Close your eyes and make a wish. The story of a wish yet to come true is about to begin. Created to celebrate Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary, Wish tells the adventure of awakening a star to save the dreams of a young girl, Asha. Step into the story of a magical wish, unraveling Disney’s centurial with the Sungkyun Times (SKT) along the way.
Happy Birthday, Disney
- A Wish from Disney
Wish is a fantasy musical animation film created to celebrate Walt Disney Company’s 100th anniversary. The movie pays homage to many of Disney’s previous classics, such as Snow White and Tangled. Wish was in the spotlight when Disney unveiled the film as its 100th-year celebration because of its famous directors and the production staff. The main director of Wish, Chris Buck, is a renowned Disney producer who has directed several celebrated movies, including Frozen and Tarzan. The fans’ excitement peaked when Disney revealed that Jennifer Lee, the screenplay writer of Frozen, was producing the movie featuring Chris Pine and acclaimed singer Ariana DeBose as the leading voices. After its official release on January 3rd, the Korean Film Council announced that Wish recorded 700,000 ticket sales in Korea during its first week of release. As a symbolic film marking the centurial of the studio, Wish commenced the box office of 2024.
- Synopsis (*Spoiler Alert)
Once upon a time, a girl named Asha lived in the Kingdom of Rosas, ruled by the mighty magician King Magnifico. On her grandfather’s 100th birthday, Asha approaches King Magnifico in the hopes that he will grant her grandfather’s wish. However, King Magnifico denies her request and looks down on her wish. From this event, Asha senses that King Magnifico is hiding dark intentions. She tries to convince her friends that the king is not as good as he seems, but no one listens. In despair, Asha looks up at the sky and sings out her dreams. Suddenly, a magical star appears and tells Asha that it will help her bring down King Magnifico. Will Asha reveal the malicious king’s dark side and make her wish come true?
Once upon a Time...
- The Classical Disney
As the 100th anniversary film of the Walt Disney Company, Wish is underscored by musical references to classic Disney melodies. In addition, the original soundtrack (OST) is reminiscent of the musical fantasy of Disney’s century-long history. The animation and videography of Wish also play a role in creating a nostalgic atmosphere. The iconic watercolor animation takes the audience back to the origins of Disney. Moreover, Wish also draws attention to the evolution of Disney characters’ values through its main character, Asha. Initial Disney classics were characterized by the cliché story of a princess meeting a prince who makes her wish come true. However, in Wish, Asha acts as a symbol for all modern princesses by figuring out her wish autonomously and making her dream come true through her choices and plans.
- Disney through the Years
Disney designed Wish with many references from past classics. Asha’s cloak in Wish is the same as the Fairy Godmother’s cloak in Cinderella. Furthermore, the seven friends of Asha in the movie pay homage to the seven dwarfs in Snow White, with each friend’s name starting with the same letter as the corresponding dwarf’s name. Such Easter eggs invite the audience on a magical trip across time with Disney.
Beware of What You Wish For
Although Wish marked a successful milestone in the century-long history of Disney, it seems far away from being approved by movie critics. In a review article, Forbes described Wish as a “disaster and disappointment” because of its loosely designed storyline framed into the cliché “plug-and-play princess movie with the silly sidekicks” formula. Furthermore, BBC movie critics stated that the movie felt like an “awkward marriage between old and new days,” all leading up to a “lukewarm conclusion.” Indeed, it is unavoidable that the movie was an attempt to replicate past successful movies to celebrate the anniversary. Despite playing down the magnitude of excitement from watching a new film, such criticisms of Wish were something Disney was ready to face, producing a movie dedicated to the preceding years of classical Disney.
Happy 100th birthday to Disney, the studio behind every fairytale’s dream and wish come true! Look up into the sky with Asha and make a true, hopeful wish. Wish will bring back the time when “once upon a time” was the most exciting magical line and the beginning of every fairytale. So just keep wishing, because your fairytale is yet to begin.