A century ago, Walt Disney and his brother Roy E. Disney had a vision to create a magical animation studio that would create wonderful stories for all to enjoy together. Their vision came to fruition and we now have 100 years worth of fantastic Disney Animation to enjoy. This year, Walt Disney Animation Studios is set to release its most ambitious and stunning films yet. Disney’s Wish is a beautiful musical adventure that will soon become everyone’s favorite animated feature and quickly establish itself as one of the Disney classics.
At a special press event held in the amazing El Capitan Theater in Hollywood, Disney Animation Studios treated us to a sneak peek at roughly 30 minutes of footage from the upcoming film, Wish. The film looks absolutely beautiful, sporting a refreshing watercolor-inspired look to the film. You might be wondering, why Disney decided to go with this visual style for their film. Well, to answer that, the Walt Disney Animation Studio took us on a journey that started 100 years ago.
Wishing Upon a Star
100 years is a huge milestone for Disney Animation. Naturally, you need to have a fantastic film and stellar cast to bring a film to life that celebrates this tremendous anniversary. Wish follows the story of Asha, voiced by Academy Award winner Ariana DeBose, a smart-witted teen who makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force – a ball of energy named Star. Together, the two confront the powerful King Magnifico, voiced by the amazing Chris Pine, to prove that when the will of one courageous person connects with the magic power of the stars, wondrous things can happen.
This movie focuses on something that Walt Disney emphasized in his movies: the power of a wish. Dreams are what brought Disney Animation to life and will continue the studio’s legacy of truly magical films. The idea of dreams and wishes feels like such a perfect theme for a film that will be used to mark the 100th anniversary of one of the most magical animation studios on the planet. It makes Wish feel like this has been 100 years in the making. Which it has been!
From Drawing to Screen
When looking back on the extensive catalog of Disney films, you see a lot of beautifully animated pictures. And with each of those films, there are thousands of equally beautiful concept art and sketches to accompany them. Set up downstairs of the El Capitan was a small display of some of the original artwork, backgrounds, and concepts used from various Disney classics such as Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, and Alice in Wonderland. These pieces were used as inspiration and reference material to create the unique look of Wish. The goal for the crew was to capture the beauty of an artist’s painted concept art and translate it perfectly into a 3D environment.
When you watch Wish in theaters, you will see clear connections to the art of Snow White or Pinocchio. Just from the 30 minutes I saw I was blown away by how well the animation team had been able to capture the look and feel of the older Disney films from before. Asha runs through a forest that reminds me of Tarzan and Pocahontas and up to a wishing well that takes me back to Snow White. The song with singing animals reminded me of the singing animals in Princess and the Frog and the ocean-side kingdom of Rosas reminded me of Atlantis. Every corner of Disney’s 100-year-long filmography is touched upon in one way or another in Wish and that makes the film so much more exciting. It pays respects to the talented artists and visionaries before them while still creating something new and refreshing.
Masterful Music
Most of the footage shown to us were several of the songs that will be featured in the film. The songs are powerful, memorable, and extremely fun. I just know that many of the songs from this film will become instant classics. One of the songs had been stuck in my head for the rest of the day after the press event was over. I won’t go into too much detail since I want everyone to experience the song for themselves, but Chris Pine as King Magnifico has such a hilarious and magnificent song that will certainly hold a candle to all the great Disney Villain songs in the past. After listening to four songs featured in the film, I am extremely eager to hear more from the great Julia Michaels.
Fun fact: the songs were written by Julia Michaels, an extremely talented singer and songwriter. Michaels had worked on an animated Disney film before, as a backup vocalist in Demi Lovato’s cover of Let It Go from Frozen. Now in a fun full circle moment, Michaels is back with Disney Animation writing all the songs featured in Wish.
I Wish I Could Watch This Movie Right Now
When I was leaving the press event I was thoroughly impressed. The film looks gorgeous in the bright vibrant watercolors, the songs had been dancing in my seat, and the cast brings such an intriguing story to life in a way that keeps me glued to the screen. November needs to hurry up and get here so that everyone can experience this fantastic movie on the big screen.
Disney’s Wish releases exclusively in theaters on November 22nd.
Ever since I was young, I had always been fascinated in film and the work that goes into them. I love animation, blockbuster hits, indie films and everything in between. Some day I’ll have the privilege of being apart of the filmmaking process.