Wish

The other film I saw today was Wish, the animated centerpiece of Disney's centennial. I must say it's better than its otherwise average reviews suggest it is. Does it have any problems? Let's find out.

King Magnifico (Chris Pine) and his wife, Queen Amaya (Angelique Cabral), are the founders of the Kingdom of Rosas. Magnifico is also a sorcerer who can hold onto his subjects' wishes and grant them whenever he pleases. He only grants whatever wishes he pleases, so most of them are stored away for nothing. Nobody knows what they lost because of his magic.

Asha (Ariana DeBose), a peppy tour guide, wants the King to grant her grandpa, Sabino's (Victor Garber), wish for his 100th birthday. She finds out about the King's dark side when she applies to be his apprentice. She soon wishes upon a star, which brings a star named Star to Earth.  Star gives a voice to Asha's goat Valentino (via Alan Tudyk), and a few funny problems. But the King's not happy to be upstaged and vows to hunt down Asha and Star. Asha decides to liberate her peoples' wishes from his clutches. It's not easy.

Directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn collaborated on the story with screenplay writers Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore. Their Disney celebration is loaded with callbacks to the company's extensive animated catalog. There are some glaringly obvious ones, including practical cameos of Bambi's woodland friends. There are a few subtle ones, too, as I didn't realize till the end that Asha's friends were homages to the Seven Dwarfs. All of these jokes, and more, populate a decently compelling story.

This is essentially a Disney heist movie. Asha, as the center of it all, is a particularly selfless protagonist. Her biggest wish is to make everyone else happy, that's it. She rightfully questions why the King would keep the wishes he never planned to grant. Her first attempt to steal back a wish, particularly Sabino's, is as funny as it is tense. Her and her friends' mission to free the rest makes for a tense climax. She gets a few good songs by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, particularly her "I Want Song" This Wish and its emotional climactic reprise.

King Magnifico makes for a splendidly dastardly villain. He’s affable when he and Asha meet, which goes awry when she inadvertently challenges his ego. While his villain song is catchy, it’s also where his affability strains and breaks. He fully turns scary once he descends into dark magic. But he also reveals himself a petty jerk who distrusts, yet demands respect from, his populace. It's quite satisfying when he gets his comeuppance.

Now for a few supporting highlights. Queen Amaya is far more sympathetic than her husband; she joins Asha and her friends on their mission and delightfully deals with the King herself. Asha's friends include Bazeema (Della Sabba), the Bashful homage and Simon (Evan Peters), the Sleepy homage. Bazeema's talents for off-screen teleportation are astounding; Simon is quite likable even after he sells his friends out in a moment of weakness. Valentino and Star make for great sidekicks. Asha's mom, Sakina (Natasha Rothwell), and Sabino are warm presences here. I'm sure we've seen a few of their types before, but these characters are sufficiently likable. 

The film's CGI is rendered with a unique watercolor aesthetic. Its characters, especially non-human ones like Valentino and Star, look like appealing 3D renderings of cel-painted ones. Its backgrounds are almost indistinguishable from paper painted ones. King Magnifico's sickly green aura accentuates his scariness once he embraces the dark magic. In other words, this is a great film to look at. It's also a good film to listen to, with the aforementioned songs and Dave Metzger's powerful score. Who knows if they'll be as memorable as those in their animated predecessors. But right now, the music makes for a nice listen.

Wish doesn't veer into the straightforward "be careful what you wish for" plot the ads imply. Instead, it's got a likable, if somewhat straightforward, protagonist, and a surprisingly twisty main plot. I kind of hope that its currently mixed reception improves with time, like so many of its animated predecessors. I had fun with it; give it a chance, and you might too. It makes for a good family matinee during these upcoming holidays and beyond.