Fans Spot “Throwback” Disney Princess References in New ‘Wish’ Footage

The new animated movie from Disney called Wish is coming closer and closer to theaters, and hardcore Disney fans’ excitement is rising as the movie’s Disney princess ‘Easter eggs’ become more prevalent!

According to Variety, Frozen writer (and now Wish writer) Jennifer Lee revealed at the Annecy International Animation Festival that the new movie “was very much designed to mark and celebrate Disney’s centenary, threading references and heartfelt homages into a modern throwback about wishing upon a star.”

Wish won’t be in theaters until November 22, but since 20 minutes of the movie were just revealed for the first time, Disney fans are already keeping a sharp eye out for those “references” and “heartfelt homages.”

“I Want” Song, Complete

One obvious Disney princess or Disney heroine reference is the protagonist Asha’s “I Want” song.

Any Disney fan worth their salt knows that Disney heroines’ power ballads or songs about their dreams are signature tropes in the genre, and Asha (who is voiced by Oscar winner Ariana DeBose) does not disappoint!

Another song in Wish reportedly ties in well with famous woodland scenes from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and Sleeping Beauty (1959), as well as with Disney princesses’ general love of animals.

One scene that was shown at the Annecy International Animation Festival revealed a rousing musical number involving Asha, a star, and a variety of woodland creatures. There’s even a direct reference to Bambi the deer!

Maui Approves!

So far, not much has been revealed about the characters in Wish aside from Asha and the villain King Magnifico (who is voiced by A-list actor Chris Pine).

However, we do know that Asha has a sidekick who happens to be a goat named Valentino (voiced by Alan Tudyk) — and as we all know from Maui the demigod, heroines with animal sidekicks and dresses are automatically Disney princesses!

Asha is not royal in this film, but she would be in Maui’s eyes — and who knows? Perhaps things change for Asha over the course of the animated film!

Grumpy, Is That You?

During the festival, Jennifer Lee also apparently “slyly pointed to Asha’s extended friend group – all seven of them, with each described by [a] single adjective” — while introducing them to the audience.

Does this remind you of anyone, such as the recently laid-off dwarves who live with Snow White?

Once Upon a Dream

According to Variety, this movie “is hardly a wild hodgepodge of influences.” Instead, “the creative team looked to Sleeping Beauty for legacy inspiration, even formatting this newest project with the same Cinemascope aspect ratio last used by that 1959 milestone.”

The home of Asha and her family was also directly inspired by Sleeping Beauty and the cottage that Briar Rose lives in with her fairy godmothers!

Apparently, “when imagining Asha’s family abode, production designer Lisa Keene took direct inspiration from concept paintings by Gustaf Tenngren and Kay Nielsen, two artists who really helped establish the studio’s specific fairy-tale aesthetic in the 1940s.”

In addition, “when forging a unique visual style for this latest film, the filmmakers mixed watercolor backgrounds with CG characters, evoking the past while looking to the future.” This unique animation approach is clearly visible in the trailer for the film!

Are you excited to see Wish, especially since you now know that the movie is chock-full of Disney princess tropes and classic Disney references?