2023 was a jubilee year for The Walt Disney Company. On October 16, it turned 100 years old. Almost everyone in the world has probably heard of Disney, so the company doesn’t need any extra presentations. But it could not ignore such a significant date. The animated movie “Wish” is dedicated to the centenary of the studio’s existence, which gave us many wonderful works. In the review below, we will tell you how the new animated film turned out.
The story of the animated film takes place in the kingdom of Rosas. It is ruled by Queen Amaya and King Magnifico. Magnifico is able to fulfill the wishes of the inhabitants of his kingdom. For this reason, a special event is held once a month, during which one person can get their wish fulfilled. But 17-year-old girl Asha realizes during her meeting with Magnifico that he keeps the wishes of the inhabitants under strict control in order to maintain his power. However, no one believes the girl. In desperation, she makes a wish to the stars. And then a clever star named Zvezda comes to her aid. Together with her (and Valentino the goat, who was given the ability to speak by Zvezda), Asha will deliberately oppose Magnificat so that people’s wishes are fulfilled with dignity.
Disney is such a huge company that even large-scale projects that take several years of work can be perceived as niche projects with one goal. The result is something like The Marvels, which is perceived as an hour-and-a-half episode of a TV series that revolves around one central idea. “Wish” also serves a specific purpose, except that it is more ambitious. This goal is to pay tribute to the legacy of the Disney Corporation.
I’m tired of writing about nostalgia trafficking once again. Because this is a really effective technique that, with the right approach, works on absolutely all viewers. Besides, Disney has a great reason this time. Not every company turns a hundred years old.
But what would be left if we took away the powerful and all-consuming element of nostalgia from Wish? The central story here is simple and trivial. The main character overcomes all difficulties with the help of her perseverance and a couple of magical creatures (one of which serves as a comedic element). Many stories follow this pattern. “Wish” doesn’t add any additional nuances to it.
This is despite the fact that the plot of the cartoon still tries to talk about political and social topics at the level of subtexts. Something like what Pixar does in some of its works. However, Wish does not follow through with its interesting ideas. That’s why it remains mostly a children’s cartoon.
Even before the release, the villain was criticized for being too caricatured and contrived. Yes, it doesn’t seem to be an infinite evil here.
“Wish” is also noteworthy for its visuals. The three-dimensional animation here is very much stylized as a traditional drawing. This technique was popularized by “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and it still looks very nice. But in “Wish” it also finds a semantic response, relying precisely on a sense of nostalgia for old Disney works. In any case, it’s a pleasure to watch.
“Wish” as a work can be generally described by the word “pleasant”. It does not go beyond any limits, it will not be a revelation for you. But it copes with its main goal perfectly. Disney can afford such “one-off” animated films. Consider it a gift from the studio to itself.
Verdict
“Wish” was not a miracle or an event. It is a good animated movie, but it is much better as a reason to think about Disney classics. Because of this, the independent value of the story about wishes and their potential is significantly reduced. But Disney can definitely afford to competently trade in nostalgia, and at least you won’t be bored while watching it.
