Wish. The movie that has so much more for us.
Why I had to see it twice and why it will stay with me forever.
Full disclosure from the start, I went to see Wish with very low expectations. It pains me to say as I am a lifelong Disney obsessive but for a while I had felt like Disney movies were morphing into the same plot line. Defiant teenager decides to rebel against all they know and embark on a misguided adventure of self discovery only to end the film hero of all. I avoided it when it first came out but found myself there on a rainy Sunday morning in February in an empty cinema screen. Well, how wrong was I. I think Wish is now up there in my favourite, if not most favourite modern Disney film of all time. Here is why…..
Wish is the story of Asha, a girl who lives in Rosas, a place where a handsome and friendly King takes your wishes from you when you turn 18 and keeps them safe for you, granting one wish a month. She soon realises all is not as it seems though.
Wish is one of the most beautiful animated films I have seen. The spectacular matrimony of what is clearly meant to be illustration with all its pencil lines and shading and modern animation in all its clear and lifelike glory is perfection and mesmerising to the eyes and imagination. For me as an adult it evoked something very nostalgic even if I didn’t realise it at the time.
The soundtrack is, as always, catchy and fun with easy to remember lyrics you will play in your house for weeks to come. The instrumental pieces are beautiful and stirring.
The story and message (because there is always a message and life takeaway from each Disney movie right?!) was not quite what i was expecting and even more so, I was not ready for the emotional reaction it summoned in me. The story is one of hope, wishes and remembering magic. Rosas is a seemingly perfect and idyllic setting, but the price you pay for this is you give your hearts greatest wish away when you turn 18 in a big watched by the citizens.
The characters are multi layered and identifiable in ways children will find it easy to understand but they of course have multiple layers and adults will recognise traits in them that we see in ourselves. There is of course the loveable and hilarious side kick who gets all the best comedy lines and is a smash hit with the kids. The world needs more Valentinos, Sebastians, Hei Heis, Olafs, and Dorys.
The running time was perfect. In fact I was surprised when we reached the climactic moment and realised we literally had 15 minutes left tops.
There are so many Disney Easter eggs in this movie it is wild! My children didn’t notice as many, but I found myself constantly noticing them and pointing them out. If you don’t see them it doesn't take away from the plot line in anyway, but as a diehard Disney fan it was a completely unexpected joy. With it being the 100th year of Disney it makes perfect sense and very much defines Wish as the movie to mark this phenomenal milestone. 100 years of magic is quite the headline. No spoilers here but the final scene of Wish is perfect and there is a huge ‘OMG, now i get it’ moment and you come away feeling content that you have just witnessed the start of something. My children have already asked to go and see it again just so they can look more closely for all the hidden meanings and references to iconic moments from Disney through the years.
I started thinking as I was watching, how many wishes I had as a growing child. The sublime (marrying my Prince Charming and living surrounded by animals) to the ridiculous (to have a magic wand and grant wishes like a fairy godmother). Each one gave me a reason to daydream and live in my imagination. Each one was magic and the feeling in my heart when i summoned them was one of pure and unrelenting joy. But as adulthood crept in, and the world around me presented itself as more appealing than my wishes, i lost them one by one. I didn’t give them to a handsome King, although i think i gave my heart too quickly to one too many handsome boys pretending to be Kings! I did give them away though to walk into the adult world which seemed to offer me endless possibilities. And THAT is the message of Wish, we give away our wishes and dreams as we leave childhood because they are deemed silly, ridiculous or impossible to achieve, and we end up with a space in our hearts that we do not realise is empty and void until something reminds us of what was once there. In Wish, the wishes are portrayed as beautiful bubble like spheres floating out of reach, forgotten by their creators until they are once again tangible. The message is the importance of magic, of hope and creativity, of dreaming big, being the disrupters of societal norms, of the boxes the adult world seems to push us into. The message is a warning not to grow up too fast and let go of the spectacular worlds we create in our souls and feel so deeply in our hearts.
As I wept my way through most of the movie, I realised just how many times I had let something slip through my fingers because I deemed it silly or not for this world. As I looked at my children, who were captivated by the movie, I realised how important it is as their Mother to help them keep this part of their hearts ignited as they grow. Looking at my 12 year old as they watched, knowing they would potentially never admit to watching or enjoying this or even understanding it, for fear of the mockery by teenagers who themselves are terrified of being found out to be anything but the same as the others.
For a little while now I have battled with the reality that they are outgrowing imagination. Be that Christmas, Easter, Disney. I have found myself saying often, I think this is our last year of believing. My eyes fill with tears as I write those words because as a forever Disney princess in waiting, I never stopped hoping for those magic moments in my life.
I lost my way for a long time, convinced that it didn’t exist. I have been dealt blows much like handsome King Magnifico, that made me question if it was safe to wish for things only to have them not come true or be torn away from me. But I realise now it doesn't matter if the thing you wish for actually comes true. It isn't the actual wish that sings inside your heart, it is the hope that it carries and the joy it creates, that makes you feel alive and like anything is possible. The world is a dark place almost all of the time and it can feel so hopeless, which is why it is so important that we remember the ability to wish and dream of better things.
I came away from Wish feeling slightly emotionally drained but also incredibly uplifted and reminded of why Disney is so important to all of us. We have all grown up watching and loving the world that Walt Disney, and the legacy he left, continue to create for us. There are not very many people left alive in this world who can remember a world before Disney. From the black and white Steamboat Willy to the ongoing adventures of Toy Story our hearts have been captivated by the charm and escapism these movies create, in a world that wants us all to grow up too fast. But there is no age limit on joy, you don’t grow out of happiness. I enjoy these movies just the same as my children do. For different reasons perhaps but still with the same outcome. Magic brings people together, hope brings people together.
It sounds slightly dramatic i know but i think Wish might just have changed me. I think it came at a point in my life where i needed reminding that there is magic all around us in the world, if you let yourself be open to it and know where to look (spoiler alert, it isn't in the shiny things you can buy or the huge events in life) and the importance of wishing on a star with no expectation apart from the joy imagining it will create in my heart.
“The magic is as wide as a smile and as narrow as a wink, loud as laughter and quiet as a tear, tall as a tale and deep as emotion. So strong, it can lift the spirit. So gentle, it can touch the heart. It is the magic that begins the happily ever after.” Walt Disney.