To celebrate 100 years of Disney, the studio delivers a sweet animated movie that pays tribute to many of their classics that have gone before.
Grown-up Disney fans will spend their time seeking out the references to Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, Sleeping Beauty, Bambi and many more, while little kids will be enchanted by the magical story of Asha (DeBose), who lives in a kingdom called Rosas where King Magnifico (Pine) can grant the wishes of his subjects.
It is after Asha applies to be his apprentice (the sorcerer’s apprentice, a nod to Mickey Mouse’s role in Fantasia) that things start to go wrong as Magnifico’s nastier side is revealed. A desperate Asha wishes on a star in the sky and that cuddly, cute star (who she names Star) comes down to earth to help her in her quest to challenge Magnifico and save the residents of Rosas.
Featuring a superb vocal cast – DeBose and Pine are terrific and are joined by cast members including Alan Tudyk as Valentino (a talking goat), Harvey Guillen and Evan Peters as Asha’s friends (their characters inspired by the dwarfs from Snow White) – this has some lovely moments, beautiful animation (a mix of traditional and computer animation) and a warm-hearted story about wishes coming true.
It also has some enjoyable songs that, while not perhaps as memorable as those from Encanto or Frozen, nonetheless will have you humming long after you have left the cinema.
While the story isn’t startlingly original and the script is less funny that it perhaps could have been, this does do what a Disney animated movie does best – it enchants, amuses and entertains those it’s really aimed at: young children, who still believe in wishes and magic (and the sentimental adults that do, too).
Is Wish suitable for kids? Here are our parents’ notes...
CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS
Very young children may be upset when Magnifico becomes threatening. He gains power (and a green glow) and his presence is quite scary for a few scenes, especially when he is chasing and threatening Asha (he does, of course, get his just desserts like any good Disney villain).
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