when you wish...

Wish shouts out some of Disney's most beloved characters in most Disney movie ever

No studio in Hollywood history has been more successful at replicating itself than Disney. The films released by Walt Disney Animation Studios (as opposed to ones by Pixar or other subsidiaries) have for years had same look and feel to them, and yet – with a few exceptions – they continue to draw in audiences because their stories are a reliably good source for family entertainment.

Their latest, Wish, has the studio pushing forward while looking back, as it’s full of references about its history. The story involves the people of the Kingdom of Rosas, which is ruled over by King Magnifico (Chris Pine), who has developed the power to take – and sometimes grant – the wishes of his subjects. Most of the people view this as beneficent, with the hopes that one day their wishes will come true.

Asha (Ariana DeBose) has grown up believing that as well, until Magnifico reveals himself to be mad with power during an interview to become his assistant. When a wish she makes upon a star gives Asha powers of her own, Magnifico does not take kindly to what he perceives as a challenge to his authority, vowing to take vengeance on her and anybody she loves.

Directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, and written by Jennifer Lee and Allison Moore, the film serves up reminders of the Disney’s vast catalog throughout, in ways both explicit and subtle. They, of course, love a story about a kingdom, evil sorcerers, and young girl finding her way in the world, and by so blatantly leaning into those aspects in this film, they seem to be winking at the audience that they’re highly aware of their typical – if effective – formula.

Disney lovers will revel in the nods to other properties throughout, with classics like Dumbo, Peter Pan, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Bambi getting the most play. The filmmakers are clever about it, though, making the allusions obvious enough so that it’s clear what they’re doing, but not so overt that it feels like they’re merely relying on nostalgia to fill up the story.

The same goes for the film’s six main songs, which have a familiarity to them that’s comforting, but also stand on their own. The opening “Welcome to Rosas” mirrors “The Family Madrigal” from Encanto while still giving its own flavor, and “This Wish” is a show-stopper that ranks up there with the best songs from any Disney film.

As usual, the animation is beyond reproach, with a combination of styles used to make the whole film pop. Many scenes blend 2D and 3D as a way to pay tribute to the studio’s past and show what it is capable of currently. This is most impressive when looking at Asha, as the technique they use on her hair and her face appear to be different, making her into even more of a focal point than she already was.

The songs, and the film in general, are buoyed by the talents of DeBose. It’s been a swift rise for DeBose, from Hamilton ensemble member to Oscar winner for West Side Story, and she proves here again that she’s worthy of the showcases she’s been given. Pine is somewhat surprising casting as Magnifico, as this appears to be his first-ever singing role, but he acquits himself well in that regard. Special notice should go to Alan Tudyk, whose voice talents know no bounds, this time as Asha’s pet goat, Valentino.

Some may ding Wish for making Disney’s past movies such a big part of the new film, but the studio has never been shy about reminding people about its past works. It’s the biggest reason they remain the go-to place for great family entertainment, and this film only reinforces that idea.

----

Disney's Wish opens in theaters on November 22.

Photo courtesy of Disney

Asha (Ariana DeBose) in Disney's Wish.

movies film

Movie Review

Meta-comedy remake Anaconda coils itself into an unfunny mess

Photo by Matt Grace

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda.

In Hollywood’s never-ending quest to take advantage of existing intellectual property, seemingly no older movie is off limits, even if the original was not well-regarded. That’s certainly the case with 1997’s Anaconda, which is best known for being a lesser entry on the filmography of Ice Cube and Jennifer Lopez, as well as some horrendous accent work by Jon Voight.

The idea behind the new meta-sequel Anaconda is arguably a good one. Four friends — Doug (Jack Black), Griff (Paul Rudd), Claire (Thandiwe Newton), and Kenny (Steve Zahn) — who made homemade movies when they were teenagers decide to remake Anaconda on a shoestring budget. Egged on by Griff, an actor who can’t catch a break, the four of them pull together enough money to fly down to Brazil, hire a boat, and film a script written by Doug.

Naturally, almost nothing goes as planned in the Amazon, including losing their trained snake and running headlong into a criminal enterprise. Soon enough, everything else takes second place to the presence of a giant anaconda that is stalking them and anyone else who crosses its path.

Written and directed by Tom Gormican, with help from co-writer Kevin Etten, the film is designed to be an outrageous comedy peppered with laugh-out-loud moments that cover up the fact that there’s really no story. That would be all well and good … if anything the film had to offer was truly funny. Only a few scenes elicit any honest laughter, and so instead the audience is fed half-baked jokes, a story with no focus, and actors who ham it up to get any kind of reaction.

The biggest problem is that the meta-ness of the film goes too far. None of the core four characters possess any interesting traits, and their blandness is transferred over to the actors playing them. And so even as they face some harrowing situations or ones that could be funny, it’s difficult to care about anything they do since the filmmakers never make the basic effort of making the audience care about them.

It’s weird to say in a movie called Anaconda, but it becomes much too focused on the snake in the second half of the film. If the goal is to be a straight-up comedy, then everything up to and including the snake attacks should be serving that objective. But most of the time the attacks are either random or moments when the characters are already scared, and so any humor that could be mined all but disappears.

Black and Rudd are comedy all-stars who can typically be counted on to elevate even subpar material. That’s not the case here, as each only scores on a few occasions, with Black’s physicality being the funniest thing in the movie. Newton is not a good fit with this type of movie, and she isn’t done any favors by some seriously bad wigs. Zahn used to be the go-to guy for funny sidekicks, but he brings little to the table in this role.

Any attempt at rebooting/remaking an old piece of IP should make a concerted effort to differentiate itself from the original, and in that way, the new Anaconda succeeds. Unfortunately, that’s its only success, as the filmmakers can never find the right balance to turn it into the bawdy comedy they seemed to want.

---

Anaconda is now playing in theaters.

movies film