Review: Wish

By John Corrado

★★★½ (out of 4)

It’s the 100th anniversary of Walt Disney Animation Studios this year, and what better way to celebrate this milestone than with Wish, a charming new musical fairy tale that harkens back to Classic Disney.

The film (which opens with a storybook and those four magical words “once upon a time”) pays tribute to classics from the studio, while telling a new story rooted in the old lore about what happens when you wish upon a star.

It’s set in the Kingdom of Rosas, a Mediterranean island ruled over by the powerful sorcerer King Magnifico (Chris Pine). When his citizens turn eighteen, they give their wishes to the king for safekeeping, and he keeps them in his castle with the promise of deciding which ones to grant at annual ceremonies.

Enter Asha (Ariana DeBose), a teenager who has spent years waiting for her grandfather Sabino’s (Victor Garber) wish to be granted. She applies for a job as Magnifico’s apprentice, but discovers that he has no intention of granting most of these wishes, because the wrong wish could threaten his rule. During a song, Asha ends up pulling a real wishing star from the sky that might be able to free these wishes.

Asha gets help from this mischievous little wish-granter, who is named Star and has a penchant for sprinkling magic dust, as well as her trusty pet Valentino (Alan Tudyk), a baby goat wearing pyjamas who gets his wish to be able to speak (the cuddly character is a ready-made plush toy). The humour mostly lands, including the witty, slightly trippy musical number “I’m a Star,” which involves talking woodland animals. In another nod to a Disney classic, Asha is backed up by a septet of friends inspired by the Seven Dwarfs, channeling each of their personality traits.

Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, Wish employs a unique animation style that blends the lush, illustrative look of a picture book with 3D animation. The striking watercolour backgrounds look particularly gorgeous on the big screen, with the film presented in the same ultra-widescreen 2.55:1 aspect ratio as Sleeping Beauty. It’s a style that represents how the story is rooted in the past, but with a few more modern touches as well (there is no love interest or Prince Charming, and the story is about Asha discovering her own agency).

The film comes alive through appealing voice work from DeBose as the spirited Asha, with Pine bringing his own flair to the arrogant ruler Magnifico, a Disney Villain in the classic sense, who recalls when they were gleefully evil instead of “misunderstood.” The selection of original songs by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice also keep the story moving, including Asha’s standout “I Want” song “This Wish,” and Magnifico’s delightfully petty villain number “This is the Thanks I Get?!”

If the story feels familiar and even safe, this is a feature, not a bug. The screenplay by Jennifer Lee (Frozen) and Allison Moore does a fine job of embracing and not overly messing with a tried and true fairy tale formula. It’s a simple story that is well told with a unique visual style, cute sidekicks, a fun evil villain, and good songs. This is a solid hundredth anniversary legacy picture from the studio, that feels like a wonderful celebration of what Disney does best. Stick around through the credits for a few more nods to the studio’s triumphant legacy.