Western Animation / Wish (2023)

aka: Wish

One wish can change everything.

"Imagine a place where wishes come true. Where your heart's desire can become a reality. What if I told you that place is within reach? All you have to do is give your wish... to me."

— King Magnifico

Wish is a 2023 animated fantasy musical film, the 62nd entry in the Disney Animated Canon, and the concluding entry for Disney’s 100th anniversary year. It is directed by Chris Buck (Tarzan, Frozen) and Fawn Veerasunthorn, written by Jennifer Lee (Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph) and Allison Moore (Manhunt: Unabomber), and stars Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Natasha Rothwell, Victor Garber, Jennifer Kumiyama, Evan Peters, Jon Rudnitsky, Harvey Guillén, Angelique Cabral, and Alan Tudyk. The songs are written by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice.

The film is set in the kingdom of Rosas, a fantastical place where wishes can come true when they are relinquished by the citizens to its ruler, King Magnifico (Pine). However, his new apprentice, young Asha (DeBose) soon discovers that the King only grants the wishes he views as beneficial to his kingdom... meaning most wishes don't come true. Seeking another path to help her community, Asha finds herself in a chance encounter with a sentient, magical star — the one that went on to become the "wishing star" featured in other Disney Animated Canon films (namely Pinocchio and The Princess and the Frog). Now, aided by her now talking pet goat Valentino (Tudyk), Asha must protect the star from Magnifico and expose his lies to the kingdom.

The film was released in theatres on November 22, 2023. Naturally, not to be confused with either the manga, book, the animation studio, or the cruise ship also run by Disney. Prior to the film's release, Asha made an appearance in Once Upon a Studio, with DeBose voicing her there.

Previews: Teaser Trailer, Trailer

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Wish contains examples of:

• Actor Allusion:
  • Harvey Guillén playing a loveable secondary character in a film about a quest with a wishing star? Why is that so familar?
  • Valentino is seen conducting a choir of chickens, which makes sense considering Alan Tudyk has a connection to chickens.
  • Magnifico remarking that he got his looks from outer space could be Chris Pine referencing his time as Captain Kirk.
• Adaptation Expansion: The book A Recipe for Adventure heavily expands on the story and characters of the film, showing how Dahlia and Asha met, expanding on the Teens' personalities and occupations, having Magnifico give a Motive Rant during the climax (this also appears in the standard novelization), and showing what Amaya and Sakina's wishes were.
• Advertising by Association: Fitting for a film made for Disney’s 100th anniversary, the teaser trailer states that the film is “from the studio that brought you Frozen, The Lion King, Moana, Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella, and Encanto”. However, the second trailer dials it back to just Frozen and Moana.
• All Wishes Granted: Zigzagged with Star. Like all the Wishing Star’s incarnation, Star will not fully grant people’s wishes. They’re only as helpful as giving the means, but it’s up to the wishmaker to put the work in order to have their wish fulfilled.
• Ambiguously Jewish:
  • Throughout the movie, Asha and others refer to her grandfather as her "Saba," which is the Hebrew word for "Grandpa." Rosas is loosely based off of Spain, and many Sephardic (Iberian) Jews trace their lineage back to North Africa as well as to South Europe.
  • When addressing a crowd of Rosas citizens, Asha says "Hola, salaam, and shalom!" referring to Medieval Spain's mix of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian populations.
• And I Must Scream: At the end Magnifico ends up imprisoned inside the crystal that was on top of his staff, and Queen Amaya orders a guard to have it hung up on a wall in the castle dungeon, meaning that Magnifico will likely be trapped forever. ^note It's also implied that this is the origin of the Magic Mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, meaning that the crystal will eventually strip Magnifico of his personality and have him be used as a tool for the Evil Queen (and the Mirror can only tell the truth), which makes it so much worse, karma or not.
• Animals Respect Nature: In "I'm a Star" the forest animals teach Asha that every living thing is made of stardust and explain the cycle of life to her, with a message to cherish life and ourselves because we're all part of the same cosmic existence.
• Anthropomorphic Personification: Star, the personification of a wishing star.
