For as long as I can remember, I’ve always been obsessed with Disney Princesses. Their captivating stories, unique looks, and catchy songs each allowed me to expand my imagination, and my goals, and help define the woman I wanted to be when I grew up.
Disney had always been so good at creating stories for people of all ages to enjoy and relate to. With Moana being their most recent Disney Princess hit in 2016, us fans were left wondering what else Disney had in store! Now the wait is finally over as their newest movie Wish has been announced to premiere on Nov. 22, 2023, in honor of Disney’s 100th anniversary.
When I first laid eyes on Wish‘s protagonist, Princess Asha, I became enthralled with her design. I had never seen a Disney princess that had looked like me before. With tan skin, brown eyes, freckles, and waist-length braids, she beautifully represents Disney’s first-ever Afro-Latina princess. She is portrayed by the very talented Ariana DeBose, who is most recently known for her role as Anita in Disney’s rebooted West Side Story.
One thing that stood out to me when Disney released its first look at its newest film was the animation. It appears to be a mix of 2D and 3D design, similar to the look Netflix’s Arcane had gone for. Disney hadn’t used 2D animation on its animated films since 2011, according to Screen Rant. This means it will be the first time in over a decade that Disney is bringing back this classic animation style. This change has gotten mixed reviews on various social media platforms. While some deem the style to look “unfinished” and oddly similar to Disney Channel’s “Sofia the First”, others praise Disney for going for a different look and appreciate the nostalgia it brings to the company’s more classic animated films.
Like the previous princesses, Princess Asha is not completely set without an adorable companion to tag along with her throughout the story. Before it was Moana’s quirky chicken Hei Hei, and “Frozen”’s lovable snowman, Olaf. In this movie, Valentino the goat will be accompanying Princess Asha on her journey. In the trailer we see him gain the ability to talk through a magic star, which suggests he’ll play an important role in the movie.
The story appears to focus on a town named Rosas which is ruled by a king named Magnifico, voiced by Chris Pine, who has the unique ability to grant wishes. This is supposed to reference the stars previous Disney princesses have wished on to make their dreams come true. The catch is that only he gets to decide which wishes will be granted, much to Asha’s dismay. The King appears to be narcissistic yet charming, making up the characteristics of a typical Disney villain, in my opinion. Though his true motives are not completely revealed, I can assume King Magnifico will be the main antagonist of the story.
Princess Asha then wishes for change which causes a star to fall from the sky. In the trailer, the star appears friendly and accompanies Asha and Valentino on their journey.
Recently, Disney revealed parts of the soundtrack that will be included in Wish. Chris Pine’s “This Is the Thanks I Get,” has gone viral on TikTok for being an underwhelming Disney villain song. The upbeat melody of the song does not match the previous sinister tunes of past Disney villain songs, and some have even speculated that the lyrics are AI-generated. It has been theorized that this may have been attributed to the recent writers’ strike that took place on May 2.
Another critique that Wish has been getting is the overdone quirky personality type that Princess Asha appears to have. It has been noted that ever since Disney’s Tangled, the company has been obsessed with creating quirky, awkward female protagonists as we can see in Princess Ana from Frozen, and Mirabel from Encanto.
Compared to hardworking Princess Tiana, stubborn Princess Belle, and curious Princess Ariel, fans have criticized that the most recent Disney princesses lack unique personalities. Though not much of Asha’s personality has been shown in the trailer, fans can’t help but worry Disney is continuing to pursue the “adorkable” protagonist trope after seeing snippets of her being overly awkward.
Overall, I am curious to see how this new movie plays out as Disney has been facing pressure to come out with a new hit post-pandemic. Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledges that the company’s recent box office disappointments were due to creative challenges caused by the pandemic and a focus on quantity over quality, Screen Rant reported. Wish has been in the works since 2018 so clearly much time and effort had gone into the movie. Will Disney’s Wish save or break the company? Only time will tell.