Young apprentice, Asha must face the evil sorcerer king, Magnifico as she tries to free her Grandfather’s one and only wish on his 100th birthday.
From Walt Disney Animation Studios. comes the much anticipated centenary celebration, ‘Wish’. Starring Ariana DeBose as our young star, Asha and Chris Pine as sorcerer Magnifico and Angelique Cabral as his queen. Directed by Chris Buck who was a co-director of the brilliant and massively successful Frozen and Frozen II films, Wish has a traditional 2D feel as a nod to the past whilst using the slick computer animation of today.
Set in the idyllic village of Rosas, 17-year-old Asha has been gifted the rare opportunity to work closely with Magnifico to help him keep track of the hundreds of wishes he is keeping safe in protected bubbles from the unsuspecting villagers. Carefully granting them one by one each month to a lucky recipient of his choosing, as he keeps himself mostly locked away in his high tower of solitude.
DeBose, who was cast after her recent musical performance in the updated West Side Story and Pine with his usual charm, work well together and do their very best with what is a fairly basic premise. We are also given the glorious humour of Alan Tudyk as Valentino, the cute goat who is given the gift of speech by the troublesome star summoned by Asha. However this brilliantly bright starlight unleashes untrusting evil from within Magnifico turning his secrecy into something far darker.
With Asha’s friends she meets along the way, cute talking animals and the wishing star, we are indeed in for a treat that happily moves along, but has no real direction and therefore unfortunately loses its way with songs that will not stand the test of time. DeBose’s singing talent can not be faulted (Pine also does well), but the lyrics are forgettable compared with recent hits like those from the magical delights of ‘Coco’, ‘Encanto’ and of course both ‘Frozen’ films. Story and music wise, Wish tries to be too many things for too many people, and thus sadly falls flat. From such a milestone as a centenary, the expectation may have been higher but the animated reality is sadly low.
Author: Piers, Maidstone Store
