PG 2023 Fantasy/Musical 1h 35m
Wish doesn’t bring much new to the magical world of Disney; it’s really a retread of the Disney catalog. Artificial intelligence could use this movie as the formula when it starts writing Disney movies in a few years. Asha, the film’s lead, could be exchanged with many of the heroines from recent Disney films and not much would change; she is pleasant, a bit socially awkward, and prone to singing but without any real distinguishable personality. King Magnifico, like the villains before him, does not like to have his power threatened and he reacts by ratcheting up his evil deeds. The movie’s music is peppy and cute, but I couldn’t hum a bar of a single tune from the soundtrack by the end of the show.
Instead of seeing this as a fairly generic new entry in the Disney canon, watch it as a tribute to Disney’s 100th anniversary. The movie is full of Disney easter eggs to look out for. It’s probably best to watch it at home with other Disney-philes where you can point these out without disturbing others. Asha’s seven best friends share traits with some famous dwarfs. An animal is held up in the air Simba-style. A deer is called Bambi. There is a man in a green suit with a feather in his cap who wants to fly and is not-so-subtly named Peter. I’ll stop there as I don’t want to give you all the answers. However, the fact that there are so many allusions and that illustrations of the classic characters from other movies appear in the end credits, I believe adds credence to the idea this movie was released to serve as a “best of” mix tape.
This is not a bad movie. As I’ve indicated, it is perfectly pleasant, but Disney has done much better in the past and, by including references to those classics here, it invites comparison but fails to live up.
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