• Apathetic Citizens: Enforced by Magnifico's wish-granting system, as once wishes are given up the person loses the passion that drives them, leading to a city-state of blissfully content people who worship Magnifico and wait on his whims.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Two given to King Magnifico, who, being the Narcissist he is, would only react with outrage and/or frustration.
  • When Asha starts to realize that most of the wishes of the citizens of Rosas will never be granted by him, she asks "can't you just give them back instead?"
  • Later, when Magnifico announces there is a traitor amongst them who used magic, many of the citizens start asking him each of their own ("You say the magic is amateurish, but how come you don't know how they did it?", "How do we know our wishes are safe? We never see them!" etc)
• Be Careful What You Wish For: Despite the phrase featuring in the tagline and Magnifico stating that some wishes are too vague and could have unintended consequences should they be granted, this trope ends up largely subverted, as the wishes we see are positive and eventually work out as intended, including Asha's wish to help the people of Rosas. Simon's wish to be the king's knight is the one example played straight, as Magnifico brainwashes him while granting it.
• Beauty Is Bad: Towards the end of the movie after Magnifico has been defeated, Gabo states that he has learned to never trust anyone who is good-looking. He then says this is why he hangs out with ugly people like Dario and Safi.
• Big Damn Heroes: Asha is saved by John the Bear when cornered by Simon. John then leaves Simon to the mercy of an army of rabbits.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In the second act, Simon, who seemed to be a laidback Nice Guy, sells Asha out to Magnifico.
• Broken Pedestal: Asha is horrified to learn that king Magnifico will leave dozens of wishes ungranted, simply because he sees them as possible threats to the kingdom or, more specifically, his rule. For that matter, Queen Amaya slowly sees that the man she loves is not the benevolent, kind person she always thought he was.
• But Now I Must Go: Happens with Star at the end of the movie. Subverted in that they plans to leave sometime soon, but not immediately.
• Canon Welding: The premise of Star being the wishing star that figured into Pinocchio and The Princess and the Frog makes this film this for the Disney Animated Canon. Valentino near the end also wishes for a world where all mammals are treated equally and wear clothes, figuring Zootopia into the weld as well. It’s also implied that Magnifico becomes the magic mirror from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• Cassandra Truth: In the opening stretch of "This Wish", Asha laments that she's in this situation since she's learned that King Magnifico is not benevolent but no one else believes her, and she has no means of proving it.
• Chekhov's Gunman: John the Bear only appears two scenes. In his second scene, John saves Asha when she is cornered by Simon.
• Chewing the Scenery: Chris Pine is clearly having a blast in the movie's third act/climax, as Magnifico becomes more unhinged.
• Color-Coded for Your Convenience: Almost all of the architecture and clothing in Rosas, the society that Magnifico created, is blue — the color of the Disney company's logos. Star's power illuminates things in a warm golden light, creating an Orange/Blue Contrast. When Magnifico starts using dark magic, it creates a Sickly Green Glow.
• Company Cross References: So many the film has its own page.
• Compressed Hair: In the "Welcome to Rosas" song, a man is seen removing his hat, which allows his long mane of hair to roll down to his feet.
• Counting to Potato: Valentino counts to three this way, since he is a goat and never learned to count.
• Create Your Own Hero: Magnifico does this with his treatment of Asha and his views of handling the wishes.
• Dangerous Forbidden Technique: Magnifico has an entire book of dark magic, which permanently binds those who invoke its power even once to it.
• Death of Personality: A downplayed example in that giving up your wish means losing the best part of yourself and what it was. After his wishing ceremony, Simon is said to have lost something of himself and worries about not being whole.
• Deer in the Headlights: "Bambi" invokes this trope when Asha's wagon almost plows him, with the "headlights" coming from Asha's magic wand.
• Department of Redundancy Department: Magnifico's Villain Song: "I let you live here for free and I don't even charge you rent!"
