WISH Movie Review

Disney has now been around for 100 years. The final name, Walt Disney Company, was established in 1986. The company was created by Walt and Roy Disney; their first short film, “Steamboat Willie,” got their name out there as the best around. Wait a minute. Walt. Roy. How did Walt win out in the naming of the business? I’ll tell you.
Walt led the creative side while Roy tinkered with the books. They both founded Disney Studios as brothers, but Walt later bought out most of Roy’s shares at the end of the Roaring Twenties. Nineteen twenties, that is.

Anyway, one hundred years. Wow. That’s a milestone to be proud of! The company keeps coming up with hit after hit, from its first film, 1937’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” to picking up Pixar, which has produced twenty-seven films, released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, starting with “Toy Story.” Disney’s animated movies Like “Cinderella,” and “Dumbo” then “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast” from the 1990s, have charmed us our entire lives and will continue with those to come. Soon, actually.

This brings us to their latest film, “Wish.” Almost everything about it feels familiar. It’s all been done before, and you don’t get dug in as much as you’d like. You won’t enjoy the songs as you’d hoped either. Their mediocrity was upsetting enough, but there’s no reason Disney would have to reach back into its catalog to create a film based on all its others. You’ll see what I mean.

The Walt Disney Company is known for its film studio division Walt Disney Studios, which includes Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and their animation division, as well as Searchlight Pictures Marvel and Lucasfilm. With all of this, they also have their fingers in television and streaming services: Hulu, National Geographic, and ESPN, to name a few. It has racked in so many profits it’s number fifty-three on the Fortune 500 list.

With all that success, it seems they need help remembering something. They can’t forget what got them there. Let’s get a little more Mouse in the House because “Wish” wasn’t as good as it could or should have been. They must get a little more kick in their step for what got them their billions. If this means anything to you, and it should, as the score comes from the best critics around, “Wish” isn’t doing as well as expected on Rotten Tomatoes. It only has 51%. 

Back to the film. It’s set in the Kingdom of Rosas, where your wishes can come true. The very handsome King Magnifico (Chris Pine), who has a bit of NPD (narcissistic personality disorder), asks everyone to give them their wishes, which reside in well-formed bubbles. The townspeople do, and he holds a monthly ceremony to grant them. Many years ago, King Magnifico and his wife, Queen Amaya, founded the Kingdom of Rosas. Having studied magic and sorcery, very Ursala from “The Little Mermaid,” Magnifico knows not to use it but loves what power he does gain. When someone in town turns 18, a ceremony is held. They make their wish and Magnifico holds onto it, selecting them later with a ceremony filled with fanfare and tradition. Mainly, it’s a way to draw attention to himself.

Enter the next Disney starlet, Asha. She loves the king and has an opportunity to become his newest assistant. She, her friends, and her pet goat, Valentino, find out he also deals in the forbidden black magic. She asks him for one favor; to grant her grandfather his wish. The king impresses upon her that he doesn’t give any wishes; instead, he takes them for their energy, simultaneously erasing their memory of the desire. The movie then becomes her battle to get them back to whom they belong.

The queen, voiced by Hawaiian actress and producer Angelique Cabral, hopes Asha gets the position. She isn’t fond of who her husband is becoming but sees good in Asha, who is generous showing love for everyone in the kingdom. 

Because of Asha, a bright light is seen all over the kingdom. Stardust falls and a darling little star forms, sprinkling his stardust around so that animals can speak to express their thoughts. This is a lovely scene, and the star is an important, adorable addition. Asha begins to recruit the animals and her friends to help collect the wishes that do not belong to the king. He tells the people that there is a traitor amongst them and when caught, this person will be severely punished. If you think he’s mean now, wait until he gets into the truly evil book and begins to blame the awful that he has done on poor Asha. 

Some good songs come out of this, but nothing honestly noteworthy. The “Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, who is the most handsome of them all” was memorable, though. The sound design in this film is spectacular. The voice acting helps make it a watch, but with how disappointed I felt about this film, I’m still looking forward to Elio, Migration and Mufasa: The Lion King. They’ll all please in one way or another, and most likely, a great deal. And, I still recommend this, especially for the little ones, but for all of us who’ve grown up with the best Disney has given, I hope this isn’t as good as it gets from now on.