Wish

I had high hopes for this movie. After the box office flop 'Strange World', which looked loud and unappealing and most of all very un-Disney, it seemed this movie was going to be a return to form. It even promised the return of the great Disney villain, a concept strangely abandoned by the studio for almost a decade (preferring 'twist villains' or no villains instead).

Sadly, the return of the villain is the only real benefit of this movie. For what it is, it's not terrible per se, but all is wholly forgettable, from the music to the animation to the characters. I'd say the latter is the most problematic aspect of 'Wish'. Asha is the most unoriginal, uninspired protagonist of any Disney movie. Even annoying leads in a Disney picture leave an impression, like the cows in 'Home On The Range'. Asha, on the other hand, not only looks like an identical twin of recent heroïnes like Anna, Mirabel and Rapunzel (the latter of whom she resembles most) but also acts like them. It's the exact same 'quirky awkward nervous teen girl' all over again without a shred of uniqueness that would make her a recognizable character of her own.

It's hard to root for a heroïne as empty and shallow as that. Especially when the villain's objectives are equally as empty and shallow. He wants power over people because... he wants power over people? The story is severely lacking. You would expect more from Disney's outing in its 100th birthyear, but it basically boils down to something as banal as 'he has the wishes and she wants to give the wishes back'. It's not a very exciting proposition and there's not much you can do with such a bare bones simplistic story. Which I guess is where all the padding comes from. And by god, is it terrible.

None of the goat's lines are funny. He's clearly meant as the funny sidekick but he didn't make me laugh even once. Nor did any of the other side characters, who are even more bland than Asha. Does anyone remember any joke from the movie that cracked a smile for them? I found the humor very much aimed at little kids, but then again I would say most of this movie is aimed at little kids. Even the animation looks like a saturday morning cartoon. It had a lot of potential, the blend of 2D with 3D. I will give the movie this: at least it looks different than the other Disney computer animated movies, the way handdrawn movies looked different (compare, say, 'Atlantis' to 'Lilo & Stitch').

The most underwhelming aspect of this movie were the songs. Most of them are pointless, the lyrics are laughably weak and they fail to illuminate important plot points (as is customary in Disney musicals). I found them sadly unimaginative, not catchy or memorable, and with the villain song I was even hoping it would be over soon, that's how bad that one was. I also dislike the modern pop sound the songs had, which is jarring when shoehorned into a supposed fairytale. It makes you long for the days of the Disney Renaissance.

All in all, 'Wish' is not the worst Disney movie by a long shot and it's wholly unoffensive and it had some potential but that potential was never realized. As it stands, it's a pretty mediocre film that serves as babysitter material on Disney+ but can't stand alongside the Classics of (even the recent) past.

There was once a time not so long ago, when the word 'Disney' in an animated project meant so much; a great storytelling experience was guaranteed and a masterpiece was always possible. But as of late, each Disney project has come to feel like a rehash of every other Disney project; slowly killing any amount of excitement one might have looking forward to each new project.

Wish is no different and is as every bit forgettable and uninspiring as people are accusing it of being. If there's anything worth remembering though, it would have to be the watercolor-esque art style, but not even that justifies the movie's existence. Wish lacks depth and is painfully a face-value movie. It has a Disney-protagonist, a Disney-antagonist, a Disney-merch mascot, some Disney-music, and well yea, that's about it.

The question though, is if kids would enjoy it. After all, that's who the movie is primarily aimed at. And the answer might be 'yes', but probably at a level no different than how they might enjoy say Cocomelon or something. There's nothing magical that might stand out and nothing that might inspire. It's yet another Disney showcase of good animation with less than nothing else to accommodate.

"A disney flop". I've heard complaints about the animation for being "lazy". And yes, it's another style compared to Frozen or Brave, a little more flatter. But I think they still delivered the message. Besides, I also liked the soundtracks a lot.

Maybe for kids the movie's story/main plot is a bit far stretched or "complicated" but from an older perspective I can see what they wanted to say and I think it's a beautiful message. My interpretation of it is simply what was said in the movie, that the king took away his people's humanity to be able to control them. And I think the people being "stars" was a beautiful way of showing humans standing together against a "government" that doesn't care for all the individuals. It matches the state of the real world. The people who's hearts resemble stars are fighting for freedom and happiness, it's something we see now in real life and I think it's beautiful how they mirrored that in the movie. We won't let someone take control and make sure our wishes don't come true because our deep wishes is what makes us whole and keeps us striving.

I agree that the animation itself lacked something but I see the potential. I was happily surprised when the movie, in my opinion, turned out to be much better than I heard it would. Wish has a nice and touching message.

I enjoyed the songs, but they didn't capture my attention the way Encanto's did. The story was a bit dull and all over the place. I tried to keep expectations low, and while I liked it, I didn't love it like I did Raya and the last dragon, Encanto, or the other recent Disney films. I feel maybe they spent too much time giving nods to classic films, rather than making the story more interesting.

The style was ok, but I agree it looked like early 2000's dreamworks. Not 2D enough like Princess and the frog, and not 3D enough like the more recent films.

Ralph Breaks the Internet was a better nod to classic Disney than this film.

In Wish, Disney honors their tradition, and at the same time adds a new movie to their catalogue of animated films. Wish is a nice movie, but lacks what makes Disney animated movies so special.

In Wish, young Asha wishes on a star, and gets more than she bargained for when a star comes down to help her in her quest to defeat the evil king Magnifico.

The greatest advantage the movie has is its gorgeous animation, the brushstrokes painted beautifully on the screen. It is a wondrous blend of hand-drawn animation and 3d animation, a la Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. I hope we get many more films animated in this style, as it is very relaxing and nice to look at.

If only the story matched the visuals... An overly simple story lacks anything of substance. And yes, I'm taking into account that this is a kids movie. I sympathized with the villain (who did not begin the movie evil) in the beginning of the film, only for him to suddenly turn evil out of no where. The film also suffers from a horrifying over dependence on magic. The songs are very good, but they all sound about the same, which isn't a problem in the movie, but I can't imagine the music in this movie selling many CDs. I do have to give the voice actors some credit though. They didn't do anything award worthy, but they did an excellent job.

That being said, while I watched this movie, I enjoyed it. The only reason I went to see it was to take my nephews. Disney has a rich history of making the greatest animated classics of all time. They have a proven formula that works, and I hope they either return to it in the future, or try something else besides Wish. It's a decent movie, but there's nothing memorable about it, and I don't expect it will be long before it is forgotten.