• Disney Acid Sequence: After Asha leaves Valentino and Star in a stock room with chickens, Asha and her friends find out that he's leading said flock of chickens in a colorful musical number, thanks to Star's magic.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: The citizens that have given their wishes to King Magnifico are either placed in a state of blissful ignorance, or - as in the case with Asha's friend Simon - they're reduced to quiet, drowsy husks of themselves who respond to everything with blank indifference. This is startlingly similar to varying side effects of taking antidepressants, which intend to reduce or stop volatile thoughts and emotions, but don't actually solve the potential issues that have caused these feelings in the first place.
  King Magnifico: I make them forget their worries.
• A Dog Named "Dog": The star is officially named Star.
• DreamWorks Face: Valentino the goat makes this cocky expression in almost all of the film’s posters and promotional images.
• Dumbwaiter Ride: Asha uses this to sneak into the part of the castle where Magnifico keeps the wishes (it was installed so he could have food sent up to his inner sanctum without letting anyone in).
• Empire with a Dark Secret: The jumping-off point of the film is that Asha discovers that her kingdom is built upon a false peace because the film’s Big Bad, who has the ability to grant wishes, only does so when he thinks they’re beneficial to his kingdom, namely him.
• Entitled Bastard: King Magnifico expects everyone to bow before him and accept his rule without question. After being trapped inside his staff, he genuinely believes he can get Amaya to free him just by asking (and then, demanding).
• Establishing Character Moment: The first scene with the Seven Teens establishes which of the Seven Dwarfs is their counterpart by the way they act.
• Everyone Has Standards: Despite being an obnoxious cynic who sees Asha having Star as potential trouble, Gabo still goes out of his way to keep Star a secret, and he's outraged when it turns out that Simon sold out Asha and Star to King Magnifico in exchange for getting his wish granted.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Magnifico, unable to find the source of the magic he feels threatened by and angry with the people of Rosas for doubting his authority once word about what he is doing with the townfolks' wishes squeaks out, uses the book of forbidden magic in an attempt to find this source of this magic and force the kingdom to fall back into line, despite knowing full well that he'll be forever bound to it if he does. It ultimately ends badly for him, as when the entire kingdom finally stands up to him and frees Star, the magic backfires on him and pulls him into the dark crystal that he used to top his staff, leaving him stuck inside of it indefinitely.
• Evil Is Petty:
  • After Magnifico and Asha argue over the justification of keeping most of the wishes locked up in his tower, he goes out of his way to spite Asha at the wish ceremony by making her personally witness him taking the wishes of two new citizens, and then makes an ambiguous announcement that makes it seem like he will grant Sabino's wish, only to blindside them by granting the wish of a woman who wants to make the most beautiful dresses in the kingdom. He then walks up to her and blatantly tells her that not only did she not get the job as his apprentice, but that he will never grant her mother's wish or Sabino's, leaving them to a life of unfulfilled dreams they can't even remember. All because Asha disagreed with him.
  • Later on, the three wishes Magnifico absorbs to make his dark magic staff are from the three citizens who questioned whether their wishes were safe during his announcement of "the traitor." In their minds, they were simply looking for reassurance from the King they trusted, and in return they had their hearts crushed because he arrogantly believed they were being ungrateful.
• Evil Laugh: King Magnifico gives one in the trailer, heard as Asha runs off.
• Evil Overlooker: The theatrical poster above depicts King Magnifico hovering over Asha and Valentino with Star under his chin.
• Exact Words: In the second act, as an increasingly Drunk on the Dark Side Magnifico confronts her, Queen Amaya assures her husband that she "would not side with traitors" and wanted to keep the kingdom safe. Next we see of her, she sides with Asha and her friends, seeing Magnifico as the traitor who is endangering Rosas due to his use of forbidden magic.
• Fairy Godmother: The end of the movie implies Asha becomes one at her friends' prompting, Star giving her a Magic Wand so that she can help people, giving them the push needed to make their dream comes true.
• Fairy Devilmother: Or "Devilfather" as the case may be. While Magnifico presents himself as a benign granter of wishes, he only puts up a front as Hope Bringer and only selects wishes that would benefit him directly. When he starts using dark magic, his mask starts to slip and he actively starts manipulating the wishes to suit his needs, granting Simon's wish — to become a Knight in Shining Armor — with the added caveat of mind control-induced loyalty to him.
