‘Wish’ Directors Present Footage From Upcoming Animated Film

What is the plot of ‘Wish?’

‘Wish’ opens only in theaters on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Timed with Disney’s 100th anniversary, the Walt Disney Animation Studio’s ‘Wish’ is an all-new musical action-adventure set in the Kingdom of Rosas. Co-written by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore, the story follows 17-year-old Asha (Ariana DeBose), who makes a wish upon a bright star in the sky. Her wish is so powerful it brings the cosmic Star to life, and along with her goat sidekick Valentino (Alan Tudyk), they will confront the Kingdom’s ruler – King Magnifico (Chris Pine) in order to save the people of Rosas and their wishes.

‘Wish’ is directed by Chris Buck (‘Frozen’, ‘Frozen II’) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (‘Raya and the Last Dragon’).

Who is in the voice cast of ‘Wish?’

Chris Pine as Magnifico in director Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn’s ‘Wish,’ which opens only in theaters on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

What footage did we see from ‘Wish?’

The marquee is seen at the Long Lead Press Day & In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.

Upon entering the lobby of the theater, there was a life-sized display of Asha and Valentino sitting on a tree branch with a starlit sky behind them. Downstairs housed artwork from the film, as well as original art from the animation research library of background and layouts from classic films like ‘Sleeping Beauty,’ ‘Pinocchio,’ ‘Snow White,’ and ‘Alice in Wonderland.’ The filmmakers used those backgrounds as a reference for color and lighting in the movie.

Displays and signage are seen during the Long Lead Press Day & In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.

During the presentation at the El Capitan Theater, Moviefone had the pleasure of screening almost 30 minutes of never-before-seen scenes and footage from ‘Wish’, including a few musical numbers. First, we’re shown a montage of various Disney characters wishing upon a star, as the movie is all about wishes and dreams – a constant staple throughout Disney animated films.

‘Wish’ producers Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones (‘Encanto’) and Peter Del Vecho (‘Frozen’, ‘Frozen II’) introduce the new trailer, which you can watch above, where we learn the ruler of Rosas – King Magnifico, has the power to grant wishes. Unfortunately, not all wishes are granted, and when Asha finds out, she is disheartened. In a moment of despair, Asha makes her wish upon the brightest star in the sky, and because her wish was so strong and true from the heart, it manifested the cosmic being in the form of Star, a non-verbal ball of energy with magical powers. Later, Asha is deemed a traitor by King Magnifico. The trailer also includes musical numbers such as ‘This Wish’ and shows fun and energetic scenes such as Valentino dancing with a barn full of chickens.

The next scene shown was a musical number, where we see Asha working as a tour guide in the Kingdom of Rosas. She’s late to meet her tour group, but once she arrives, she leads the group through the kingdom with a ton of energy, relaying history and fun facts about the kingdom with a lively tune. The scene also shows how much the people love King Magnifico and his good looks as they fawn over his statue in the square. The scene ends in a grand dance number with Asha and the townspeople.

(L to R) Ariana DeBose as Asha and Chris Pine as King Magnifico in ‘Wish,’ which hits the big screen on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

The third scene is of Asha as she prepares for her apprentice interview with King Magnifico. Queen Amaya has set up the appointment for her, feeling she would be perfect for the position. In the scene, we enter King Magnifico’s room, where a large tapestry hangs from the wall. One corner of the tapestry is burnt. Before King Magnifico enters, Asha sees a spellbook locked behind a glass case. Curious, she places her fingers on one of the glass etchings. To her surprise, they come to life as dragonflies buzzing around her. King Magnifico enters and uses his magic to return the dragonflies to the glass. As they continue to talk, King Magnifico reveals that he remembers Asha’s father before he passed away, and they connect over their history of loss and grief as he lost his family as well. We also find out that only citizens who are 18 or older can make a wish at the Wishing Ceremony.

The fourth scene lasts about 18 minutes and includes a musical number. King Magnifico shows Asha the magical Inner Sanctum, where all the wishes are stored. Asha breaks into song as she takes in the glory of everyone’s unique wish. Some wishes are simple, while some inventive or courageous. Asha realizes wishes aren’t just ideas but a part of one’s heart – the most beautiful part – and is filled with a sense of purpose.

It is here Asha finds out that not all the wishes are granted. Ungranted wishes are kept inside the sanctum, and the citizens who gave their wishes to King Magnifico will not remember what they wished for. Asha disagrees with the King’s method, and this makes him angry. In retaliation, he tells Asha he will not be granting her grandfather’s wish at the Wishing Ceremony and rejects Asha’s application as his apprentice.

(L to R) Ariana DeBose as Asha and Alan Tudyk as the pajama-wearing goat, Valentino in “Wish,” which is helmed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn. The feature film releases Fall 2023.

