Released to coincide with Disney’s 100th anniversary celebrations, the film studio’s 62nd animated movie Wish boasts an impressive A-List cast and a soundtrack stacked full of bops.
The film is out now, but we know that before you go and see it, you’re probably going to have a few questions. Like, what’s it all about? Who’s in it? And is it really an origin story to the “Wishing Star” seen in so many Disney classics?
Here’s everything you need to know about Disney’s Wish…
What is Disney’s Wish about?
Wish introduces us to 17 year-old-Asha, a regular villager who wishes to save the Kingdom of Rosas, after she senses an oncoming darkness using untapped magical powers.
The film is set on a Mediterranean island where, on their 18th birthday, each villager gets to make – you guessed it – a wish. These wishes are then guarded by King Magnifico, a benevolent ruler who guards the wishes and grants one a month.
The only trouble is, Asha’s wish is so powerful that it causes a star to fall out of the sky, and begin causing chaos.
Throw in King Magnifico’s horrifying secret, a cheeky goat sidekick and classic Disney music, and you’ve got yourself Wish.
Who is in Wish?
Oscar winner Ariana DeBose is set to “do the thing” as Asha, while King Magnifico is portrayed by Chris Pine.
The former won a historic Academy Award for her performance in the recent remake of West Side Story, while the latter’s list of credits includes both Wonder Woman films, the Star Trek movie series and the recent Dungeons And Dragons adaptation.
Disney regular Alan Tudyk lends his voice to Valentino, the aforementioned goat sidekick, whose wish to be able to communicate with others is granted by Star.
Angelique Cabral plays Queen Amaya, Victor Garber voices Sabino (Asha’s grandfather) and Natasha Rothwell portrays Sakina – Asha’s mother.
Joining the cast are seven further characters, who are included as a nod to the first ever feature-length Disney animation.
Respectively based on Doc, Grumpy, Happy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Dopey and Bashful are Jennifer Kumiyama as Dahlia, Harvey Guillén as Gabo, Niko Vargas as Hal, Evan Peters as Simon, Ramy Youssef as Safi, Jon Rudnitsky as Dario and Della Saba as Bazeema.
Meanwhile, there’s also a cameo appearance from… Rochelle Humes.
Excuse me? What’s this about Rochelle Humes?
Yes, Rochelle Humes – of The Saturdays and This Morning fame – has a cameo in the film.
We can’t exactly explain why, but what we can do is share a clip of the moment she discussed her role with Dermot O’Leary on This Morning in the lead-up to the movie’s release.
Rochelle only voices her character in the UK version of the film, so any Stateside fans of The Saturdays are out of luck.
She also – in quite an iconic move – only has three lines, one of which is apparently a “grunt”.
Who directed Wish?
Wish was directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, with Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore penning the screenplay.
Three out of four of these creatives have history with Disney, with Chris and Fawn directing Frozen, and the former returning to helm its sequel, too.
Jennifer (who is now the chief creative officer at Disney) has credits on both Frozen films, as well as Encanto and Moana.
Who did the music for Wish?
Pop star and songwriter Julia Michaels wrote the music for Wish with producer Benjamin Rice, while Dave Metzger (who has worked on many other Disney films) served as its composer.
Julia’s most well-known bangers include Issues and the Clean Bandit collab I Miss You, but she’s also worked with the likes of Britney Spears, H.E.R., Selena Gomez and Dua Lupa .
Pop star JP Saxe (Julia’s ex–boyfriend) also joined the team to co-write the film’s flagship song, This Wish.
What have the initial reactions for Wish been?
Wish currently holds a less-than-enviable 48% critic score on review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes – but a much healthier 82% audience score.
Many critics have taken issue with the film’s relentless tributes to Disney’s century-long lore, rather than focusing on making an impact on its own.
The ‘Critics Consensus’ on Rotten Tomatoes reads: “Wish earns some tugs at the heartstrings with the way it warmly references many of the studio’s classics, but nostalgia’s no substitute for genuine storytelling magic ― no matter how beautifully animated it might be.”
However, IndieWire has defended Wish, with their review claiming: “As Disney celebrates its 100th year, Wish serves as a throwback to the past, a celebration of the present, and a gentle push into the future.”
In short – critics seem split, but that doesn’t mean audiences won’t love it.
When is Wish in cinemas?
Wish is out now on both sides of the Atlantic.
Does Wish have a trailer I can watch?
Yes – and you can watch it below: