Walt Disney Animation Studios’ ‘Wish’ is an all-new musical welcoming audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas, where Asha, a sharp-witted young woman, makes a wish so powerful that it’s answered by a cosmic force — a little ball of boundless energy called Star.
Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe — the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico — to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen.
‘Wish’ is the latest animated magic feature from Disney (this year actually marks the 100th anniversary of the studio) that delivers a lot of fun characters, memorable songs and some great animation.
Now, even though ‘Wish’ does seem like some of the fairy tale stories that Disney has brought to the big screen over the years, it’s still fairly entertaining and is a story that the whole family will really enjoy.
There are quite a few very likable characters that everyone will love. The lead character, Asha, has a very heart-felt story about wanting to find her grandfather’s wish for his birthday so it can be granted. King Magnifico is also a very compelling Disney villain that is probably one of the better Disney villains in the recent string of films. There are a couple moments that can be a little dark for the little ones when he uses some dark magic in the film to find Star.
The two stand-out characters are Valentino the goat and the wishing star. Once Valentino gets the ability to speak from the star, he can be quite humorous and even more likable. The wishing star also has some humorous moments and a couple little heart-felt ones that will make the audiences like this little character even more.
One thing that really intrigued me was the animation style of the film. ‘Wish’ does use CGI animation that has been used for years, but the animation company also blends in the traditional 2D animation for the background (which is a really nice touch).
Another thing that’s really cool are the references to numerous Disney films that are scattered throughout the animated film. I was able to pinpoint some of them and I read online that there are several in there to commemorate the studio’s anniversary.
So, have yourselves a fun family night and check out the animated musical comedy ‘Wish.’ Filled with great animation, amazing characters and some really great songs, ‘Wish’ is truly a magical fairy tale story that should be seen on the big screen!
The cast: Arian DeBose as Asha; Chris Pine as Magnifico; Angelique Cabrel as Dahlia; Natasha Rothwell as Sakina; Jennifer Kumiyama as Dahlia; Harvey Guillen as Gabo; Niko Vangas as Hal; Ramy Youseff as Safi; Jon Rudnitsky as Dario;, Evan Peters as Simon; Alan Tudyk as Valentino; and Victor Garber as Sabino.
‘Wish’ is written by Jennifer Lee (Frozen II; A Wrinkle in Time) and Allison Moore and directed by Chris Buck (Frozen II; Frozen; Surf’s Up) and Fawn Veerasunthorn. ‘Wish’ began development in 2018, but it wasn’t publicly announced until January 2022.
When development was announced, it was also announced that the art style would combine the look of Disney’s traditional watercolor animation and computer animation, which the company utilized in its modern period.
‘Wish’ is rated PG for thematic elements and mild action and has a running time of 95 minutes.
Keep on checking my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews page on Facebook to see what I plan on checking out between now and the end of the year. Also since it’s Disney’s 100th anniversary, what is your favorite animated movie?
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