The scene continues with Asha back home with her grandfather and mom. She tells him that his wish would not be granted and how many wishes are kept ungranted inside the Inner Sanctum. Asha wants to tell her grandfather his wish, but he refuses to hear it and gets upset with her. Hurt by his reaction, Asha leaves the house and heads towards the tree she used to climb with her father. This is where Asha breaks into her song ‘This Wish’. As she walks past the townspeople, she can see their long-forgotten wishes. Once she’s at the tree, she looks upon the brightest star in the sky and makes her wish.

After Asha’s wish, the star in the sky grows even brighter, illuminating the sky and forest in a burst of magic. This catches the attention of the citizens of Rosas and Queen Amaya. Inside the Inner Sanctum, the bulbs of wishes react to the magic. This alerts King Magnifico, who tells Queen Amaya someone is threatening him.

Back in the forest, Star has taken shape and grants Valentino’s wish by sprinkling stardust on him. Soon, Valentino was able to speak. The wish granting doesn’t stop there. Star floats around to a troop of mushrooms, wildflowers, and various woodland creatures who all gain the ability to speak. The animals and plants begin an upbeat song about how they all share a common dream and wish as more animals and plant life come to life, dancing, and singing.

‘Wish’ opens only in theaters on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

The final footage is where Asha, Valentino, and Star attempt to sneak into the Inner Sanctum to retrieve her grandfather’s wish. At the same time, threatened by Star’s magic, King Magnifico tells the citizens of Rosas about a traitor who practices illegal magic in the kingdom. However, the citizens have begun raising the question of why they can’t remember their wishes.

Seeing this, King Magnifico announces to the kingdom he will grant the wish of the one who can turn in the traitor. King Magnifico breaks into ‘This Is the Thanks I Get’, a song and rap about being unappreciated by his people after all he’s done for them. His reflection is used throughout the number, hinting at his narcissistic personality and ego. As Asha, Valentino, and Star sneak around the Inner Sanctum, a desperate King Magnifico opens the spell book as green-colored magic comes off the pages, and his eyes light up the same color. The floor to the Inner Sanctum opens, revealing winding stone stairs leading to a secret underground chamber. By the end of the song, King Magnifico’s polished and charming demeanor is gone, and he seems more unhinged.

From all the footage shown, ‘Wish’ is shaping up to be a grand story with a ton of fantastic musical numbers. Visually, the animation style is reminiscent of classic Disney hand-drawn 2D animation. Ariana DeBose is perfect as Asha in how she portrays both hopefulness and vulnerability in the character and her incredible vocal performances. Valentino and Star will undoubtedly be scene stealers, and Chris Pine’s King Magnifico will be a very fun villain to watch.

Related Article: Director Peter Sohn Explains Pixar’s ‘Elemental’ and Introduces Footage

What else did we learn?

(L to R) Peter Del Vecho, SVP, Feature Film Production, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Jennifer Lee, CCO, Disney Animation Studios, Chris Buck and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones at the Long Lead Press Day & In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.

Following the footage, a Q&A took place with directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, Chief Creative Officer and Executive Producer Jennifer Lee (who co-wrote the story), and producers Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster Jones.

The conversation of ‘Wish’ started back in 2018 between Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee as they knew they wanted to do something big for Disney’s 100th anniversary.

The film’s overall look was inspired by Buck and Veerasunthorn’s love for classic Disney movies such as ‘Sleeping Beauty’, the main legacy film ‘Wish’ is influenced by. In order to achieve the hand-drawn watercolor look with CG, the directors relied on new technology and a team of artists, technicians, and software writers. Director Chris Buck mentions they also utilized Disney short films as a way to experiment with technology:

“We’ve been doing things where you do incorporate a bit of the hand-drawn into some of the shorts that we’ve done. You get a little bit line around the character, but sometimes the characters are still animated in CG. But again, it’s starting to do what we’ve also been loving to do, and that sort of embracing our legacy, along with moving towards the future. So, I think it’s that hand-drawn look, and computer. It is very hard to describe”

Jennifer Lee, CCO, Disney Animation Studios, speaks onstage at the Long Lead Press Day & In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.

Jennifer Lee adds:

“This achievement has meant a lot to us because it’s getting their vision, actually finally having technology and artistry meet in a way that they see eye-to-eye instead of having to compromise. And I think it’s part of why it’s been so hard, because it’s not just about ‘Oh, we can add this and this,’ it’s about what’s the end result we want. And it’s that sense of art.”

