Some may claim Wish was a disaster of a movie. Well..... I'm here to break it down for you.
Welcome to Rosas! Now I don't really know the background of Rosas. It's giving Medieval Spain. It's giving Mediterranean. It's giving Arabic. It's giving Morocco. I feel like there are a few influences at play here and that helps give Rosas a distinct design, which is great. Asha..... not so distinct. I know a lot of people are complaining about Disney's use of quirky female leads and Asha seems to be the final straw with this. I see what you mean and I think that's why characters like Pocahontas, Belle, Elsa, and Kida stand out, at least to me, where as Rapunzel, Anna, Mirabel, and Asha feel too similar personality wise. Other than that, Asha's design is super cool. Lover her hair, her outfit, also she has freckles - Asha's design is great.
The king.... Magnifico himself... He comes off as charming at first, but it doesn't take too long for Asha to realize there's something off about him. I do want to talk about At All Costs. I listened to the soundtrack before watching the movie and without context I swear this was a love song. But it isn't. In a sense it can be. Magnifico loves the wishes because they give him power. Asha loves the people of Rosas and her grandfather and hopes their wishes to come true. Although... This is objectively the best song in the movie but I feel like there's a disconnect somewhere between the movie and the song. It's feels misused. Were there original intentions or was this the plan all along? I kinda wish there was some sort of lust situation going on - this is the same studio that created Jafar, after all - but maybe that would've been too dark for Disney . Adulterous as well, I mean, Magnifico was married.
Speaking of, I wish there was more depth to the wife. What if they were a villainous couple - At All Costs would have been their song. That would've been iconic. That's something we have never seen and it probably would've worked. The queen as is didn't have much depth to her; she was just there and was kinda boring.
"Taking away their wishes takes away the best parts of them" This is the crime that Asha ultimately tries to get justice for. A very Disney theme for a movie claiming to be a celebration of 100 years of Disney. Then there's the argument - "but he's the king" "okay, but who gives him the right to decide" Here's another theme the film tackles. Being grateful to a powerful figure despite them being oppressive is not okay. I've dealt with this in real life so yeah.... not okay. Magnifico claims he'll grant wishes if it "benefits Rosas" or rather benefits him. At all costs, he says, remember? This peaceful prosperous life in Rosas comes at a cost. It's a corrupt power politically, and... uh, magically. With these ideas, I can easily defend Magnifico as an acceptable villain because I've seen a Magnifico like person with my own eyes. His evil actions are real, man.
Alright, so now.... meet Star. Star feels like it was meant to be a plush sold at all Disney stores....
Asha wishes upon a star and this star materializes into this cute little being and now we have to sit through a musical sequence with singing plants and animals - i guess meant to play on the idea that Wish was meant to be a tribute to 100 years of Disney by showing how it was magic that brought the plants and animals to life way back in the Disney classics of olden times????
This is actually a good time to deep dive the fact that Wish was promoted to be the 100 year celebration of Disney Studios. Welcome to Rosas feels like it was meant to be like Family Madrigal; You're a Star feels like it was meant to be like Under the Sea; there are straight up references to Peter Pan and Mary Poppins; Asha has a Cinderella moment when Star gives her the Fairy Godmother wand.
Oh and Asha's friends are the seven dwarves. They're not even beating around the bush with the Dopey and Sneezy characters. That Simon dude is Sleepy. The girl with the crutch is Doc. The sneaky girl is Bashful. The black girl is Happy. And that Scanlan fella is Grumpy.
Overall thoughts - Art style. Amazing. The Art of Animation is the true Disney celebration here. To me, animation is the true essence of the Disney Studios. This is primarily why I refuse to give attention to any live action remakes, I don't care how good they are. The potential of this film is outstanding. It's almost frustrating as there were some many great components here that just did not work well enough together to make a perfect film experience. The music was hit or miss. You had amazing numbers such as At all Costs or Knowing What I Know Now; and then there's..... Thanks I get. The credits pay homage to iconic classic characters - again reminding you that this is a celebration of 100 years of Disney. But in all honestly was it????
Let's just say..... For a definitive celebration of Walt Disney's legacy...... Once upon a studio.... That's the Disney you know and love.....
