I’ve now seen WISH a few times. I know. It hasn’t done well at the box office and the film is finding a difficult time connecting with audiences. Why the fascination? Well, to be completely honest, I’m not even sure about my own feelings for the film. Yes I absolutely like it and I am fascinated by it. But I need to try and map out what makes the film tick to get a better appraisal of my true feelings. And there is so much there to analyze. The first time I watched it, I was decidedly mixed. But I could also not stop thinking about it. So I went to see it again and came away thinking that there is so much more here than what I originally thought. Yesterday I saw it for a third time in 3D, which really helped make the (somewhat critically questioned) animation style pop as if it was in a pop-up storybook. And that experience gave be a whole new appreciation for the film.
The Jennifer Lee Connection
Now none of this is surprising coming from a Jennifer Lee-driven film. I say “driven” because Lee is not technically the director – that duty goes to her co-director on FROZEN, Chris Buck and newcomer Fawn Veerasunthorn (who previously worked as an animator on multiple Disney films and head of story on RAYA AND THE LAST DRAGON). Nevertheless, Jennifer Lee is writer, producer, and studio executive on the film. And for me, an amateur FROZEN scholar, I find her influence all over the work. Prior to WISH, Lee has worked on WRECK IT RALPH, FROZEN, FROZEN 2, A WRINKLE IN TIME, MOANA, ZOOTOPIA, and ENCANTO – among other titles – as a director, writer, producer, studio executive and sometimes all of the above in the case of FROZEN 2.
So what do I mean by Lee’s influence? I am speaking to her overall artistic pursuits as seen in all of her previous works. And her main pursuit is a subversive and intelligent desire to deconstruct tradition, and specifically Disney tradition. Merriam Websters defines deconstruction as “a philosophical or critical method which asserts that meanings, metaphysical constructs, and hierarchical oppositions (as between key terms in a philosophical or literary work) are always rendered unstable by their dependence on ultimately arbitrary signifiers” and further, “the analytic examination of something (such as a theory) often in order to reveal its inadequacy”. Lee herself pursued a non-traditional career path, going back to school when she was in her 30’s and really beginning her screenwriting career in her 40s and I think that perspective helps to fuel her quest to look deeper into how storytelling really works and WHY it works.
If we focus on the latter definition, Lee often examines things like traditional Disney storytelling in detail, not necessarily to reveal inadequacy, but to improve the traditional storytelling by offering alternatives to definitions that will reshape our conventions. Such ideas include the “true love” paradigm in FROZEN, Ralph’s arc in WRECK IT RALPH ultimately hinging on an acceptance of his role as a “villain,” Vanellope’s conception of princesses in RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET, and the focus of Meg embracing her imperfections as the ultimate vindication in A WRINKLE IN TIME. Lee has additionally worked on MOANA, ENCANTO, and the aforementioned RAYA and is currently the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Animation Studios – overseeing ALL projects at the studio. The titles she has worked with and showcase re-workings of “traditional” beats of fairy tales, Disney movies, and/or science fiction films, each with a subversive element of deconstruction and a pop culture flair – yet each also stays true to the tradition of the genre’s antecedent works in both plot and character.
To me, WISH feels like a work that fits in with the rest of her oeuvre quite well, a work that may be the most subversive deconstruction of them all: a fairy tale about the efficacy of fairy tales and the nature of belief in fairy tales. In a nutshell, the film offers a veiled moral which offers the viewer the instruction that wishes are less of a lottery ticket, less “Someday My Prince Will Come,” “When You Wish Upon A Star,” and even “Bibbidi Bobbidee Boo,” and more “You’re A STAR” (maybe the film’s most important song). Seeing wishes and dreams coming to fruition is about the hope and belief in one’s own possibilities.
The Story
WISH follows a young woman named ASHA who is interviewing to be the assistant to King Magnifico, the ruler of their fair kingdom on the Mediterranean island of Rosas, a place where people come from far and wide to see their wishes granted by this magnificent ruler – a process that happens about once a month. The catch is that the wishers must surrender their wishes – and upon doing so, immediately forget them. This is initially posed as a good thing, as a “weight lifted off their shoulders” but this is quickly turned into a negative as we see many of those that have surrendered their wishes are now living less-engaging lives.
What WISH antagonist King Magnifico says early in the film is that wishes are often lost in the real world. But the mechanics of Magnifico’s reign seem to allow for wishes to be granted, even ones that would never come true by any means of the person wishing – but the byproduct is that the same wishes of others that might come true are lost forever, now under Magnifico’s control.
The result is that Asha wishes, purely, not surrendering to Magnifico, for a better life for those she lives with in the kingdom. And a wishing star, aka Star, arrives to guide her and give her a little bit of pixie dust to enable her to slowly overthrow King Magnifico with the help of some other unexpected allies. On the way there are numerous songs and a cute talking goat.
