Is it obvious why Make-a-Wish was sponsoring the movie event? Yes, I believe it is, but who am I to question their motives? Disney is the mother of all film studios, not just here, but around the globe. Did you know 2023 is a commemorative year for the company? As in the big 100?! I did not know, either, but now we ALL know. I think I am ready to get down to business…
Like almost any other kid who grew up in these United States, at some point, I was heavily-exposed to Disney animation. Its history is unparalleled, as you can imagine. While it HAS been 100 years since the Walt Disney Company was founded, in most people’s minds the starting point was five years later, with the release of “Steamboat Willie,” the debut of Mickey Mouse. Nine years later, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” came to the big screen and the world of feature-length animation was changed forever.
“Wish” is the latest in a long, prestigious line. I guess you could say it has a lot to live up to. Be that as it may, I walked into the compact, surprisingly-vast theater with the same, neutral expectations I normally have…although I was curious about the music and songs I was about to hear. Above all else, this is where Disney’s greatest influence has existed, in my opinion. To put it bluntly, though, this was not the greatest strength of “Wish.” 
In fact, I only recall a single song, which was performed by the charming and handsome ruler of the tale, King Magnifico, voiced by Chris Pine (“Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves”). As for the original music, you might be hearing a few chords, here and there, which remind you of a very iconic song and I think it was done by design, if you stick around for the final bit of animation…after the fun-filled credits have rolled. Think of the credits as something of a test on your Disney animation history. It could be fun for you AND your family.
“Wish” was co-directed by Chris Buck (“Frozen”), who began as a Disney animator and has become, arguably, the most-prolific animation director of the modern era and Fawn Veerasunthorn, who has teamed up with Buck before, but has never been listed with a directing credit on a feature-length film. Jennifer Lee (“Frozen II”) and Allison Moore provided the screenplay and joined forces with the two, aforementioned on the general story credit.
The voice cast is, also, long. I already mentioned Chris Pine, but that was me only scratching the surface…Ariana DeBose (“West Side Story”) voiced Asha, the lead character of the story. The legendary Alan Tudyk (“Peter Pan & Wendy”) voiced Valentino. Angelique Cabral (“How It Ends”) voiced Queen Amaya, whose role grows in importance as the story unfolds. Victor Garber (“Happiest Season”) voiced Sabino, an oldie who hopes to have his wish granted for his 100th birthday and Natasha Rothwell (“Wonka”) voiced Sakina, but that is, STILL, not all. However, I believe we should keep moving forward.
I enjoyed the animation style of “Wish,” which took on almost a water-colored painting look and dazzled me for, at least, the beginning portions of the tale. 
Once the story arc became apparent, I found nothing terribly interesting or original about the premise, itself. I could see the apparent symbolism and I thought it was mildly thought-provoking, which is a plus, of course, but I thought some other themes could have been explored without taking away from the main storyline, as well.
The most-enjoyable aspect was in the movie’s tribute to the familiar characters of the past. If you look closely, there are numerous nods for each generation and, still, some even more-subtle homages, throughout. I am sure, at some point, we will be back to find a list, complete with all of the Disney tie-ins, as to elicit a second viewing, just for the sake of finding them all. I could definitely see some fans doing that on Disney+ in the coming months.
Add all this up and we have a better-than-average film, animated OR live-action, which I think could be fun for one or two viewings, but will not be particularly memorable, in the long run. I do not know if Disney was merely trying to capitalize on their massive, anniversary year and this was, simply put, a five-year old story which seemed to be the best fit out of all the scripts they still had lying around or if all those involved wanted to focus more on nostalgia than substance just for this particular project. Both suppositions could be true at the same time, actually. I was not wowed, but I had a good time. So, I will be offering a soft recommendation, but would caution going in with any great expectations for “Wish.” It was pretty good, which is acceptable to me, under the circumstances. Happy century, Walt Disney Productions! You have earned it.
Directors: Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn
Screenwriters: Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore
Music by: Dave Metzger (original score), Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice (songs)
Starring: Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk, Angelique Cabral, Victor Garber, Natasha Rothwell, Jennifer Kumiyama, Harvey Guillen, Evan Peters, Ramy Youssef and Jon Rudnitsky
Distributor: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates: November 8th, 2023 (El Capitan Theatre) and November 22nd, 2023 (United States)
