Wish Review: Disney Has An Identity Crisis

For those of you who aren't living under the heel of the Mouse who rules over us all, Disney is currently celebrating its 100th anniversary as an animation studio. The intention of "Wish" is clearly to serve as a victory lap, honoring the legacy of the entertainment giant — but what it ends up representing is an identity crisis. It's trying to be a throwback to Disney's classic fairy tale adaptations, but it also can't resist some of modern animation's more cringey affections, overpopulating the film with talking animal sidekicks that provide the barest of comic relief. There are some elements of "Wish" that genuinely work, which makes the film more frustrating than bad, because you can see the glimmer of what it could have been if its creators had committed to their initial concept.

In "Wish," the kingdom of Rosas is ruled over by Magnifico (Chris Pine), a sorcerer monarch with the power to grant the wishes of its citizens. The process is simple: when someone turns 18, they offer up their wish to Magnifico, who promises to keep it safe for them. Once a month, he grants one wish in a big wish-granting PR ceremony. Some lucky people get their wish when they're relatively young, while others — like Asha's (Ariana DeBose) grandfather, who's about to turn 100 — are still waiting to have their dreams come true. Makes sense, right? After all, not everyone can get their wish granted, that's just impractical. And what if some of the citizens were wishing for bad things, like their neighbor's barky dog to be murdered or the inauguration of President Gary Busey? You have to have some kind of screening system.

But that's not the problem. What's actually at play here is that when these people give up their wishes, they forget them, and sacrifice an essential part of themselves in the hope that someday their wildest dreams will become reality. When plucky young Asha interviews to be the king's assistant, she asks a simple question: if Magnifico knows he's never going to grant certain wishes, why can't he just return them to the people? This, it turns out, is the wrong question to ask. Magnifico doesn't like having anyone question his methods, and the fallout of this failed interview leads to absolute chaos — especially after Asha's wish on a star sends the star down to Earth, a Kirby-like yellow ball determined to help her out. But the fight to restore the dreams of Rosas to their rightful owners is more dangerous than Asha ever could have imagined.

From the very beginning of the film, when the storybook opens on camera to reveal the first few pages of a fairy tale — like Disney did with "Snow White" and "Sleeping Beauty" — it's clear that this is meant to be a throwback. The animation style of the backgrounds is elaborately illustrated, giving it a charming old-fashioned feel. Unfortunately, this effect is spoiled by the film's decision to give all the characters generic Pixar faces. This is a common problem in "Wish" — it wants to pay homage to the classic fairy tale stories that put Disney on the map, but it's not quite confident that audiences will be on board. It hedges its bets by infuriatingly throwing in modern flourishes, none more egregious than the talking goat Valentino (Alan Tudyk). "Wish" tries to split the difference between classic and modern, and fails on both fronts. How much better would the film have done if they really committed to the vintage vibe? The world may never know.

The songs of "Wish" are also a mixed bag. There are some legitimate bangers on the soundtrack, with the defiant, percussion-heavy "Knowing What I Know Now" a particular standout. Ariana DeBose's clear-as-a-bell voice is a huge asset, bringing richness and depth even to the songs that have less going for them, musically speaking. At the same time, "Wish" also has the cloyingly inspirational forest animal ensemble number "I'm a Star," which represents the nadir of not just this film but Disney soundtracks as a whole. It's a real low point.

What's a Disney film without a good villain? Chris Pine as Magnifico is properly creepy, especially after he gets his green-eyed makeover, and there's something nostalgic about both his study and the sorcery that he practices. But here, again, there's an attempt to have things both ways. He's a full-throated bad guy (complete with the self-congratulatory villain song "This Is The Thanks I Get?"), but there's also a half-hearted attempt to make him sympathetic, by giving hints of a tragic backstory. However, the script doesn't do enough to push him into one category of villain or another, and the end result is that he's a little wobbly, despite Pine's committed voice acting.

In looking at all of this, it's clear that the biggest issue with "Wish" is that it lacks conviction. It wants to pay homage to its studio, but rather than following through with a story that really honors what made it popular in the first place, it settles for a bunch of cheap Easter eggs, each more hackneyed than the last. Any efforts for the animation to stand out visually are undermined by its disappointingly generic character design. And while Ariana DeBose breathes life into the determined Asha, she's let down by underdeveloped supporting characters and a lackluster script that doesn't live up to the potential of the story.

"Wish" hits theaters on November 22.