Saying that American animated movies need to move on from the Disney formula is like saying that Taylor Swift should never try to rap again. Everyone knows this, but no one does anything to fix it, so it continues to persist, basically telling everyone in Hollywood that we want more of this stuff. It says a lot, I imagine, about the tastes of the average Disney fan nowadays that all it takes is one slight deviation from the norm to— at least in theory— make them excited for the latest offering. Seen in that light, Wish feels less like a work of cinematic art befitting of a studio's 100th anniversary and more like a cynically manufactured product.
You'll probably notice that I haven't actually discussed what Wish is about yet, and there's a reason for that. The story feels like an afterthought, conceived as an excuse to shoehorn in as many references to other Disney movies as possible. For the uninitiated, Wish takes place on the island of Rosas, ruled by the sorcerer Magnifico. Every month, Magnifico chooses one of his subjects' wishes to grant. Our heroine, Asha, seeks to become the sorcerer's apprentice (geddit?) in hopes that he will grant her grandfather's wish, only to find out that Magnifico doesn't grant wishes he thinks will threaten his power. With the help of her seven friends (themed after the Seven Dwarves from Snow White), a talking goat, and a wishing star, Asha decides to expose Magnifico for the tyrant he is, and believes that everyone deserves to have their wish granted.
Watching Wish, an odd sense of deja vu starts to creep over you— a feeling that somehow, you've seen this movie before, under a different name. It's not unwarranted. Wish shamelessly uses every trope imaginable for a Disney animated movie while adding very little new or unusual. Its one "interesting" element is the presence of an unambiguous villain after over a decade of twist villains and metaphorical antagonists, but even that seems calculated. Magnifico seems unlikely to become a classic Disney bad guy alongside the likes of Maleficent, Ursula, or Jafar. Asha, meanwhile, is a virtual photocopy of Rapunzel, Moana, Elsa, Anna, and Raya, right down to her vaguely-rebellious-but-still-feminine personality.
Ultimately, Wish isn't exactly a "bad" movie in the traditional sense. The animation and the script are both competent, if unremarkable. But by that same token, it feels like another studio's attempt at replicating the Disney formula. I might be more forgiving towards it if that were actually the case, but this is Disney themselves, who have made much more creative movies and are held to a much higher standard. If anything, Wish shows how coldly formulaic Disney has become.
Disney on Autopilot
Saying that American animated movies need to move on from the Disney formula is like saying that Taylor Swift should never try to rap again. Everyone knows this, but no one does anything to fix it, so it continues to persist, basically telling everyone in Hollywood that we want more of this stuff. It says a lot, I imagine, about the tastes of the average Disney fan nowadays that all it takes is one slight deviation from the norm to— at least in theory— make them excited for the latest offering. Seen in that light, Wish feels less like a work of cinematic art befitting of a studio's 100th anniversary and more like a cynically manufactured product.
You'll probably notice that I haven't actually discussed what Wish is about yet, and there's a reason for that. The story feels like an afterthought, conceived as an excuse to shoehorn in as many references to other Disney movies as possible. For the uninitiated, Wish takes place on the island of Rosas, ruled by the sorcerer Magnifico. Every month, Magnifico chooses one of his subjects' wishes to grant. Our heroine, Asha, seeks to become the sorcerer's apprentice (geddit?) in hopes that he will grant her grandfather's wish, only to find out that Magnifico doesn't grant wishes he thinks will threaten his power. With the help of her seven friends (themed after the Seven Dwarves from Snow White), a talking goat, and a wishing star, Asha decides to expose Magnifico for the tyrant he is, and believes that everyone deserves to have their wish granted.
Watching Wish, an odd sense of deja vu starts to creep over you— a feeling that somehow, you've seen this movie before, under a different name. It's not unwarranted. Wish shamelessly uses every trope imaginable for a Disney animated movie while adding very little new or unusual. Its one "interesting" element is the presence of an unambiguous villain after over a decade of twist villains and metaphorical antagonists, but even that seems calculated. Magnifico seems unlikely to become a classic Disney bad guy alongside the likes of Maleficent, Ursula, or Jafar. Asha, meanwhile, is a virtual photocopy of Rapunzel, Moana, Elsa, Anna, and Raya, right down to her vaguely-rebellious-but-still-feminine personality.
Ultimately, Wish isn't exactly a "bad" movie in the traditional sense. The animation and the script are both competent, if unremarkable. But by that same token, it feels like another studio's attempt at replicating the Disney formula. I might be more forgiving towards it if that were actually the case, but this is Disney themselves, who have made much more creative movies and are held to a much higher standard. If anything, Wish shows how coldly formulaic Disney has become.