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Credit: DisneyDisney’s upcoming animated film Wish (2023) will be the studio’s love letter to celebrate 100 years of The Walt Disney Company.
The highly-anticipated animated film will feature a combination of 2-D and 3-D animation styles, making it the first animated Disney film to have 2D animation since 2009’s The Princess and the Frog. The film will follow Asha as she attempts to save her kingdom, Rosas. It’s also been revealed that Wish will take Disney fans back to a tried and true storyline, featuring what’s been described as one of the most “formidable” villains in Disney history.
Chris Pine voices King Magnifico, ruler of the kingdom of Rosas. Magnifico has been described and represented as an actual villain determined to gain power à la Ursula or Mother Gothel. The concept of an actual villain harkens back to the stories of Disney’s Renaissance period and other classic animated films, as their more recent string of films has seemed to focus more on miscommunication and misunderstood villains, rather than actual, true, evil villains. Raya and the Last Dragon (2021), Encanto (2021), and even Frozen (2013) all feature “villains” who are really just misunderstood characters who are able to see the error of their ways by the end of the film.
As a further homage to those stories, it’s been confirmed that King Magnifico will have a solo villain song in the film, similar to “Poor, Unfortunate Souls” (The Little Mermaid), “Kill the Beast” (Beauty and the Beast), “Friends on the Other Side” (Princess and the Frog), “Mother Knows Best” (Tangled), and other classic villains songs. Fans are excited about the prospect of Disney returning to their darker villains as well as the other homages and aspects that Wish seems to be including.
This won’t be the first time Pine has been in a Disney film nor the first time he’s sung for a film. Pine first worked with Disney in The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) and took on the role of a singing Prince Charming in Into the Woods (2014). Pine’s charm and confidence is perfectly suited to the suave King Magnifico, who uses his charisma to draw the inhabitants of Rosas to him.
Wish is a clear effort on Disney’s part to attempt a return to their conservative and traditional style of telling stories, using a combination of animated styles and focusing on a story reminiscent of Disney’s classic princess movies. The film is set to release in November of this year as a sendoff for the Disney100 events that have been happening since late last year. Disneyland kicked off in-Park celebrations as Walt Disney World is set to wrap up the events for this year as Disney100 makes its way to EPCOT.
Are you excited for Wish later this year? Let Inside the Magic know your thoughts in the comments!