For the first time since 2021’s runaway hit Encanto, another Disney animated musical is upon us with Wish. The original movie follows a teen girl named Asha as she becomes aware of injustices from her home’s ruler, Chris Pine’s King Magnifico, in the form of stolen wishes. The exciting film among 2023 new movie releases gave the Disney alum a chance to join the studio’s roster of villains, and per the filmmakers, he had the absolute best time doing so.
For CinemaBlend, I had the chance to view around 30 minutes of footage of Wish and my biggest takeaway is how delicious of a villain we’re about to get with Chris Pine’s King Magnifico. After seeing a portion of the Disney movie at a press event at the El Capitan in Los Angeles, California, I spoke to Wish’s producers, who shared with me what it was like to work with the actor on his villain role. Here’s what Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones had to say:
Well, what I'll say about Chris is that a big part of the casting process is that we knew that he was an amazing singer because we've seen him in other films singing as well. And, he did have a lot of fun. He was actually geeking out to be able to sing these songs. He has another song in the movie, so he sings in two and it was quite lovely to see. He got really into it and he loved collaborating with Julia [Michaels]. He would constantly compliment Julia and Ben on their lyrics and how he thought that we had some special songs in here.
Chris Pine has a long history working for Disney, with his first movie role actually being 2004’s The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement where he played the unlikely love interest to Anne Hathaway’s Mia Thermopolis. A decade later he then played Cinderella’s Prince in the Disney adaptation of Into the Woods where he memorably sang two numbers. Nearly another decade later, Pine is checking off a major Disney box as the villain as Wish. And as the producer teased, he sings not one song but two.
Wish producer Peter Del Vecho also jumped in to speak about what it was like working with Chris Pine. In his words:
Chris very much gets into the script. He wants to understand everything about the character, but I would say we cast him because he has that ability to be charismatic, charming, yet can also play the villainous side. And, so I think we definitely tapped into his way of acting.
I heard the first song, it’s called “The Thanks I Get.” It’s a fun but powerful villain song that establishes the narcissistic character Magnifico is while also both paying homage to and rivaling other classic Disney songs of the sort. The second song of his is more of a mystery, as it likely occurs late in Wish. But the filmmakers teased that it's a duet between Pine’s character and the hero, Ariana DeBose’s Asha where the “villain and the hero align”. As Lancaster-Jones continued:
I think it shows a different part of Magnifico as well. Again, going back to what Peter was saying, of how this is a complex character that has a charismatic side to him, but also a very scary side to him too. So they are very different songs.
Chris Pine has definitely had his share of playing both heroes and villains over the years, between his antagonist role in last year’s Don’t Worry Darling to leading a pack of heroes in Dungeons and Dragons earlier in 2023. I can’t wait to see what King Magnifico’s songs are in full context of the movie, along with the character’s journey as Asha rivals him.
Along with King Magnifico sharing some of Pine’s likeness, the character of Asha was influenced by Ariana DeBose’s dance background and own personality as Wish’s writer Jennifer Lee told us. You can look forward to Wish and all the original songs written by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice when the movie hits theaters this November 22.
