by Morgan Collins

This January 23rd, Disney’s new animated movie Wish was released on streaming services. This motion picture was created to mark Disney’s 100-year anniversary of movie-making. It was met with great excitement and high expectations from all generations who have grown up watching Disney movies. Wish’s official trailer was uploaded to Disney’s YouTube channel which reached over 13 million views, long before the movie was released. However, the original publicity came to a screeching halt when the movie failed spectacularly at the box office. At the conclusion of its nearly 3 month period in theaters, the film only generated 63.5 million dollars in the United States. With this box office flop, Wish joins the long list of recent Disney movies that have failed to perform well and have left audiences underwhelmed. With the release of highly criticized motion pictures, many wonder if Disney’s charm has died on its 100th birthday. 

Among the many reasons that Wish was disliked is its different animation style. For this movie, Disney used their old technique of 2D watercolor backgrounds with newer CG technology. The result was a retro image that resembled the animation style of a Dreamworks film. Another reason why this movie was strongly disliked by audiences is because of the child-oriented script. While Wish is a children’s animated movie, older Disney fans miss family-oriented films with jokes for all age groups. This problem is rooted in the fact that today Disney only produces cash-grab movies that are poorly executed compared to their older counterparts. The planning, scripting, and designing of a film like Wish took less than a year before it reached the box office, creating the feeling of a rushed movie. There was no character development in the movie nor was there an enticing protagonist with which to emulate. The main character Asha experiences no personal growth throughout the film and all her friends serve no purpose except to make ill-attempted jokes. Additionally, there is very little true communication between Asha and the other background characters rendering them completely insignificant. Wish tried to pack too many plot pieces into 90 minutes creating a fast-paced and underwritten film. Finally, a huge problem with this film is that it does not fit into a specific movie genre. It is not a typical Disney love story, nor is it rooted in family or friendship due to the poor dialogue. This accentuates the idea that very little thought went into the planning and execution of Wish.

Among the numerous critiques this movie has, Disney did manage to create a few positive elements. Scattered throughout the movie are numerous Disney easter eggs that hint at older classics. For example, Asha’s friends are meant to resemble the 7 dwarfs and at the end of the movie, she resembles the fairy godmother. Additionally, the ending credits of the movie feature old animated sketches of Disney characters from past generations. This was a nice touch by Disney that allows everyone to reminisce and be nostalgic for their childhood favorites. Furthermore, Disney also expanded upon their diversity by making Asha their first biracial character. This is another effort by Disney to ensure that all viewers can connect and relate to a character on the big screen. 

Another element that I enjoyed while watching the movie was the overall message. While it could use more work to stand out to all audience members, the body of it was something I related to greatly. The entire movie is a microcosm for modern society relating to the removal of dreams to a capitalist nation. In the movie Wish, people give their biggest dream to their king to be granted in the future, but until then they forget that desire entirely. This essentially removes the spark of life from their society. Additionally, many of the wishes will never be granted creating a false sense of hope in authority figures. The movie speaks to the disillusionment of young adults who enter a society believing it is magical only to find that it does not hold their best interest at heart. The movie is centered around governments and large corporations crushing the dreams of individuals to acquire more money and power. As a 17-year-old on the brink of adulthood, Wish spoke to the true nature of a society we will all soon enter. However, this message does carry some irony because Disney is one of the mass corporations the movie warns viewers about. Their main goal is to acquire as much money as possible and they do this by frequently increasing ticket prices making the average person unable to afford it. Disney is centered around overconsumption, taking land to expand parks, and overworking employees. These factors along with their idleness in movie creation is raising the question to even the biggest fans of Disney. Is the happiest place on Earth no longer a beacon of hopes and dreams, but rather a monopolistic corporation prioritizing material gain over the satisfaction of the people who have supported it for the past 100 years?