To me, the narrative ultimately means that Asha is not necessarily inciting a revolution, which is more of a byproduct of Magnifico’s actions than her own, and rather fundamentally challenging a way that a society views the act of wishing or dreaming. Instead of hoping for someone to come along and grant our wishes, like Magnifico – the traditional fairy godmother, rather we must work at these wishes ourselves, remember them, and hope that we get a little help from someone down the road, presumably also a fairy godmother, though one that, like Star, can help us but is no guarantee of success. Ultimately though, we are all the stars, not Magnifico, not the heavenly bodies that we look skyward toward, but rather ourselves. As Valentino, Asha’s goat, remninds her, “the greater the challenge we face, the greater the life we live.”
While the film features a number of nods to Disney’s 10 year history throughout its run time, I’m not really here to point much of that out, unless it is in service of a greater thematic purpose for the film. And there’s more deconstruction, symbolism, and meta commentary throughout the film.
The Use of the Traditional Disney Animated Bookends
By this I mean the stylistic use of Walt Disney’s credits from such films as SNOW WHITE, SLEEPING BEAUTY, and CINDERELLA, which place us in a world that is firmly thought of as a fairy tale. This further ingratiates the viewer to the idea that we are about to see something in that tradition and of that nature. But rather, we are about to watch something that questions the very nature of those stories, how practical belief in them is, and how exactly we should navigate the idea of hope and dreams. I love the three previous films, but all relied on an intervening third party to reach the climax. Some, including me, might argue that the very virtue of the characters channeled that intervening third party – but others see these protagonists as less active.
Whether or not that is Lee’s belief is immaterial as with WISH she appears to be saying that we cannot put all of our faith into one of these third parties in granting our WISHES (aka King Magnifico), but instead the betterment of self and completion of a dream comes from within us (aka “You’re a Star) – as the resolution and final destruction of Magnifico’s magic is the collective realization by the populace of Rosas that they’ve had the “power” to grant their own wishes all along. THEY are the stars. Speaking of Rosas and its symbolism…
The City of Rosas
Rosas, a Mediterranean island, is a city that features both an urban metropolis as well as families living in and around a wooded area. Why the name “rosas,” Spanish for “rose”? The rose is an object filled with meaning throughout Disney history: Alice In Wonderland has singing roses, Ariel picks petals off a rose while daydreaming of Eric, and the rose from Beauty and the Beast is one of the most central components of the movie. But perhaps the most iconic use of a rose does not feature the rose itself but rather the name for a protagonist, Briar Rose, who is cast into an eternal slumber after pricking her finger on a thorn, seen in the form of a distaff on a spinning wheel, thereby showcasing the beauty and the pain of the Rose – presumably also the reason why the name “Rosas” was used for the kingdom – to symbolize both the beauty and the pain of King Magnifico’s reign. Magnifico says he only grants wishes “that are good for Rosas.” But is not granting wishes equally good for Rosas? Or rather, what is the unintended negative that is created by Magnifico’s refusal to confer wishes? Interestingly, the duality of Rosas is subtly highlighted by the song that Asha sings to introduce the new visitors to Rosas. While it is fun and upbeat, there is a noticeably downbeat end to the chorus. In addition, the lyrics highlight the idea that Magnifico is not just the ruler of Rosas but also its biggest “star” – no, not a wishing star but a celebrity, fawned over by the population, but like many celebrities, could just as easily fall out of favor with the residents.
The Importance of Asha Living In the Woods – Away from The City
As previously mentioned, Rosas is a city that features both an urban metropolis as well as families living in and around a wooded area. Asha comes from the latter – living with her grandfather Saba Sabino and mother Sakino in a cottage in the woods. Asha’s placement away from the city center and instead in the woods is a deliberate choice and vital to defining her character. This dichotomy can be seen on Saba Sabino’s cape links where a star sits opposite a rose. All other clothing and button links are usually in the rose format, but Sabino’s links visually demonstrate that the hope, the star, has not left him or his surroundings in the woods.
The woods usually find people who are inclined to have more of a belief in magic and along with it, a more innocent and hopeful disposition. It is no accident that Asha makes her Wish in the woods, Star appears in the woods, and the song “You’re A Star” is sung in the woods, replete with singing mushrooms and choreographed forest animals. This is a visualization of Asha’s mindset, one of hope and belief, and one who has not become a sycophantic dweller of the city where King Magnifico is more worshiped than loved.
