The most directly aggressive Disney propaganda in recent memory is “Wish” from Disney. Yes, they all are to some degree, but movies like “The Lion King” or even “Encanto” are narrative pieces that stand alone, whereas “Wish” feels more entwined with the Mouse House’s past and the creative potential that its audience has discovered than any other work the company has ever created. Not only are there a ton of allusions to films ranging from “Peter Pan” to “Mary Poppins” to “Bambi” and beyond, but the entire production seems to be about how we should never stop wishing on stars—not just any old stars, but ones bearing the Disney name—in order to be happy.
Although the creators have long maintained that this is where the “wishing star” of Disney fame originated, “Wish” is set in an undefined era and takes place in a place called Rosas. Despite its appealing animation, which combines CGI dimension with techniques that look more hand-drawn, the setting is sadly vague. In the film “Wish,” a perceptive idealist named Asha makes a wish so strong that a cosmic force—a tiny ball of limitless energy known as Star—responds to it. In order to save her community and demonstrate that amazing things are possible when the will of a brave individual combines with the power of the stars, Asha and Star face off against King Magnifico, the ruler of Rosas. The film is directed by Oscar winning Chris Buck (“Frozen,” “Frozen 2”) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (“Raya and the Last Dragon”), and it features the voices of Academy Award winning actor Ariana DeBose as Asha, Chris Pine as Magnifico, and Alan Tudyk as Asha’s favorite goat, Valentino. It is produced by Peter Del Vecho (“Frozen,” “Frozen 2”) and Juan Pablo Reyes (“Encanto”). Executive producing are Jennifer Lee (“Frozen,” “Frozen 2”) and Allison Moore (“Night Sky,” “Manhunt”), who also write for the film. Composer Dave Metzger’s score complements the original songs by Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Julia Michaels and Grammy-winning producer-songwriter-musician Benjamin Rice.