” Wish “

Disney’s “Wish” is a brand-new musical comedy that takes audiences on a magical journey to the enchanting kingdom of Rosas.

The story revolves around Asha, an idealistic young woman living in the kingdom of Rosas, who is unsure of the path she wants to take in life. She attempts to become an apprentice to a wish wizard named King Magnifico, but catches glimpses of his magical abilities and starts seeing things she doesn’t like.

In this enchanting tale, the witty idealist Asha makes such a powerful wish that it is answered by a cosmic force, an infinite-energy orb called the “Star.” Together with the Star, Asha faces the most formidable enemy, the ruler of Rosas, in order to save her community and prove that when the will of a brave human is connected with the magic of the Star, marvelous things can happen.

From there, she must re-imagine how she will move forward in her life, and she does it with the help of a magical character named Star.

Asha and Star face the most powerful enemy together, seeking to overthrow Magnifico’s rule and save her community. Along the journey, as the challenges increase, we witness her making more mature choices and becoming more determined. This embodies the classic Disney heroine image that both the team and the audience wish to see.

This is a tribute to Disney and a masterpiece dedicated to Disney fans. Jennifer Lee, the Chief Creative Officer of Disney, began developing “Wish” as an original story in 2018, to commemorate Disney’s 100th anniversary. She wanted to celebrate Disney’s contemporary achievements by telling a new story. Lee quickly brought on board her long-time collaborator, Chris Buck, who co-directed “Frozen” and “Frozen 2” with her.

When watching scenes from classic Disney movies, they discovered that “wishing” and “dreaming” are classic plot elements and integral parts of Disney films. This further solidified their idea of paying tribute to Disney through the story of “Wish.”

The production of this film began before the pandemic and spanned the entirety of it, taking 5 years to complete. The team had to transition to remote work due to the pandemic and continue the animation production from their homes. It wasn’t until the end of the pandemic that the team was able to come together again and continue the film production.

This film is not only a centennial tribute to Disney, but also a testament to the unwavering passion of Disney’s most dedicated fans—the Disney Studios themselves.

The wishing star is a classic image that runs throughout Disney movies. “Stars” symbolize hope, and many characters make wishes upon them. The team, therefore, established the “Star” as a trusted companion for Aisha, ensuring that it holds significance and magic in every scene and presence alongside the characters, imbued with a touch of fairy dust. Hand-drawn animation for the “Star” proved challenging throughout the entire film, so the team decided to utilize a CG technique, inspired by the hand-drawn style, to bring the Star to life.

The visual style of this film is truly captivating. The team incorporated traditional hand-drawn elements into the overall design, combining the watercolor style with the texture of paper, resulting in a visually stunning artistic effect. The characters, on the other hand, are still created using CG technology, allowing viewers to appreciate the 3D quality of the animated characters. Another innovative aspect of ” Wish” is the visual style, which features a watercolor aesthetic. The production design team created a “texture that resembles watercolor on paper”,  which works beautifully for still images. However, it posed a significant challenge when applied to moving images. The team referred to this innovation as “dynamic screen space textures”.

Each of us is constantly exploring on our journey towards our dreams, getting to know ourselves better and understanding what we truly desire. When you ponder your innermost wishes, gazing at a twilight star, your dreams can come true.