Asha stands in contrast to most of the population of the city proper of Rosas, people who have surrendered their wishes, who are either obsessed, depressed, starting to get angry – or sometimes all three. While we see this sentiment in bits and pieces throughout with various city dwellers who begin to speak up and out against Magnifico as the film progresses, this is most effectively seen in the character of Simon who has turned from presumably an energetic young man to a sad, sleepy depressed shadow of his previous self. Something is wrong in the city, but it has not spread to her either geographically or psychologically. Interestingly, there is an analog to Sabino’s cape links in the city of Rosas, someone who also has not lost sight of hope or belief in possibilities, and that is Queen Amaya, whose ear muffs are the rose pattern inset in front of a star. In a way, this showcases her own ultimate turn in the film from supporter of Magnifico to supporter of Asha.
That Animation Style
WISH’s animation style has received a mixed reception. While some have enjoyed the traditional look and style of Rosas, which again visually harkens toward classical design as seen through the lense of 2023’s animation technology IMO, others have called it cheap and a DVD knock-off. I could not disagree more with the latter’s characterization. The animators employed a 3D CGI model based on classical Disney watercolors and lines of SLEEPING BEAUTY, SNOW WHITE, and PINOCCHIO. While I think the characters are immaculately animated and rendered, I also think their style and placement is not some budget conscious choice but rather a way to make the film look even more like a storybook but with something just a little “off” – not in a bad way, but in a way to make you not settle. This may have been a miscalculation by the filmmakers for some members of the audience, but I think it works. This effect becomes even more apparent in 3D where Asha and her friends are rendered in 2D and the backgrounds are rendered in 3D, placed further “back”, making Asha, Valentino, Star and her friends look like they are in a pop-up storybook that has come to life. Also the highly traditional style helps to highlight the deconstructionist character choices. Their chosen paths become all that much more noticeable thanks to the traditional animation look affected by this new style.
Why does Star look so different?
While the character Star has already become a fan favorite, some have also noted it as looking different from the rest of the animation in the film – perhaps to an extent that Star’s look has become a critique for some. I think Star’s look and accompanying behaviors are a purposeful choice that highlights Star’s magic and otherness. Let me try and explain. To the world of a storybook, a Star that looks more at home in Mario Bros. or Sanrio, would look the most alien. The fact that Star’s actions often break the tone, time, and place of the setting (like when Star catwalks to techno music after knitting a dress) renders Star timeless in the setting, even though Star is a much more contemporary character than anyone else in the film. Again, this is a fun twist on that type of character and story by Lee, as she has inserted a 3D CGI pop culture character into a story that harkens far back to Disney’s roots. Being out of time, or timelessness to the people IN the fairytale is exactly how Star might appear in universe to those characters. Again, here Lee is deconstructing the pop culture animated hero and reconstructing that character in a way that feels fresh and new.
Valentino As The Subversive Sidekick
Asha’s other sidekick is Valentino, a pajama dressed 3 week old baby goat. For the first act of the film, goat is ably rendered like many other voiceless Disney sidekicks (think the birds in SNOW WHITE or Flit and Meeko in POCAHONTAS). Again, Lee establishes the tradition. But in the second act, she pulls the rug out from under the tradition. Because in the second act, the preternaturally cute Valentino is given an adult’s voice, and not just any adult but the voice of basically the Pepperidge Farm man. Again, in a smaller and more obvious way than some of her other choices, Lee is deconstructing the sidekick and turning a cute character like Meeko into a more wisened, sharp, opinionated and unpredictable character like Merlin in “The Sword In The Stone”.
A Story with A Vast Horizon
Much like FROZEN, Lee and her colleagues have crafted with WISH, a story that begs to have more filled in. What happened to Asha’s father? What happened in Magnifico’s younger years? How did he become magical? Was he always somewhat guarded? What made him start looking at wishes so critically? I think that creating a world where there is so much more to the world beyond the edges of the story is crucial, at least for me, in creating successful fantasy. And Lee excels at it in WISH, again. She tells us just enough, as people like Tolkien and George Lucas have done in other works, without telling us EVERYTHING. This is also a crucial step in allowing her to modulate any sort of meta elements and deconstruction. As Lee mentioned in a recent interview, “if you knew more about King Magnifico, you might start to think he’s the protagonist.” I totally understand what she means as even in the current incarnation of the film, at his most evil, he is still a gripping, interesting, and fascinating character.
In Conclusion…
All of this isn’t to say that I don’t think the film is flawless or has its issues. But I do think that what makes the film interesting, and some might even say challenging, is EXACTLY what makes it so special – as is the case with so many of Jennifer Lee’s works. What makes a film most successful: perfection or the ability to spur your imagination? There are those that do both but if given the choice I may select the latter. And while there been better animated stories in the past few years or even this year specifically (ELEMENTAL), there may not have been a more INTERESTING and challenging narrative since Jennifer Lee’s own FROZEN II back in 2019. WISH is a film that I still continue to stew over and ferment upon – days after viewing it. Can a flawed film be better in my mind than a wonderfully structured pristine film that offers little to reflect upon?
Well, that’s a question for another blog.
No Scoops Club 