cede the strongest wish of her heart to King Magnifico (Chris Pine). Magnifico created Rosas after greedy plunders conquered his land. He believes that wishes are a burden and often lead to despair. As such, Magnifico believes he is doing a service by keeping his citizens’ wishes safe. When Asha learns that Magnifico’s intentions may not be altruistic, she teams up with her pet goat Valentino (Alan Tudyk) to return the wishes to her loved ones.
What works in Wish is the cleverness and the cuteness. The pitch for this movie is clear: to celebrate Disney’s 100th anniversary, a film that honors its animated classics through a fresh tale about wishes. The screenplay by Allison Moore and Jennifer Buck (Frozen) is a patchwork of homages and references to Disney’s characters and moments from the last ten decades. Framing this quilt is a new universe filled with magic and adorable characters. Chief among them is Tudyk’s Valentino who gains the ability to speak and offers consistent humor. In addition, kids will likely melt for Star, a lovable pillowy guide for Asha who exudes warmth. Finally, the animation is rather stunning as it blends old and new styles to create a painting-like visual.
RELATED: Disney Offers Early Access To ‘Wish’ To Celebrate 100 Years
People who value world-building over easter eggs may be less enamored with Wish than others. Wish is supremely ambitious with its narrative. But, with only an hour and 35 minutes of runtime it doesn’t get to go very deep. Character motivations, arcs, and even the “rules” of the fictional land are occasionally glossed over. Instead, the film bounces from song to song (many of which are quite good) without breaks to let the story breathe. As such, older viewers may be left scratching their heads and wondering if a longer cut of the movie once existed.
Wish is easy to recommend for families with kids in tow, who will giggle and cheer. Between the physical humor and playful tunes, younger audiences will clap along through the whole movie. Older patrons may have to turn their brains off a little bit, but can at least enjoy playing the game of “did you get that reference?”
Recommended if you Enjoyed: The Little Mermaid, Aladdin
Wish is available to view exclusively in theaters starting on November 22nd.
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