Wish Parent Guide

For decades, Magnifico (voiced by Chris Pine) has ruled the Kingdom of Rosas, protecting his subjects from harm. People have come from all over the Mediterranean to dwell on the peaceful island, submitting to the sorcerer king’s decree: At the age of 18, they will give him their deepest, most cherished wish, the dream that makes them who they are. Once surrendered, the wish will be forgotten, but the king will keep the wishes safe and will occasionally make a few of them come true.

Asha (Ariana DeBose) has grown up on the island, dazzled by the handsome ruler. When the seventeen-year-old has the chance to apply to be his apprentice, she is delighted – until she sees the tower room filled with forgotten, unfulfilled wishes. The lost dreams, stifled potential, and missed happiness fill Asha with grief and then anger. Dismissed by the king, she flees to the woods, and makes her own wish upon a star.

Any Disney fan knows what happens when you wish on a star – magic, that’s what. Sure enough, Asha, her newly verbal baby goat, Valentino (Alan Tudyk), her stellar friend, and her old pals find themselves caught up in a contest with a fearful, vengeful king, and it’s going to take everything they’ve got to survive…

There are two principal problems with the movie: the look and the sound. I was excited about Disney’s attempt to make the movie appear hand-drawn, giving it a less plastic appearance than is often found in computer generated animation. I like the look but for some reason the animators chose to use a very desaturated palette. The movie is often dim, with lots of greys, lavenders, and off-white tones. Weirdly for Disney, some of the animation looks incomplete. Close ups of Magnifico’s hands show little detail and his fingers look like pale sausages. The animation wizards at the Mouse House are capable of better work and errors like this are distracting.

The production’s soundtrack is also a letdown. Disney is the master of movie music, with tunes that set an emotional tone, move the plot, and illuminate characters. Sadly, the music in Wish is so bland I frequently zoned out in the theater and honestly couldn’t remember more than a few lines by the time I drove home. The silver lining here is that there is no Let It Go equivalent that your four-year-old is going to belt out at full volume for the next six months.

Things get better when we come to the movie’s story. The most interesting part of the film is its depiction of the king’s descent into villainy. At the beginning, Magnifico is a mostly benevolent despot. Yes, he fears loss and is hyper-controlling but he provides his people with a safe, albeit limited, kingdom. As he feels his control slipping and his will being challenged, he reaches for dark magic. His fall illustrates the old saying, “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Fortunately, Asha and her friends give life to ideals of selflessness, loyalty, sacrifice, integrity, courage, self-respect, and love. Asha is a fine heroine and parents will be happy to have their kids spend some time with her.

As for parental concerns, this is a pretty standard Disney movie with some plot-related peril, including evil spells, supernatural magic, and scenes of the king deliberately harming his subjects. There’s brief snot and butt humor, but nothing else of concern. If your little ones can make it through Sleeping Beauty or Aladdin, they’ll be fine with this flick.

I had hoped that Wish would be one of Disney’s best films, a wondrous, enchanting movie that would carry me away into a captivating imaginary world. Sadly, that wish did not come true. This is a perfectly adequate family film, but it isn’t a great one.