The Walt Disney Company has decided to celebrate a century of entertaining the world with Wish, a story about a young girl realizing that the king ruling over her town isn’t the person he claimed to be. While the latest project from Walt Disney Animation Studios is far from perfect, there’s still plenty of magic to enjoy, and it’s all thanks to the very talented voice cast selected to bring the main characters to life. The company knew that they had to go big for such a special occasion, and they tried to be up for the challenge with a colourful musical about the power of dreams.
Asha (Ariana DeBose) was never like the other children around her, getting into trouble for being perceptive and impulsive from an early age. After working at the castle for years, she decided to take an opportunity to grow by becoming the apprentice of King Magnifico (Chris Pine). However, she soon learns that the monarch didn’t actually want the population of the Kingdom of Rosas to accomplish their dreams. Instead, Magnifico enjoyed exploiting their feelings of hope to make his own power grow. From that revelation onward, Asha knew things needed to change quickly to give dreams a chance of being accomplished.
What would soon follow is a musical adventure featuring cartoonish sidekicks, chases around the woods and ballads to express the main character’s feelings. However, even if it all sounds like the formula the studio has used for decades to entertain the world, the elements don’t seem to work by themselves at times. Fortunately, the powerful performances by the two lead stars make up for all of it, injecting their respective characters with heartfelt energy that elevates the latest story from Walt Disney Animation Studios to new heights. Besides, a hero is only as big as the adversities they overcome.
Chris Pine voices King Magnifico, the sorcerer capable of taking people’s biggest wishes and storing them to extract power from the ideas. While he convinces the town he’s actually protecting the population by taking their deepest desires from their memories, Asha quickly realizes he’s taking advantage of the families he’s sworn to protect. Pine shines as the monarch, who is introduced as a charismatic public figure but slowly descends into madness while the story moves forward. The nuance injected into the character by the Wonder Woman star provides Wish with a memorable antagonist.
The contrast established between Magnifico and Asha creates an intriguing dynamic, with the king losing his sanity while the young woman gains confidence. Their inevitable confrontation is built up with both of their personalities taken into account, making Asha’s strong journey about believing in herself mirror how Magnifico lies to everyone around him. It’s up to the people of the Kingdom of Rosas to determine if the person who watches over them is helping everyone or if the lonely girl who couldn’t be seen around the castle anymore was actually right. The fate of the town is on the line, with magic hidden in every corner of the place.
Unfortunately, the songs featured in Wish aren’t the ones expected from the feature celebrating a century of changing the animation industry. Written by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, the melodies meant to be inspirational and emotional don’t come close to the unforgettable tunes provided by Encanto, released two years prior to Asha’s story hitting the big screen. That said, Ariana DeBose doesn’t have anything left to prove regarding her vocal range, but the writing behind what compels Asha forward isn’t as strong as the songs suggest. Nevertheless, this musical is filled with fun for the entire family and an introspective journey for its protagonist.
When all is said and done in the world of Wish, the brightest features of the animated story are DeBose and Pine’s performances, bringing their talent to Asha and King Magnifico, respectively. The performers’ work elevates what would otherwise be a forgettable fairytale involving the latest addition to the Walt Disney Animation Studios canon. But the energy heard in DeBose and Pine is enough to make Wish worthy of being seen by the entire family.
Rating: 7.5/10