Movie Review: ‘Wish’ feels cobbled together for Disney’s centennial celebration

It’s a strange sensation to watch a film that seems to have been the product of a workshop at a corporate retreat, but that’s exactly what it feels like to watch “Wish,” the latest Disney animated feature. Ostensibly a 100-year anniversary celebration film of the Walt Disney Company, the story of “Wish” is extrapolated from the classic song “When You Wish Upon a Star,” which was originally written for “Pinocchio.” Writers Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore (working from a story by Lee, Moore and co-directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn) have dared to imagine, what if you wish upon a star? What then?

It’s somewhat astonishing that “Wish” has been in development for five years, because the script is a plug-and-play Disney formula: a headstrong young person lives an idyllic life in a beautiful home until they realize that they shouldn’t accept the status quo and either set out to change the world around them or find something new. They sing about their desires and emotions and inspire everyone around them and go through a cathartic journey of growth and change. Add a cute talking animal and call it a day.

Framed with a storybook device, the fairy-tale setting of “Wish” is Rosas, an island city in the Mediterranean where people from around the globe immigrate to live in tranquil safety under the watchful eye of King Magnifico (Chris Pine), a powerful (and handsome) sorcerer. Part of his whole deal is that he requires every citizen of Rosas to hand over their wishes at age 18, and every now and then he grants one. When we get a glimpse at them, the wishes are laughably basic, like flying and being strong or making dresses.

There’s some sort of logic about why one might want their king to keep their wishes safe, but it’s just the way things are in the autocracy of Rosas, until a young girl, Asha (Ariana DeBose) dares to question why that is while she’s interviewing to be the king’s apprentice. She asks Magnifico to grant her 100-year-old grandfather’s wish and when Magnifico turns her down, the bloom is off the Rosas for Asha.

The story is very generic, and the songs, by pop singer-songwriter Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, are rather uninspiring, though performed well by DeBose and Pine. The only time “Wish” shines bright is when it dares to get a little bit weird. Asha wishes on a star for everyone in Rosas to get their wish (so that they can work toward making them come true for themselves), and a plump, wiggly and mischievous star pops out of the sky and pays her a visit, sprinkling stardust on flora, fauna and inanimate objects, bringing them to dancing, singing life. It’s surreal and actually a bit funny, a reprieve from all the ardently sincere striving of the rest of the film.

With its combination of computer and watercolor animation, “Wish” has a soft and beautiful aesthetic, though the character’s facial movement is unfortunately strange. But the style is intended to look like our favorite Disney classics, and as a centennial celebration, “Wish” feels cobbled together from parts as it references these other movies. Asha’s pals are a clutch of characteristics intended to remind us of the Seven Dwarfs, though that’s not entirely clear. Magnifico is the ultimate example of the alluring, preening villain, as dramatic but better-looking than Jafar from “Aladdin.” The talking animals hark back to our girl Cinderella.

But all of these references, as well as the starry constellation images of favorite characters over the credits, just serve to remind us of these other, better films, ones with real stories and characters that feel fully realized, not a collection of tropes with a good singing voice. “Wish” will serve to entertain the very young, but it’s not up to the standards of those who know their Disney well.