Disney is known for many films, but mainly, most recognize it for its legendary animation. From its earlier days to its renaissance age, all the way to more recently, when Disney Animation has been releasing CGI-animated flicks for more than ten years, the company has truly come such a long way. Now, 2023 is going to mark that occasion with a new movie – Wish.
The film, which was announced during the D23 Expo in September 2022, is going to be coming soon, adding another animated movie to Disney’s long list of entries. But what is this new movie going to be about? And who is going to star? Hold onto your wishing stars, because here is what we know so far about the upcoming Disney animated movie.
What Is The Wish Release Date?
According to Variety, Wish is set to release in theaters on November 22nd, 2023. This would line up with other movies that have been released in November over the last decade, including the legendary Encanto, Frozen and its sequel, Strange World and so many more. So, keep that on your 2023 movie schedule.
This isn’t that surprising, as Disney tends to release a new movie every year most of the time. What’s really going to make this movie so special is that it’s going to come out during Disney's 100th anniversary – that’s right, Disney is celebrating 100 years of business in 2023, so Wish is surely going to be a great addition to that celebration.
Ariana Debose, Alan Tudyk, And Chris Pine Will Star
If you were wondering who was going to be starring in this awesome movie, Wish has three voices confirmed, with the first two being Ariana DeBose and Alan Tudyk as Asha and Valentino, according to Deadline.
DeBose won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2022 for her role in the 2021 remake of West Side Story, and has steadily been making a name for herself in Hollywood. Besides her role in that film, she was in the Ryan Murphy produced movie, The Prom, and is a part of the Schimagadoon! cast. So, it’s so exciting to see her in a starring role.
DeBose actually talked about the part to Deadline, which was shown in a Twitter video, and mentioned all the reasons that she was excited to voice Asha, the main character of Wish:
She's got many parts to her, she's so smart, she's got a great sense of humor and she's trying to take care of people she loves most in the world. She's a leader and doesn't realize it. She's just living and doing, and learning along the way, she doesn't always get it right, which is the definition of being human.
Meanwhile, Tudyk is going to voice Valentino, Asha’s goat companion. The actor’s been in many Disney movies before in several voice roles, including Strange World, Frozen and Frozen II, Encanto, Raya and the Last Dragon, Big Hero 6, and more. Seeing him as Valentino should be a welcome treat.
Tudyk spoke about the upcoming role, as well, at D23 in a video posted to TikTok, saying that he was a “goat named Valentino. He’s a pretty cool guy.”
Announced at CinemaCon 2023 (via Variety), it was also confirmed that Chris Pine is set to voice the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico, considered to be the most powerful person in that kingdom. Pine has been busy recently, like being a part of the Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves cast, as well as appearing in Don’t Worry Darling, The Contractor and more, so it’s exciting to see him in a role such as this.
It was later confirmed from the official trailer released on YouTube that several other stars would have voice roles in the movie. These include Angelique Cabral as Queen Amaya, Victor Garber as Sabino, Asha's grandfather, and Natasha Rothwell as Asha’s mother, Sakina.
Also added were Jennifer Kumiyama as Dahlia, Evan Peters as Simon, Harvey Guillén as Gabo, Ramy Youssef as Safi, Niko Vargas as Hal; Della Saba as Bazeema, and Jon Rudnitsky as Dario. All of these will be Asha's friends in the movie. Talk about a stacked cast.
Check Out The Trailer For Wish
With just a few months to go, an official trailer for Wish has been released. It features stunning visuals, our new Disney heroine in action, and songs that are sure to light up our hearts. Here it is below:
The trailer premiered in September 2023 and has over five million views thus far, so I have a feeling that Wish will soon be the movie that everyone talks about.
Wish Tells The Origin Story Of The Legendary Wishing Star
If you were wondering exactly what Wish was going to be about, it’s actually a very original story. It's the tale of how the iconic wishing star that we all know and love came to be – and how a young girl, named Asha, is a part of it.
According to the synopsis that was featured in the Deadline article above, Asha will be a seventeen-year-old heroine who watches over the Kingdom of Wishes, a place where all the wishes that you could want will come true. When she needs help, and makes her own wish to the stars, they answer her in a way she never thought possible – with an actual star. The trailer further shows this.
Besides those plot details, not much else is known about Wish, but I have a feeling that it’s going to be a great addition to Disney’s films. The story itself sounds so original and almost reminds me a bit of when I first heard about Encanto, so I’m eager to see where it goes.
Julia Michaels Will Write Original Songs For The Movie
I mean, Disney is known for its music. Its Disney princess songs are one of a kind. Entire soundtracks have fueled our childhoods. So, it makes sense that there would be a lot of singing in Wish. According to the DeBose interview above that she did with Deadline, she confirmed that the movie is going to include songs and have “a lot of singing,” and that Grammy nominee Julia Michaels is going to be writing the songs, including one called “More for Us,” which was performed at D23.
This already makes me so excited, because I know Ariana DeBose has a killer voice – she was in the original Hamilton cast and several other Broadway productions, so you know she’s going to kill it in this starring role.
David Metzger Is Composing The Score
Scores are so important in the world of Disney movies, as they set the scene and truly make the film that much more memorable. For Wish, we have Disney royalty coming back to score this movie. According to Film Music Reporter, David Metzger is returning to score the music.
Metzger has done so much for the company. He’s worked on the music for many movies, including Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph, Ant-Man, Tarzan and even my personal favorite, Moana, so it’s so awesome to see him coming to work on this.
Disney Veterans Chris Buck And Fawn Veerasunthorn Will Direct
If you were hoping that Wish was going to be directed by someone who knows Disney, there’s no better confirmation than this right here – Frozen co-director Chris Buck and Raya and the Last Dragon head of story Fawn Veerasunthorn are set to co-direct, according to the Deadline article above.
This is super exciting news, to see that Buck is back to work on another Disney film as a director after Frozen II, and now to see him team up with Veerasunthorn is even cooler. I did enjoy Raya and the Last Dragon, so I do think that these two partnering will work well.
The Movie Is Going To Blend Watercolor Style And CGI Animation
Disney animation changes on a pretty regular basis, and Wish is no different. According to the official Disney website that talked about the upcoming celebrations for their 100 year anniversary, they said that the “look” of the film will “blend a timeless watercolor style with contemporary 3D CG animation.”
What this exactly means, I’m not sure, but it’s super intriguing. We’ve been living in a golden age of animation as more and more movies are starting to change their style, from the beautiful animated world of Miles Morales in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse to the stop-motion animation of Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio. I'm super interested to see how the finished film looks.
I’m eager to see what this movie is going to bring to the table, and I’ll be in the front row, first day, to see this upcoming Disney movie in the theaters. November can't get here soon enough.
