Wish - Release Date, Cast, Plot, And More Info

After 100 years of making animated film musicals about talking animals, princesses, classic literary characters, superheroes, and even space pirates, there's not a whole lot of ground that Disney has never covered before. With the upcoming "Wish," however, the House of Mouse will ring in its centennial by focusing on the very idea of wishes. It's a motif that's appeared time and time again in the studio's work, yet it's rarely interrogated. What even is a "wish," really? Who decides which wishes come true and which ones do not? And if wishes can change the course of one's life, what does that even mean for those whose greatest wishes are never granted? It's a real existential conundrum, the further you go down this rabbit hole.

No doubt, you'll be shocked (shocked, I tell you!) to learn that Disney hasn't fashioned "Wish" as an Ingmar Bergman-esque rumination on these questions and what they say about the human condition. Instead, it's a movie that will offer everything you've come to expect from the studio over the last hundred years — songs! Dances! Shootings! (That's a Muppets joke intended for about five people, by the way.) — but with an eye fixed on the future of Disney Animation. Here's everything you need to know about "Wish" in the meantime.

Disney Animation basically owned Thanksgiving week in the 2010s, releasing massive hits like "Tangled," "Frozen," and "Moana" over that frame. It's why the commercial failure of "Strange World" came as such a huge shock to many when it bowed near the end of November last year, if less so to those who were aware of the studio's poor track record when it comes to animated sci-fi movies at the box office. 

"Wish," on the other hand, is a much more traditional Disney fairy tale, which will give the House of Mouse a chance to cap off its 100th-anniversary celebration on a strong note (if not, per se, on the level of success as a film like "Frozen"). The real question is whether "Wish" can survive the gauntlet that is this year's Turkey Day festivities, which will see a whole lot of buzzed-about films going into wide release within a single week. "Wish" itself will arrive on November 22, 2023, so best of luck to it.

"Wish" is another one of Disney's original fairy tales, this time set in the fantastical kingdom of Rosas, a place ruled by the wish-granting King Magnifico. When Asha, "a sharp-witted idealist" (as the film's synopsis describes her), realizes that Magnifico isn't all he's cracked up to be, she sets out to save her home by making a wish upon an even more powerful entity: a cosmic force in the shape of "a little ball of boundless energy called Star."

Between Star and the cheerfully nihilistic Lumalee from "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," 2023 has been an unexpectedly fulfilling year for personified star representation in animation. Many people should also be pleased to see "Wish" features a longtime Disney Animation staple that's been noticeably absent from a number of its most recent offerings (to their detriment, in some cases): a full-fledged antagonist — nay, dare it be said, a villain — in the shape of Magnifico. In an interview with /Film's Rafael Motamayor at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, current Disney Animation Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee said this is something she's particularly looking forward to, stating, "We've wanted to really celebrate a delicious villain for a while."

Ariana DeBose, who picked up a well-earned Oscar for her turn as Anita in Steven Spielberg's "West Side Story" not too long ago, is lending her voice to Asha in "Wish," with Chris Pine — aka the most musically talented Chris — joining her in the cast as Magnifico. Meanwhile, Alan Tudyk will change things up by using his actual voice in a Disney animated movie for once as Asha's beloved goat Valentino (who, thanks to a little wish-induced magic, gains the ability to sing and speak in English). Other cast members include Victor "Spy Daddy" Garber as Asha's grandfather Sabino, Angelique Cabral as Magnifico's significant other, Queen Amaya, and Natasha Rothwell as Asha's mother Sakina.

In addition, actors Jennifer Kumiyama (Dahlia), Ramy Youssef (Safi), Harvey Guillén (Gabo), Evan Peters (Smon), Niko Vargas (Hal), Della Saba (Bazeema), and Jon Rudnitsky (Dario) are voicing Asha's various teen friends. It's no accident there are seven of them, either, as co-writer Allison Moore explained to Mama's Geeky:

"They're inspired by the seven dwarfs. Each teen is inspired by a dwarf — they're costumed in the same color palette as their respective dwarf with whom they share a fun personality trait or two. Their names even begin with the same letter."

Chris Buck is co-directing "Wish" with Fawn Veerasunthorn, the latter of whom is making her feature debut. Buck himself has been working for Disney Animation for over 40 years, going back to his days as an animator on "The Fox and the Hound." He made the jump to directing with Disney's "Tarzan" in 1999, prior to co-helming "Frozen" and "Frozen II." As for Veerasunthorn, she got her start as a member of the Disney Animation story department beginning with "Frozen" and continuing on through to "Raya and the Last Dragon" (where she acted as the head of story).

At the 2022 Disney Content Showcase in Singapore (via Business World), Veerasunthorn said the intention was for "Wish" to honor both Disney Animation's past and present by combining "the 20th-century illustration look that inspired Walt [Disney] with the CG technology we have now." In that regard, the pairing of Buck and Veerasunthorn feels all the more fitting, merging the talents of Disney Animation's old guard with those of its younger generation.

On top of overseeing Disney Animation, Jennifer Lee co-wrote "Wish" with Allison Moore ("Night Sky," "Manhunt"). This is far from Lee's first rodeo as a writer for Disney, having previously had a hand in writing "Wreck-It Ralph," "Frozen," "Zootopia," and "Frozen II" (along with the live-action "A Wrinkle in Time"). She is also an executive producer on "Wish," with Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones ("Encanto") and Peter Del Vecho ("Frozen," "Frozen II") additionally producing.

In an interview with /Film's BJ Colangelo, Lee talked about her past career successes and being in a position where she can now help other women, like Fawn Veerasunthorn, find their voices at Disney Animation."[...] I felt that responsibility to then say that I have to give that chance, and it really put a charge under me to create a window of opportunity," she explained. "The talent is equally out there, but access wasn't always to make sure that we're blowing through all firsts and just making things become more diverse in the best way."

With the film's theatrical release coming up quickly, Disney has now unveiled several trailers for "Wish," including the full-length preview seen above. Besides covering the broader strokes of the plot, this recent promo showcases the film's old-meets-new animation style and techniques, in addition to teasing some of the original musical numbers (including one that features chickens doing a choreographed dance, which isn't strictly common farm animal behavior, if I'm not mistaken). Also, if this "Wish" footage makes you think of Disney's "Sleeping Beauty," that's no accident. Covering the film's panel at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival, /Film's Rafael Motamayor explained:

"For one, 'Wish' is presented in the 2.55:1 CinemaScope format that was also used for 'Sleeping Beauty,' giving the fairy tale an epic scope. What's more, the compositions in the animation of Disney's 1959 classic served as inspiration for the studio's new feature."

"Wish" has been officially rated PG by the Motion Picture Association (MPA), citing "thematic elements and mild action." That's mostly par for the course these days when it comes to family-friendly animated films, very few of which are rated G anymore. It's certainly been a hot minute since you could, say, have your villain unambiguously lusting after someone and singing about "hellfire" the way Frollo does in Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" and still get approved for that "General Audiences" label.

Just for good measure, here's the complete synopsis for "Wish":

With a nod to Walt Disney's musical legacy as the company marks 100 years, Disney Animation's "Wish" welcomes audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas, where Asha, 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 confront a most formidable foe — the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico — 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.