Fawn Veerasunthorn chimes in on the topic of blending CG and 2D art together:

“And what I love is that it brings our CG artists and 2D artists together. Because, you know, animators will call and ask for advice about ‘how do you put the lines on the face of a character to accentuate the emotion?’ and they studied that. The effects crew went to the animation research library, where you have seen some of the artwork today. And they study how the effects, the graphic shapes of it was translated into our CG process. And the artists have expressed that this is a wonderful thing that it brought them together, that there’s no longer a boundary between 2D and CG”

As for the music of ‘Wish,’ the team brought in Grammy-nominated songwriter Julia Michaels, producer Benjamin Rice (‘A Star Is Born’), and composer Dave Metzger for the score. At 29 years old, Michaels is the youngest person to write songs for Disney, having written artists such as Dua Lipa, Justin Bieber, Pink, and Selena Gomez, her style brings a contemporary sound to the mix.

(L to R) Peter Del Vecho, SVP, Feature Film Production, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Fawn Veerasunthorn, Jennifer Lee, CCO, Disney Animation Studios, Chris Buck and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones speak onstage for ‘Wish’ at the Long Lead Press Day & In-Person Presentation for ‘Wish’ at El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California on September 21, 2023. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney.

Talking about Ahsa’s song ‘This Wish’, Fawn Veerasunthorn says:

“And that song was actually the very first song that Julia wrote for this film. We didn’t quite have a whole story at that point.

“We hadn’t written a script yet, even,” adds Jennifer Lee.

Veerasunthorn continues,

“That’s what’s fascinating about it. We gave her some of the brief storyline, and then she wrote that incredible song. And that’s what inspired us so much, of like, there’s this girl who didn’t know where to turn and she looked up the star and poured her heart out, and magical things happened.”

Jennifer Lee points out how well Michaels understood Asha’s character:

“What I love is the rawness of, [Asha] doesn’t even know exactly what she’s asking for. She’s looking for help, but there’s a generosity in her. You know, people tease ‘Oh teenagers only care about themselves,’ I’m like, ‘Well, they don’t.’ They just have the courage to ask for a better world. So, she is so vulnerable in that. And Julia caught all of that and gave back us something more inspired than what we were even thinking about. And it has been a true north for us the whole time.”

Chris Buck adds:

“She understood Asha so well from the very beginning. And so that was great having her as a songwriter. She not only had love for the classics, all the Disney songs, but again, being younger also embraces the more contemporary side, too.”

Ariana DeBose as Asha in ‘Wish,’ which hits the big screen on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

The filmmakers talk about working with Ariana DeBose and how much of her physicality was integrated into the character. Chris Buck explains that DeBose is very active within the booth:

“A lot. She’s very, very active within the booth (laughs). Sometimes maybe a little too much, because the sound engineer is like, ‘Ariana, can you move back on the mic a little bit?’ But you know, she’s acting it all out. And yes, we record all of it. The animators, all the way down to the mouth shapes, eye shapes, anything that she’s done. She’s so expressive, and she’s so much fun to work with. She gives you a lot of, you know, a lot of taste.”

Producer Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones remembers when DeBose came to the studio to speak with the animators, “It was really cool to see her interaction. She’s just so unique and she is unafraid to be herself. And the animators really reacted to that.”

Jennifer Lee talks about the inspiration for the film’s villain, King Magnifico.

“First, we started with what do we think about for villains that we’d love to do. Because how do we be different from the previous films, but also a nod to them. And it really is about getting to watch that journey. So we knew we wanted to start where you get to watch him make choices where you might meet the best of him, and then hopefully, survive the worst of him.”

Chris Pine as Magnifico in director Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn’s ‘Wish,’ which opens only in theaters on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

Songwriter Julia Michaels was instrumental in fleshing out the character of King Magnifico, says Lee

“Julie Michaels was instrumental because [the song] ‘This Is the Thanks I Get’ as an idea, which hilariously, is a nod to all moms put up with in the house. We talked a lot about that, for her, that she hooked onto the idea of a narcissist. So, it comes really simple, down to character and the deliciousness and danger of that. And so, for me, when I write, that’s how I had to process is, from inside out. And the person, the charm of that, when tested, people make different choices when tested.”

The filmmakers went through many iterations of Star, and Jennifer Lee touches on why it’s one of the most critical characters in the movie.

“We did many iterations of Star. Star can’t make this wish happen for you. You have to do it. But Star represents the thing that was critical to Walt [Disney], that you need. You need hope. You need possibility. Doesn’t hurt to have some wonder. Don’t forget some joy. All the things that we grab onto that keep us going. So, it helped us because in building Star, this sense of, Star always reminds you to keep going and possibility. And yes, gets to add a little bit of magic. It’s this, trying to capture the simplicity of one person’s journey through Asha. But the emotional story of what Walt cared about built through Star.”

‘Wish’ opens only in theaters on Nov. 22, 2023. © 2023 Disney. All Rights Reserved.

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‘Wish’ will arrive in theaters on November 22, 2023. Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn. It is co-written by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore, and produced by Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster Jones.