Worth: $16.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
(voices) Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tudyk
Intro:
… a centennial production that manages to do what Disney have repeatedly struggled with and properly tap back into that sense of wonder and childlike joy that audiences to this day associate with the studio.
It’s easy to be cynical about the need for a specific feature film to commemorate Disney’s 100th anniversary, given how much they’ve been milking their own legacy over the past several years thanks to all those varyingly unnecessary live-action remakes, along with the kind of nostalgia bait that either misses the point of the original (Hocus Pocus 2) or actively contradicts what Disney themselves have been doing (Lightyear).
As cute as Once Upon A Studio was as a celebration of their history, it’s reasonable to be cautious about them making yet another film harkening back to their glory days. However, this time, when it counted more than usual, they seemed to have actually figured it out.
While the references to other Disney films here are plentiful, from directly bringing up characters like Mary Poppins and Peter Pan, to subtler nods like the personalities of Asha’s conspicuously-numbered group of friends, effort is at least made to make them feel like more than just Member Berry picking. They mainly exist to compliment the larger story which, while simple and to-the-point, makes a legitimate attempt to revive the classic Disney style, with its central princess wanting more from life, the not-even-trying-to-hide-it main villain, the animal sidekick, the normally-lifeless object given motion through animation (the Star is almost-breathtakingly adorable in this, you have been warned), and its generally sentimental tone about the power of wishes.
It may lack the sophistication of Frozen (whose directors also worked on this in differing capacities), but as a culmination of the House of Mouse’s iconic brand of storytelling, it works a hell of a lot better than it has any right to.
The songs, while not all that catchy outside of the context of the story, are quite powerful in their declarations of personal and collective strength (along with ‘This is the Thanks I Get?!’ being a fun villain song; Chris Pine’s back in his Into the Woods mode).
The performances, whether it’s Ariana DeBose as the selfless Asha, or Alan Tudyk as the rampant scene-stealing goat Valentino, add to the emotional impact of what are rather personal stakes within the story itself.
Much like Dumbo, there’s an argument to be made that this is a Disney film where the villain is a stand-in for Walt himself, using the promise of fulfilling the dreams of the people as a façade to simply gain and maintain power.
Wish is a centennial production that manages to do what Disney have repeatedly struggled with and properly tap back into that sense of wonder and childlike joy that audiences to this day associate with the studio. Its attempts to poke fun at itself, both its stories and its history as a business, might not work for everyone, but it’s as reverent to its own legacy as it is to the audience that got them there. Frankly, there isn’t enough financial drama in the world to entirely eclipse this film’s uplift for every shining star in the audience.
