Could Disney’s Upcoming ‘Wish’ Movie Achieve ‘Frozen’ Success?

The Walt Disney Company is not having its greatest year on record regarding box office profits. To be fair, it is arguably doing better than last year. However, high-profile films such as the live-action Little Mermaid and Pixar Studios’ Elemental failed to capture the attention of many fans that are skipping the theater experience and waiting for Disney+. With several Marvel projects and Lucasfilm’s Indiana Jones sequel not expected to achieve anything special, will Disney continue to release movies this year that only have passable success?

The entertainment giant may be sinking, but it isn’t dead yet. Walt Disney Animation Studios is set to release its next musical princess film just in time for the holiday season, and early praise may just indicate that something special is coming.

Disney’s Wish Is Now Its Only Hope

Set to release on November 22, Wish introduces us to a young woman named Asha. Taking place in the fantasy kingdom of Rosas in the Iberian Peninsula, the film tells the story of Asha confronting the mysterious King Magnifico over his desire to hoard the wishes of his people. Academy Award-winning actor Ariana DeBose of West Side Story fame and the talented Chris Pine star in the film, which uses a new animation style never seen in a Disney animated feature yet. Wish is created much like modern Disney classics on the surface, but new technology allows the studio to render scenes with a unique two-dimensional painted look.

A large portion of the film was recently shown at the Annecy International Animation Festival, and early reactions depict a hit of Frozen’s caliber in the making. “I just saw around 30 minutes of Disney’s Wish. CCO Jennifer Lee was there to give us a lovely introduction to the film. Mind = blown,” says Twitter user @IryPixar.

She goes on to explain the themes of the movie and why she thinks it is well-written and sure to resonate with fans:

The main theme is the power of wishes – how far are you willing to go and what happens when your wish *doesn’t* come true. Do you give up? Do you keep fighting? Would you erase it from your mind so you’re not reminded anymore that you didn’t succeed or would you keep the memory?

I just saw around 30 minutes of Disney's #Wish. CCO Jennifer Lee was there to give us a lovely introduction to the film. Mind = blown.

I'm gonna make a little thread, I'm not giving away spoilers but feel free to ask questions, I'm under no embargo so I can talk freely 😀 pic.twitter.com/dVgS8ekWmL

— Iry. (@IryPixar) June 19, 2023

She then continues to back up her statement with what made the film special for her:

Everyone that complained about the animation looking like “they stuck a hand drawn filter on it”… boy how you’re wrong… Believe me they didn’t show the good stuff in the trailers yet [sic]

The unique animation style alone may be why Wish captivates children and adults. @IryPixar cannot praise it enough:

The backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous, I’m still trying to process what I saw [sic] like how the heck did they manage to get into that level of detail AND give it a painterly, stylized and absolutely hand drawn/watercolor-ish feel – and it’s all CG!!

Disney Makes This Wish for Success

The teaser trailer includes a snippet from what is likely the breakout song for the movie. Titled “This Wish,” Ariana DeBose belts out an absolutely gorgeous and stunning number with fantastic lyrics. The actress sang the song live on stage during the movie’s reveal last year, and early impressions favor it to be a showstopper with the popularity of Frozen‘s “Let It Go.”

In fact, The Walt Disney Company may be pulling some strings from Frozen‘s success and choosing only to market the film carefully and closer to release. This one seems to be special to them, as it is a celebration of the company’s 100-year anniversary and features a lot of nods to its earlier works. Disney is also including a short about Mickey gathering other classic characters for a group photo. According to Scott Gustin on Twitter, forty voice actors are returning to record dialogue for the mini-movie.

“Once Upon A Studio,” a short celebrating Disney’s 100th anniversary, will be attached to Wish when the movie hits theaters on Nov. 22.

The short features Mickey Mouse gathering Disney characters for a group photo. Forty voice actors returned to record dialogue for the short. pic.twitter.com/L2DGOL0mIZ

— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) June 12, 2023

This doesn’t sound like a recipe for failure unless the film doesn’t resonate with its audience. Disney is desperate for a success this year, and if anything has a chance to pull it back from the brink, it is the release of Wish this fall. Hopefully, fans will return to the theaters to experience it on the big screen.