Wish

Remember when Disney was in business to purely entertain us, before they went woke with their own agenda? Well, with "Wish", it looks to be that possibly they have learned their lesson by giving us a film to simply entertain us, has paid off  After a string of flops, their respective pocket book has been screaming. This film hasn't profited mostly because Disney has a ways to go to earn the public's trust once again.

This story is an all-new musical comedy, welcoming audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas, where Asha (Ariana DeBose), a sharp-witted idealist makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force--a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star and her friends including Valentino (Alan Tudyk), Amaya (Angelique Cabral), Sabino (Victor Garber) and others, confront a most formidable foe--the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico (Chris Pine)--to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen. 

Others to round out the cast are Natasha Rothwell as Sakina, Jennifer Kumiyama as Dahlia, Harvey Guillen as Gabo, Niko Vargas as Hal, Evan Peters as Simon, Ramy Youssef as Safi, Jon Rudnitsky as Dario and Della Saba as Bazeema. 

This was whimsically directed by Chris Buck ("Tarzan" '99, "Surf's Up" '07, "Frozen" '13, "Frozen II" '19) plus TV, a short and a music video, and Fawn Veerasunthorn. Clearly, with the experience that Buck brought to the table, this was directed with the expertise we've come to expect from Disney. Even though Veerasunthorn has no other experience except for the animation department, the input of this filmmaker I'm sure was pivotal. But clearly, with Buck carrying the lion's share of experience, this was his film. These characters simply came alive on that screen and this is fine-tuned direction. It was also well penned by writer Jennifer Lee ("Wreck-It Ralph" '12, "Frozen" '13, "Zootopia" (story) '16, "A Wrinkle in Time" '18, "Frozen II" '19) plus video games and a short, and Allison Moore (a plethora of TV), based on a story by Jennifer Lee, Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn and Allison Moore. This was written with that charm, yet a lesson to be learned way that Disney was always able to produce. Certainly the feature film experience falls on the shoulders of Lee, however, Moore was certainly pivotal in her input since she has plenty of TV experience which has served her well. The story started as a narrative as in the beginning of a fairytale story replete with "Once upon a time...". This format is the trademark of an entertaining Disney story which I hope we can continue to see. The only aspect that seemed to occur was that a couple of the songs didn't have as an effective introduction in the story that they could've had. Otherwise, this was a classic waiting to happen. The songs by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice were catchy and worked well in this production, so much so that I wouldn't mind purchasing the CD soundtrack. 

If you're a fan of the old Disney that is pure entertainment without the political agenda, this is the film for you. The story is entertaining, witty all the while with a great lesson for all to learn. This is the quintessential family film with a good guy, a bad guy and a community that eventually unites around the good guy. Not a tough premise, but the entertainment factor is first rate. 

Out of 4 Stars: 3.5                                        Rated: PG                                          95mins.