{"id":6317,"date":"2024-10-19T23:23:37","date_gmt":"2024-10-20T03:23:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=6317"},"modified":"2024-10-19T23:23:37","modified_gmt":"2024-10-20T03:23:37","slug":"wish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2024\/10\/19\/wish\/","title":{"rendered":"Wish"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Wish<\/strong> (2023)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Disney\/Musical-Fantasy-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 92 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (thematic elements, mild action)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Dave Metzger (score), Julia Michaels (songs) and Benjamin Rice (songs)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Rob Dressel (layout) and Adolph Lusinsky (lighting)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 22, 2023 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Harvey Guillen, Niko Vargas, Evan Peters, Ramy Youssef, Jon Rudnitsky, Della Saba.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $64M (US)\/$255M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: *** \u00bd<\/p>\n

\u00a0I know it\u2019s in fashion to hate on Disney these days. They ran both Star Wars and the MCU into the ground by way of oversaturation. Whoever thought releasing a new Star Wars every year was a good idea ought to have their head examined. They\u2019ve had a rough go of it at the box office lately with less-than-magical animated offerings like Encanto, Lightyear, Strange World and Elemental, all of which underperformed. It makes me sad because Disney is such an essential part of childhood. Who hasn\u2019t been enchanted by at least one of their classics? For me, it was 101 Dalmatians. I can still see spots before my eyes whenever I think of it.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I was starting to lose hope for the 100YO company built by Walt and Roy Disney. Could this be the end of the house that Mickey Mouse built? Okay, we know that\u2019ll never happen, but let\u2019s briefly pretend otherwise for the sake of dramatic effect. Thankfully, their latest movie Wish<\/strong> has swooped in to the rescue. I do believe we\u2019re looking at a new animated Disney classic. Aside from a few modern touches (i.e. wokeness and inclusiveness), it hews closely to their movies of old with its storybook-like telling of a girl who wishes upon a star and finds the power that was in her all along. For 92 magical minutes, I was able to set aside my cynicism and be thoroughly delighted.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Directed by Chris Buck (Frozen) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (Frozen animator making her directorial debut), Wish<\/strong> takes place in the kingdom of Rosas, a seemingly Utopian place founded by King Magnifico (Pine, Wonder Woman), master of sorcery and holder of the wishes of his subjects. When a citizen of Rosas turns 18, he or she reveals their most heartfelt wish to the king who keeps them stored in a chamber in his castle which looms high above the city. He holds monthly ceremonies in which he chooses a single wish to be granted. It may sound like a good deal, but not all is as it seems. Is it ever?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Our plucky heroine, 17YO Asha (DeBose, West Side Story), is about to find out the horrible truth that sits behind the lie. She goes to Magnifico to interview for a position as his apprentice. Things go okay at first. Then she asks if he\u2019d be willing to grant the wish of her grandfather Sabino (Garber, Godspell) who\u2019s about to celebrate his 100th<\/sup> birthday. That\u2019s when she learns what he\u2019s really about. It turns out he never intends to grant most of the wishes, only the ones he decides aren\u2019t \u201cdangerous\u201d. His true intention is to keep his subjects docile and obedient. Needless to say, Grandpa doesn\u2019t get his wish (to create art) and Asha doesn\u2019t get the job.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Unable to get anybody to believe her about their ruler, a distressed Asha runs off into the forest with her pet goat Valentino. She makes a wish upon a star which then drops from the sky and creates magic that rivals that of Magnifico. Star starts by giving voice to all the animals and plants in the forest including Valentino (Tudyk, Raya and the Last Dragon). This, of course, doesn\u2019t go over well with Magnifico who sets about looking for a way to harness more power. This entails dabbling in black magic against the advice of his queen Amaya (Cabral, Life in Pieces).<\/p>\n

\u00a0Disney experienced a Renaissance in the early 90s starting with 1989\u2019s The Little Mermaid. Regrettably, I didn\u2019t see it at the cinema at that time. I did, however, go to see Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin during their initial releases. Even though I was in my 20s, I was positively enthralled. I experienced a similar feeling watching Wish<\/strong>. A combination of computer and traditional watercolor animation, it\u2019s pleasing to the eyes and ears. In an age when Pixar-style animation is the new norm, it\u2019s nice to see a bit of the old school stuff. Colorful and vibrant and teeming with life, it\u2019s proof that traditional animation isn\u2019t a lost art, not yet.<\/p>\n

\u00a0My love of musicals is one of the main reasons Beauty and the Beast is one of my favorite Disney movies. The opening number \u201cBelle\u201d is still one of the biggest show-stoppers ever. There are some great numbers in Wish<\/strong> including \u201cI\u2019m a Star\u201d which could very well be the film\u2019s Oscar-nominated song. The movie\u2019s seven original songs are the work of Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice. They may not be Alan Menken and Howard Ashman (RIP), but they\u2019re good. Either way, I really enjoyed these sequences.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The voice talents do a great job, especially DeBose as Asha, an energetic sort who will do whatever it takes to protect the people she loves. It helps that she\u2019s a gifted singer much like her West Side Story co-star Rachel Zegler also on screens this weekend in the Hunger Games prequel. Pine is a perfect choice for Magnifico, a despot who takes great delight in stifling the dreams of others. Any resemblance to current or recent world leaders is purely coincidental I\u2019m sure. Tudyk just about steals the show as goat sidekick Valentino. Star, even though he doesn\u2019t speak, is a bit of a scene-stealer too.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Speaking of fun supporting characters in Wish<\/strong>, I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t mention Asha\u2019s seven friends who aid her in fighting the evil that is Magnifico. You don\u2019t need a degree in Disney history to see that they resemble the seven dwarfs from Disney\u2019s first full-length animated feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. In fact, there are a lot of nods to other Disney movies strewn throughout Wish<\/strong>. Some will see it as a shameless promotion for their 100th<\/sup> anniversary; I think it\u2019s kind of neat. I especially loved the illustrations of characters from their other animated films during the end credits. It\u2019s actually quite beautiful. And don\u2019t you dare miss the bonus post-credits scenes. It\u2019ll bring a tear to your eye if you love Disney.<\/p>\n

\u00a0I really and truly wish for Wish<\/strong> to be a hit for Disney. It deserves to be. It\u2019s a sweet and funny movie that can be enjoyed by families looking for good, mostly wholesome fun (there\u2019s a butt joke). Here\u2019s hoping that Disney has more like this in them, enough to get them through the next 100 years.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wish (2023)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Disney\/Musical-Fantasy-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 92 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated PG (thematic elements, mild action)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Dave Metzger (score), Julia Michaels (songs) and Benjamin Rice (songs)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Rob Dressel (layout) and Adolph Lusinsky (lighting)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 22, 2023 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6502,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation","category-sci-fi-fantasy"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/Wish-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6317"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6504,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6317\/revisions\/6504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6502"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}