• False Utopia: The people of Rosas live in contentment and harmony because Magnifico hoards their wishes, meaning they lack passion and drive to do things on their own. The people have to rely on him to grant their heart's desires, unaware that most of them will not come true.
• Fantasy Counterpart Culture: The setting of Rosas is meant to resemble Spain or Portugal.
• Foreshadowing:
  • For the story's immediate opening, apparently the yet-to-be-named king in the book thought about "how easily dreams could be destroyed." This hints at how said king, who is King Magnifico, would become a tyrant over his subjects through his kingdom because he sees how people can't make their own dreams come true and therefore keeps their wishes to himself.
  • In "Welcome to Rosas", as Asha sings about King Magnifico, she claims he has glowing eyes and lightning coming out of his hands before admitting she's only joking about that part. He gains these attributes when he uses forbidden magic.
  • The candidate for Magnifico’s apprentice before Asha running away crying about how it ended disastrously is a good hint towards Magnifico’s true, wrathful and petty nature towards those who either challenge or fail him.
  • When Asha first meets Magnifico, she approaches the big book in the middle of the room, and as she prepares to touch it, Magnifico shows up and tells her not to because it's "forbidden". It turns out it's a Chekhov's Gun, as he uses that book later on when he feels his authority is threatened and makes Rosas into an actual dystopia using forbidden magic.
  • In "This Is The Thanks I Get?!" Magnifico snarks that he'd love to see someone else do his job. At the end of the film, Amaya has taken over ruling Rosas and Asha has taken over wish-granting duties.
  • The way the poster for the film is arranged resembles a mirror, with King Magnifico as an Evil Overlooker. In the end, it's all but stated Magnifico ends up becoming the original Magic Mirror.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: At the end, when Magnifico is defeated and sucked into his staff's crystal, the face of the Magic Mirror appears for a split-second within the resulting magical explosion, giving way to the implication that Magnifico and the Mirror may be one and the same.
• Freudian Excuse: When he was a child, King Magnifico lost everything when thieves ransacked his kingdom and killed his family. His desire to never lose what he has ever again drives most of his decisions.
• Gaslighting: Invoked by Magnifico as he only grants wishes that he views are beneficial to the kingdom, or rather to him. He then purposely hoards all other wishes and due to the nature of it, the people don't even remember what their wishes were. Which means Magnifico keeps his kingdom in a form of stasis where the people have to rely on him to grant their heart desires, unaware that many of them will NOT come true.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: The teaser trailer first suggests King Magnifico is evil with a shot of these on the "to me" phrase in the speech quoted above. It's a Sickly Green Glow too.
• Godzilla Threshold: Deconstructed. Magnifico has a book of forbidden magic in his study room, locked in a magical glass safe and never opened for the fear of magic corruption inside. Magnifico swears he would never use it unless his kingdom is threatened by a completely unknown threat. However, that unknown threat he deems to be necessary emergency is just Star trying to help Asha reclaim her family's ungranted wishes. The fact that the threat is so minuscule in reality yet the consequences of forbidden magic are so great only showcase how far off the deep end Magnifico has gone.
• Hero vs. Villain Duet: "At All Costs" is a unique example in that both sides of the song are positive-sounding, as King Magnifico and Asha are dazzled by the beauty of wishes and vow to keep them safe. However, while Magnifico vows to uphold the status quo and keep the wishes to himself, Asha vows to fight for the wishes were something to happen to them.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Magnifico doesn’t want to grant Asha’s grandfather’s wish because “inspiring the next generation” is “too vague; what if he incites a rebellious mob?”. This inspires Asha to try to get his wish back for him, and by the end of the movie, she’s leading the kingdom to overthrow the power-hungry king. Furthermore, the villain ends up trapped in the staff he created for himself.
• Hollywood Costuming: For once, this trope is invoked. This takes place in the 16th or 17th century, but Asha's braided hair is very typical of the 21st century.