Welcome to Rosas! Now I don't really know the background of Rosas. It's giving Medieval Spain. It's giving Mediterranean. It's giving Arabic. It's giving Morocco. I feel like there are a few influences at play here and that helps give Rosas a distinct design, which is great. Asha..... not so distinct. I know a lot of people are complaining about Disney's use of quirky female leads and Asha seems to be the final straw with this. I see what you mean and I think that's why characters like Pocahontas, Belle, Elsa, and Kida stand out, at least to me, where as Rapunzel, Anna, Mirabel, and Asha feel too similar personality wise. Other than that, Asha's design is super cool. Lover her hair, her outfit, also she has freckles - Asha's design is great.
The king.... Magnifico himself... He comes off as charming at first, but it doesn't take too long for Asha to realize there's something off about him. I do want to talk about At All Costs. I listened to the soundtrack before watching the movie and without context I swear this was a love song. But it isn't. In a sense it can be. Magnifico loves the wishes because they give him power. Asha loves the people of Rosas and her grandfather and hopes their wishes to come true. Although... This is objectively the best song in the movie but I feel like there's a disconnect somewhere between the movie and the song. It's feels misused. Were there original intentions or was this the plan all along? I kinda wish there was some sort of lust situation going on - this is the same studio that created Jafar, after all - but maybe that would've been too dark for Disney . Adulterous as well, I mean, Magnifico was married.
Speaking of, I wish there was more depth to the wife. What if they were a villainous couple - At All Costs would have been their song. That would've been iconic. That's something we have never seen and it probably would've worked. The queen as is didn't have much depth to her; she was just there and was kinda boring.
"Taking away their wishes takes away the best parts of them" This is the crime that Asha ultimately tries to get justice for. A very Disney theme for a movie claiming to be a celebration of 100 years of Disney. Then there's the argument - "but he's the king" "okay, but who gives him the right to decide" Here's another theme the film tackles. Being grateful to a powerful figure despite them being oppressive is not okay. I've dealt with this in real life so yeah.... not okay. Magnifico claims he'll grant wishes if it "benefits Rosas" or rather benefits him. At all costs, he says, remember? This peaceful prosperous life in Rosas comes at a cost. It's a corrupt power politically, and... uh, magically. With these ideas, I can easily defend Magnifico as an acceptable villain because I've seen a Magnifico like person with my own eyes. His evil actions are real, man.
Alright, so now.... meet Star. Star feels like it was meant to be a plush sold at all Disney stores....
Asha wishes upon a star and this star materializes into this cute little being and now we have to sit through a musical sequence with singing plants and animals - i guess meant to play on the idea that Wish was meant to be a tribute to 100 years of Disney by showing how it was magic that brought the plants and animals to life way back in the Disney classics of olden times????
This is actually a good time to deep dive the fact that Wish was promoted to be the 100 year celebration of Disney Studios. Welcome to Rosas feels like it was meant to be like Family Madrigal; You're a Star feels like it was meant to be like Under the Sea; there are straight up references to Peter Pan and Mary Poppins; Asha has a Cinderella moment when Star gives her the Fairy Godmother wand.
Oh and Asha's friends are the seven dwarves. They're not even beating around the bush with the Dopey and Sneezy characters. That Simon dude is Sleepy. The girl with the crutch is Doc. The sneaky girl is Bashful. The black girl is Happy. And that Scanlan fella is Grumpy.
Overall thoughts - Art style. Amazing. The Art of Animation is the true Disney celebration here. To me, animation is the true essence of the Disney Studios. This is primarily why I refuse to give attention to any live action remakes, I don't care how good they are. The potential of this film is outstanding. It's almost frustrating as there were some many great components here that just did not work well enough together to make a perfect film experience. The music was hit or miss. You had amazing numbers such as At all Costs or Knowing What I Know Now; and then there's..... Thanks I get. The credits pay homage to iconic classic characters - again reminding you that this is a celebration of 100 years of Disney. But in all honestly was it????
Let's just say..... For a definitive celebration of Walt Disney's legacy...... Once upon a studio.... That's the Disney you know and love.....