Wish
Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn
Written by Jennifer Lee, Allison Moore
Starring Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine, Alan Tyduk, Angelique Cabral
Rated PG
Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
In theaters November 22

by Ryan Silberstein, Managing Editor, Red Herring

If your heart is in your dream
No request is too extreme
When you wish upon a star
As dreamers do

Wish is the 62nd feature-length, fully-animated film released by Disney since 1937, and was produced with the studio’s centennial, which was officially celebrated on October 16 of this year. As such, Wish leans into the company’s strong association with fairy tales and original songs to tell an original story celebrating the concept of “When You Wish Upon a Star.” The result is a heartwarming and celebratory confection bursting with deftly handled easter eggs to the studio’s past work.

Set on the fictional Mediterranean island of Rosas, Wish is the story of 17-year old Asha (Ariana DeBose), a family and community-oriented girl who aspires to be the apprentice to King Magnifico (Chris Pine). Magnifico, the founder of Rosas, is a sorcerer who, through magic, can help people externalize their wishes and make them come true. Every citizen of Rosas is required to do this when they turn 18, and Magnifico “protects” the wishes and occasionally grants one to fulfill. The kingdom’s order is disrupted when Asha wishes her heart’s desire on a star, breaking the monopoly Magnifico has on wish-granting.

Like Frozen and Encanto before it, Wish tells a relatively simple story, but fills that tale with rather complicated character dynamics. Asha wants to help her community above all, but struggles to figure out how to do that. Magnifico seems benevolent, but most adults will see his authoritarian streak pretty early on in the story. The supporting cast–including Asha’s friends who are clever analogues for the Seven Dwarfs–is large, but also reflects the community-minded themes of the story world. Wish also feels like it leans more comedic than most of the studio’s more recent animated output, which is not only a good balance to the darker themes here, but also harkens back to the classic canon (there is one involving dancing chickens that is particularly hilarious).

At their theme parks around the world, Disney has become known for their ‘desserts topped with smaller desserts’ (like cheesecake soft serve topped with a mini piece of cheesecake), and the references here feel like that. Wish starts with a storybook opening like Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. There are the Seven Dwarfs analogues, a poisoned apple, and dozens of other references to Disney’s previous movies, especially Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, as well as several “hidden Mickeys.” They aren’t essential to following the story at all, but woven in mostly as offhand references or background objects for fans who enjoy that kind of thing. It is celebrating their previous work without distracting from the story of Wish or beginning the metatextual aspects of Disney’s association with wishes to the foreground.

But my favorite aspect of Wish is the animation itself. Drawing inspiration from watercolors and the look of the Spider-Verse movies, the designs here evoke hand-drawn animation. The backgrounds especially have the kind of human imperfections that look like they were drawn by hand (whether digitally or on paper), giving Wish the kind of handmade touch that is essential to the magic of the company’s pre-Pixar output. One of the reasons the simplicity of the story works in the film’s favor is the amount of detail and craft to appreciate visually. The 3D style Disney has been using since Tangled has become a bit stale, and this feels like a step in the right direction.

Wish isn’t particularly mind blowing in any individual regard, but its sweet story and honoring of the studio’s legacy makes it an enjoyable watch. And honestly, with so much darkness and hopelessness in the world, taking in something so hopeful and life-affirming feels especially nice.