• I'm Having Soul Pains: This seems to be a problem with giving up the wishes to Magnifico. Two people who give them up early on look as if they are already regretting it, and part of the reason why Simon betrays Asha is the fear that they aren't whole if they don't recall or realize the wish. Later, people whose wishes are crushed and absorbed by Magnifico feel a sharp pain in their chest and a feeling of grief in the moment.
• Ink-Suit Actor: Asha and Magnifico, respectively, bear striking resemblances to their voice actors.
• Insane Troll Logic: King Magnifico refuses to grant Sabino's wish of becoming a great musician on the grounds that such music might inspire people to rebel against the kingdom.
• "I Want" Song: The first song to be previewed, and prominently featured in all trailers, is "This Wish" as Asha pleads to the stars for a better life for her people.
• Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: While King Magnifico isn't as nice as he appears to begin with, using the book of forbidden magic causes him to become more and more twisted with each deed he performs.
• Killer Rabbit: In the third act, Simon is set upon by a whole horde of adorable-looking rabbits.
• Kneel Before Zod: Magnifico magically forces everyone to kneel before him during the climax.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Anyone who gives their wish to King Magnifico is given this in return so they can't remember what they wished for. The standard novelization and A Recipe for Adventure even has it as a motto of sorts, where the people "forget without regret".
• Latino Is Brown: "Hispanic Is Brown" in this case; despite taking place in a kingdom off of the Iberian Peninsula, a lot of characters are either brown or dark-skinned. Possibly justified if it takes place in its southern lands, where people can reasonably be expected to be tanned.^note As well as geographic proximity to North Africa, which historically had a lot of interaction with that region of the Iberian peninsula. Rosas also attracts a large and diverse immigrant population seeking to benefit from Magnifico's magic, making mixed-race families like Asha's a common sight.
• Leitmotif: The first four notes of "When You Wish Upon a Star" figure prominently in the score. It is not until after the credits that the song is heard properly.
• Line in the Sand: During "Knowing What I Know Now", Asha announces to the remaining 6 teens her intention to go after Magnifico. She knows what she's proposing is highly treasonous, but it's her personal vow, so she only wants those willing to help to join her. They all join in the number, signaling that they're in and not backing out.
• Magic Staff: During the second act, King Magnifico manifests a magic staff when he decides to use the forbidden magic obtained from his ungranted wishes to take over his kingdom.
• Magic Wand: In the third act, Star crafts a makeshift wand out of a branch for Asha, to protect her from Magnifico. It ends up being broken during the fight, but after Magnifico is defeated, Star fixes and improves it, turning it into a proper wand for Asha to keep.
• Make a Wish: In Rosas people entrust their dearest wishes to King Magnifico for him to grant them with his powers. However, he doesn't actually do so in most cases, not because he can't but because he won't, which wouldn't be much a problem if he gave the people wishes back so they could try granting it themselves, but he refuse to do so. In despair upon learning this, Asha wishes for her kingdom to be freed from this evil, and (for reasons as yet unrevealed) a star comes to Earth to help her.
• Meaningful Name: Asha's name has multiple definitions, two of which mean "hope" or "wish".
• Misplaced Wildlife: Rosas is explicitly somewhere in the Mediterranean, yet the animals in the forest include distinctly North American raccoons, white-tailed deer and California quails. In this case it's probably a deliberate homage to the same thing happening in older classic Disney films like Sleeping Beauty and Snow White.
• Morality Chain: Queen Amaya tries to be this for Magnifico, reining in on his more negative traits, this gets somewhat deconstructed as this prevents her from seeing how far Magnifico has fallen until she could no longer talk him out of hurting anyone, the kingdom or her, let alone try to save him from himself.
• Motive Rant: In the climax of both the standard novelization and A Recipe for Adventure, Magnifico angrily asks Star where they were when he was young and needed them, and explains to Asha that before she challenged him, he thought he needed his kingdom's trust and the closest thing he could get to happiness was being near their wishes—but thanks to her, he learned he could take what he wanted himself.
• Mr. Fanservice: King Magnifico is described in the trailer as "their handsomest, most beloved king" by his queen, Amaya.
  King Magnifico: You're right. I am a handsome king.
