Disney’s ‘Wish’ sends encouraging message about bravery

CEBU, Philippines — Disney movies share a common message about making wishes come true, both for the main characters and the viewers. To focus on that message as a concept is fitting for Disney’s centennial anniversary offering.

In “Wish”, an idealist teenager named Asha (voiced by Oscar-winning actress Ariana DeBose) has her eyes on becoming an apprentice for King Magnifico (Chris Pine) who is known for granting wishes of the people in the kingdom of Rosas. Discovering later that the king is not who he is, she gets disillusioned about her purpose in life.

Out of sadness, Asha makes a wish on a star so powerful, everyone in Rosas can see it, whereas King Magnifico considers this as a threat. She meets a literal “Star” from the sky who then teams up with her and her friends to save the kingdom from the king who has become tyrannical following his corruption by dark magic.

As an adult, it’s hard not to watch this animated story without feeling like there are some sociopolitical undertones. Similar to the story of “Wicked”, Asha is placed here as an activist who had this calling to save the kingdom from a narcissistic king. She is also assisted by her friends and some people in the kingdom who take part in her crusade – almost like joining a revolution. The king does not like subjects questioning his leadership, prompting him to resort to dark magic in his twisted, selfish version of saving the kingdom.

Intentional or not, having these themes in a movie accessible for the whole family especially kids is encouraging, allowing them to learn lessons of standing up for what’s right once they are old enough to understand these undertones, even if the way it’s presented is a bit more black and white compared to other recent Disney films.

One of the biggest missed opportunities was to elaborate on the king’s backstory, which could’ve served as the villain’s origin story. In “Wish”, it was briefly explained that his previous kingdom was in ruins when he was a child. There are implications that a certain cursed book might have played a role on why his previous home was destroyed, though we don’t see that because his backstory wasn’t elaborated enough. It would have explained so much why the king is a narcissist and why he would come to make ill-advised decisions when people started doubting his ability to lead.

Prominent pop songwriter Julia Michaels, known for penning songs of Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and many others, did the songs in “Wish” with Benjamin Rice. Michaels is known for her specific style of autobiographical songwriting from the perspective of the artists performing the songs, so it makes sense that she was tapped for “Wish” to give the film’s music a personal touch.

Some may feel that the soundtrack is underwhelming and not as memorable as those of previous Disney films, but the flagship song “This Wish” should be unforgettable enough that vocalists may want to sing this in contests in the coming years.

“Wish” also contains multiple references to previous Disney films, which is an attempt to do a circle-back moment of how many of the wishes in those came true. Along with Asha being close to dressing up like the Fairy Godmother, the film’s credits are perhaps the most explicit out of these references as viewers may want to sit through and recognize which Disney characters are featured.

Overall, “Wish” may not stand as strong as Disney’s other hits such as “Encanto” and “Frozen.” But it’s impressive that for an anniversary offering, it encourages the audience to work their way to grant their own wishes and to stand up for what’s right which may inspire others to do the same. Perhaps this is what the magic of Disney is all about, and it will be a joy to see how today’s kids will interpret this story once they get older. Three and a half stars out of five. — (FREEMAN)