More Disney mediocrity: ‘Wish’ review



Disney has released its latest film, “Wish,” and as expected, it did not impress.

The film follows the story of 17-year-old Asha, who lives in a land called Rosas, where residents share their greatest wishes with King Magnifico in the hope that they will come true — and almost none of them ever do.

“I’m not going to bury the lede here: This is a bad movie,” Lauren Chen says, adding that the film was “poorly written” with a plot that “does not make much sense.”

In Rosas, there’s a ceremony when every citizen turns 18 in which they give the king their biggest wish. Sometimes he chooses to grant those wishes, and sometimes he doesn’t.

This concept is portrayed as wrong in the film trailer, which Chen notes shouldn’t be.

“Not all wishes are good, and they shouldn’t all be granted,” Chen says. “Like what are you trying to tell kids? That it’s bad if not all of your wishes are granted by some, like, magician somewhere?”

However, the film itself goes deeper into this concept — which Chen doesn’t think is a good thing either.

When the citizens give their wishes to the king, they forget about their wishes until and unless they are granted by the king.

“In addition to that whole wish concept, much like Planet Fitness actually, everyone is welcome to Rosas. They accept people from all over the world who want to move to Rosas just to take part in the kingdom and to potentially have their wishes granted,” Chen explains.

When we find out “this whole benevolent wish facade, it actually hides, somewhat similarly to Planet Fitness as well, a cruel tyranny under the surface.”

The movie only makes less sense as it goes on.

“All the people who were writing the script — they did not have a coherent idea as to, like, what exactly the message or the theming was going to be here,” Chen says.

“This film is ultimately just a great example of how Disney is floundering in the modern era, and it’s not even due to wokeness.”


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If you DON’T want your child to think he can have everything he wants, then you might want to avoid THIS upcoming Disney movie …



Disney’s latest animated film, "Wish," will debut this coming November. It’s the tale of a magical kingdom ruled by a king who has the power to grant wishes, but he only chooses to grant some.

What an evil tyrant.

Along comes Asha, a 17-year-old apprentice, who makes a wish of her own that will threaten the king’s power to determine who gets their wishes granted and who does not.

If you can’t see where this is going, then allow Lauren Chen to explain in greater detail.

King Magnifico “actually doesn't grant everybody's wishes,” says Lauren. “He only grants wishes that would be good for the kingdom as a whole.”

“The horror!” she mocks.

“Doesn't that seem like the reasonable thing to do? There are people out there who would absolutely wish for, like, crazy stuff,” she continues. “A good king, a reasonable king should be able to tell people no – that's what being a responsible leader is all about; that's what actual stewardship means.”

To be fair, Lauren acknowledges that “we don't know how the plot is going to play out exactly.”

“Maybe the twist in this film is that King Magnifico actually isn't evil at all; he's just more mature and Asha needs to realize that being an adult actually means sometimes telling people no and not doing whatever you feel like all the time,” Lauren speculates.

But that would mean that Disney has some common sense, and based on the string of recent films the company has put out (most of which were giant flops), it’s probably unlikely that will be the theme.

Further, “the king is a white guy and Asha, the lead, is a diverse female character,” Lauren points out. Add to that the fact that he’s portrayed multiple times in the trailer as an evil tyrant, and it’s almost certain he will be the irredeemable villain.

Lauren isn’t the only one who’s skeptical of “Wish.”

People all over have called out the obvious “questionable moral lesson and identity politics,” but they’ve also expressed a general lack of interest in what they assume will be yet another typical Disney plotline.

One X user commented:

“A magician with immense power being challenged by a young girl with an animal sidekick? That’s just cut and paste Disney.”

“I remember a time not that long ago when Disney animated films were dependably good, where you could count on every single one essentially being a home run, an instant classic, but it seems like we've strayed so far from that,” says Lauren.


Want more from Lauren Chen?

To enjoy more of Lauren’s pro-liberty, pro-logic and pro-market commentary on social and political issues, subscribe to BlazeTV — the largest multi-platform network of voices who love America, defend the Constitution, and live the American dream.