• Mythology Gag: Asha shows Magnifico a flip book she did of a jumping goat, which is done in traditional hand-drawn animation, right down to the use of timing charts.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero:
  • Regarding Asha, in the novelization, Magnifico points out that he wouldn't have turned to black magic and using other people's wishes to fuel it if Asha somehow calling down Star hadn't sent him down a path of wanting to protect his hold on the kingdom; he would have remained content with the trust of his people and being near the happiness of the wishes he wasn't going to grant as part of his Motive Rant.
  • Amaya talks Magnifico down from using forbidden magic and suggests he turn to his people for advice. When he does so, the people questioning his methods makes him so angry he turns to the forbidden magic and starts a descent into evil, which ends up threatening Amaya, Asha, and all of Rosas.
  • The only reason the crowd started questioning things was due to Dahlia trying to stop Magnifico from leaving early before Asha retrieves her grandfather's and mother's wishes.
• No Antagonist: The narrative subverts the idea of there not being an antagonist by making it seem like Rosas is a Sugar Bowl created by the king where nothing bad happens and, therefore, there isn't someone evil in the setting of the plot. Then it turns out that it's actually King Magnifico himself who is the antagonist but he isn't revealed to be such until Asha's meeting with him. To be exact, he's revealed as the truly evil one at least 20 minutes in.
• Origins Episode: From the official announcement onward, this film is described as the origin story of the wishing star other Disney Animated Canon characters would go on to wish upon.
• Out-Gambitted: In the third act, Magnifico ends up seeing through Asha and the others' scheme to get him away from Rosas when they try to do so, and so disguises the Brainwashed and Crazy Simon as a fake Magnifico to send Asha on a wild goose chase while he ambushes the remaining Teens and kidnaps Star, sending the plot into its Darkest Hour.
• Quest for a Wish: A variation. People come from all over the world to give King Magnifico their wishes so he can grant them, but Asha learns that he hoards most of them rather than grant them because he doesn't think they'll benefit the kingdom. This has her wishing for her people to have better lives — but rather than have this granted right away, the cosmos sends down one of its stars to help her change things with its magic.
• Painted CGI: The film has more 2D elements to its appearance compared to previous Disney 3D films; environments have a watercolor-esque look and characters have slight outlines. Also, the backgrounds mimic the multiplane camera shots Disney used to be known for before switching to CGI.
• Red Herring: Among the people of Rosas, while the grouchy and cynical Gabo appears to stand out as the Obvious Judas the one who ends up ratting Asha out to King Magnifico is Simon.
• The Scapegoat: Magnifico claims to the people of Rosa that Asha is the one who destroyed their wishes.
• Screw the Rules, I Make Them!: The reason King Magnifico leaves most wishes unfulfilled? Because he believes only he can decide what is good for the kingdom. An absolute monarch who has the ability to grant wishes only puts one at a severe disadvantage.
• Sealed Evil in a Can: At the end, since he is bound to the forbidden magic, Magnifico’s ultimate fate is getting imprisoned inside his staff after he fails to contain Star and the wishes. It is implied that he becomes the Magic Mirror from Snow White.
• Sealed Good in a Can: In the late going, Star is sealed within Magnifico's staff, increasing the wicked king's power considerably.
• Serial Escalation: Magnifico goes to extreme lengths to capture Asha and Star, going from offering another wish ceremony to anyone with information to brainwashing Simon to be his lieutenant, then magically chaining his whole kingdom up and crushing people's wishes.
• Setting Introduction Song: “Welcome to Rosas”, the opening number.
• "Setting Off" Song: "This Wish" crosses over with "I Want" Song as Asha declares she will find a way to stop King Magnifico herself.
• She Knows Too Much: Once Asha is let in on the secret, she refuses to cooperate, and King Magnifico dedicates the entire film to silencing her before she could expose him to the Kingdom.
• Sickly Green Glow: King Magnifico's magic has this hue when he dabbles into forbidden magic, signifying his descent to full villainy.
