For 100 years now, Disney has been a company chugging along in the cinematic landscape with a juggernaut of a gallery spanning a whole century. In turn, this year, they release Wish, an animation aimed at celebrating the milestone and to look back on 100 years of foundational animation.

 

In a kingdom, a fanatical king keeps the wishes of his people to keep them safe. To our lead Asha, she feels people should be able to hold on to their wishes and strive towards them. It's a simple protagonist/antagonist conflict centering around the very concept of wishing something upon a star. 

 

From directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, with the help of writers Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore, Wish attempts to reflect on the centennial milestone of this cultural behemoth. Though, something sours all throughout the runtime. It all feels so pandering and obligatory; as it goes through its checklist, it also covers a cynical story that masquerades as an inspiring one. On top of that, the entire movie is built off of flimsy fantasy logic; the foundation of the rules of this world is so fragile that I can't wrap my head around how exactly anything functions in this world, and it falls apart one I put any thought into it. 

 

There's the obligatory talking animal, the obligatory cute, plushy character, a flat mustache twirling villain, and an incredibly bland main character who fails to stand out from the get-go. It's characterization is both too familiar, and too weak. Perhaps, the film could have avoided its cynical pitfalls if it actually entertained the discussion of wishing vs. not wishing, and how the very act of wanting things to be better can inspire others even in the darkest of times. However, it doesn't; it's a condescending lecture about how wanting too much can be dangerous even with the best intentions. It felt like a total antithesis of the Disney mythos, and it's way too simple and closed ended to really say anything profound on what the filmmakers believe (if they even believe in anything). 

 

The music here is given to us by Grammy winner Julia Michaels. At best these songs are fine and formulaic, and at worst, uninspired. Again, it feels like it's running through a checklist, and though DeBose sings Asha’s songs wonderfully, I really can't recall anything rather memorable or powerful about the composition or the writing. A disappointment as past Disney entries had at least a couple memorable songs that contributed to their unique identities, but through Wish, it's all generic pop that’s way too casual and passive about applying itself to Wish’s identity and really just doesn't go anywhere. 

 

At first, I thought Wish was just a snooze fest, but the more I thought about it, the more I detested what it stood for. A cynical, condescending mess of a tale with pandering obligations, and stands as one of the worst entries in the Disney cannon in quite a bit. Uninspired music and sluggishly ugly animation just sits worse and worse for me as time goes on, and makes me wish I never even bothered. One of this year’s worst.