With her grandpa hitting his hundredth birthday, the precocious young "Asha" hopes that the King, keeper of all of the wishes made by the islanders in their idyllic home, will agree to make his long-forgotten dream come true. Coincidentally, he is also looking for a special assistant and she is up for the job! A chance to kill two birds with one stone sees her in the royal presence and in the course of her pitch, she jumps the gun and implores the king to grant her grandfather's wish. His prevarication causes us all to begin to smell a rat - is the benevolent king really all he seems to be? She leaves disappointed and in desperation makes a wish of her own - but on a star, this time. It decides to leave the heavens and come and help her on her quest to release all the trapped wishes and free the kingdom from it's increasingly menacing monarch... It's an OK animation this, but the story is really quite thin with characters that don't much ignite the imagination - except, perhaps, the goat "Valentino" who has easily the best of what little comedy there is in the rather earnest script. The creatively entitled "The Wish" is the standard power ballad amongst the really quite unremarkable soundtrack that you just know is desperate to get to Leigh Harline's Disney theme tune "When You Wish Upon a Star" at the end. It's an amalgam of a few stories and will probably keep the youngsters entertained first time around. There's not a great deal for the grown ups, though, and I'm not sure it will be remembered for long into this animator's second century.

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FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.firstshowing.net/2023/review-disney-animations-wish-ariana-debose/ "Wish is a magical journey about the vitality of personal wishes and the importance of pursuing those same dreams. Although the narrative follows a familiar structure and doesn't delve beyond the central theme, the nostalgia it evokes is certainly appreciated. Ariana DeBose's powerful voice embodies the inspiring determination of the protagonist, leading a talented cast in a film marked by the beautiful blend of 2D and 3D animation, as well as original songs that, for the most part, win over the audience. It's another charming chapter in Disney's vast library, offering a pleasant experience for fans of all ages." Rating: B

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<em>'Wish'</em> lacks oomph with its story, but I found the soundtrack to be pleasing. I think I literally liked every song, which is impressive. I wouldn't say any of them are pieces of music that I'd listen to on their own, at least not religiously or anything close, but connected with the movie onscreen the music is very fitting. "This Wish" and "At All Costs" are probably the standouts. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed the plot. It's all suitably interesting and held my attention span from beginning to end, but there's just something missing - I can't quite put my finger on what - that stops this 2023 film from being anything above 'good' in my opinion. The cast, like the music, are a positive. Chris Pine is very good, while Ariana DeBose leads more than competently; I've seen DeBose in a few flicks now and I do like her. Only post-watch am I learning that this was apparently billed as some sort of 100 year special for Disney as a company. How bizarre!

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