DISNEY'S MUSICAL FAIRY TALE 'WISH' IS BEAUTIFUL, BUT LACKING MAGIC

Walt Disney Animation’s “Wish” is stunning to look at with textured and rich watercolor-inspired animation and easter egg treasures for audiences nostalgic for the classics.

Walt Disney Animation’s “Wish” is stunning to look at with textured and rich watercolor-inspired animation and easter egg treasures for audiences nostalgic for the classics. But it is also more concept than story: A strained and forgettable attempt to pay homage to the studio’s 100 years. The origin of the wishing star is as fine a motivation as any for a jumping off point, but “Wish,” directed by Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, seems to have been drawn not from someone’s earnest imagination and dreams, but a corporate board trying to reverse-engineer magic and charm.

Case in point: In one of the awfully generic songs, “I Am a Star,” a cute, talking rabbit chirpily sings to our heroine Asha that “when it comes to the universe, we’re all shareholders.” Ugh.

I’m probably not alone in having learned several vocabulary words from Disney songs as a child, but there is something so dispiriting about hearing the word “shareholders” in what is supposed to be a rallying, inspirational anthem in a fairy tale world where talking goats and magic exist. There is no sign of corporations or public offerings in the Kingdom of Rosas, though that could have been an interesting path to take. Instead, this is a place founded by a guy, Magnifico (Chris Pine), who has the ability to grant wishes (and other magic things, too).