• Special Occasions Are Magic: When a Rosas inhabitant turns 18 (or if they move to the kingdom when older undergoes a citizenship ceremony), they give their wish away to King Magnifico in a ceremony in the hopes that one day he'll grant it. Every month, he grants one or two wishes. He weaponizes this by saying he will grant the next wish to whomever gives him information about Star's appearance.
• Stealth Sequel: At the end, the brief image of the Magic Mirror's face as Magnifico is trapped in the crystal implies that he will ultimately become the spirit of said mirror, making the film a Stealth Prequel to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
• Stepford Smiler: A whole kingdom of them. They may appear happy at first glance after being separated from their wish, but the further you watch in the film, you can tell they're unhappy about not remembering what their deepest desire was.
• Storybook Opening: The film begins with one, with illustrations done in the style of Eyvind Earle's drawings for Sleeping Beauty.
• Supernatural Sealing: This is what King Magnifico does to his "forbidden book" stored in his lair, as Asha discovers during their first meeting. Obviously, by the climax, he unseals it and uses it to conduct the magic within it out of desperation.
• Talking Animal: One of the first things Star does is grant every animal in the forest the power of speech.
• Tears of Joy: During her duet number with King Magnifico, “At All Costs,” Asha sees the orb containing her grandfather’s wish. She is so happy that she sheds tears.
• There Is No Cure: It turns out that once Magnifico used the forbidden magic, he was bound to it forever with no way to reverse it.
• Toilet Humor: In "You're A Star" Valentino says the line "See, that's where all the balls of gas come from!" with his butt pointed at the camera.
• Tome of Eldritch Lore: The book of forbidden magic is this as it permanently corrupts whoever actually uses it.
• Trailers Always Spoil: Unfortunately, any viewer paying attention to the initial trailer will notice that Simon gets his wish granted, which wouldn't be a problem except for a major plot point being someone who knows Asha's secret telling it to Magnifico, who has promised to grant the wish of anyone who shares what they know about the star.
• Triumphant Reprise: "This Wish" returns in the climax, when Asha remembers everyone is made from stardust and makes a wish from the bottom of her heart, and the whole kingdom joins her, summoning enough power to defeat Magnifico.
• Uplifted Animal: Asha's pet goat Valentino gains the ability to talk by eating Star's sparkles. He's very pleased by the results. This is very quickly followed by numerous other forest animals (and even a bunch of mushrooms and trees) also gaining the ability to speak.
• Villain Song: King Magnifico gets one with "This Is The Thanks I Get?!".
• Villain with Good Publicity: King Magnifico is a greatly admired man for his charisma and ability to grant the wishes entrusted to him, but they don't realize that Magnifico is taking away their ambitions and dreams to keep them docile and happy so that his rule remains unchallenged. Ultimately, he loses it gradually among his subjects when he's unable to identify the Star's magic and resorts to using forbidden magic to maintain control over his kingdom, causing Queen Amaya and eventually the whole populace to see his true colors in shades of green.
• Vocal Dissonance: Lampshaded; baby goat Valentino is given the ability to speak… and has the deep voice Alan Tudyk used for Clayface in Harley Quinn. He comments on how unexpected it is.
• Wants a Prize for Basic Decency: Taken to the extreme in "This Is The Thanks I Get?!" with King Magnifico feeling that he deserves a little more appreciation from his subjects for all of the great things that he does...like granting fourteen wishes in one year or volunteering someone else to help out a person in need.
• The Window or the Stairs: Everyone in Rosa believe Magnifico may be the easier way to grant their wish, even though no one has any idea whose wish Magnifico will grant or when, with Sabino waiting for decades. Meanwhile, Star does help you, you still have to put the work into it, but ultimately the wish does get granted.
• Wish Upon a Shooting Star: Asha does this, and said star then shoots down to Earth as an adorable little creature.
• With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility: The Central Theme of this film. Asha discovers King Magnifico is hoarding many of his subjects' wishes, and only grants those he deems beneficial to himself. Asha wishes to be able to help the people whom her king denied.
• Would Hit a Girl: Both Asha and Queen Amaya learn that Magnifico is okay with this trope.

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♫ So I make this wish
To have something more for us than this! ♫