Wish (Walt Disney Animation - November 2023)

[DisneyHead123]

Or Soul arguing that wishes/dreams are great but they don't have to come true for a person to have a fulfilling life, and if anything can blind a person to the little things that make life worthwhile in the first place.

I think many in the current zeitgeist have had a fair bit of exposure to mindfulness, meditation, and related concepts. I had the thought while watching Wish that it was kind of at odds with this way of thinking - in Wish one’s personal wishes or desires are a core part of one’s being and said person suffers greatly from the loss of even having a core desire, whether it’s ultimately fulfilled or not. Whereas in meditation letting go of all desires would be seen as a fantastic mark of progress.

It didn’t particularly change my viewing experience - “wishing on a star” is so fundamental to Disney I totally understand why it would be a focus. And dreamers and wishers have undeniably accomplished amazing things in our world. But as a kinda esoteric philosophical point, I did find it interesting. I think Soul embodied the modern mindfulness movement way of thinking much more. In the end Joe’s biggest wish - his ultimate dream! - is granted, and he realizes it’s not the be-all end-all he thought it would be. He’ll have to do it over and over again and it might even become a bit of a daily grind. The things he finds true happiness in seem to be more oriented around “being in the moment”.

 

[DKampy]

I find this fascinating... Wish is still in the most theaters nationwide even though it flopped badly and has already fallen down to 9th place this week. I can't imagine the theater chains will agree to this type of theater hogging from Disney in 2024 and 2025 based on the dozen flops Disney had in 2023.

You can imagine how frustrated the theater owners are to have to still put Wish in 3,900 theaters with these results!

Domestic Box Office, Thursday, December 8th
View attachment 758131

Would it really make that much of a difference if Wish was in any less theaters… none of the films in the top 10 might reach double digits this weekend

 

[Miss Rori]

It's true it probably wouldn't be a huge difference at this point but I'm pretty sure theater owners want more movies that are actually drawing an audience; there's been a lot of older films seeing one-off or weekend-long rereleases of late.

 

[DKampy]

It's true it probably wouldn't be a huge difference at this point but I'm pretty sure theater owners want more movies that are actually drawing an audience; there's been a lot of older films seeing one-off or weekend-long rereleases of late.

It does not help that Studios are so quick to move films to PVOD…The Holdovers is already losing theaters because it is already for rent at home for 19.99… they should of kept it in theaters through the holidays… It is a Christmas Movie, had great word of mouth, good holds, and will probably be an awards contender… but they opted to move it to PVOD already… they must be making money at that price point

 

[Farerb]

Sorry to ask this, but am I the only one that is upset that Wish receive bad reviews and not doing well at the box office? Be honest.

Yes.

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

No, you're not. I'm upset as I wanted Disney to have a smash hit. I want Disney to do their best and make great things to showcase the best animation and storytellers in the world. Thing is, they're seemingly no longer the best let alone even run of the mill. It's upsetting.

 

[mickEblu]

Sorry to ask this, but am I the only one that is upset that Wish receive bad reviews and not doing well at the box office? Be honest.

To this level? Maybe just you and Bob Iger

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Yeah, certainly not at that level...

But thats the thing, we're fans here. Some of us seemingly go on and on and on about the negatives of the recent films, but that's not what we want to do. We WANT to talk about great things... but it's just not happening.

Heck, as a grown adult, I took my lunch hour to go to target and got a BB8 and a couple things when TFA was coming out and saw the first showing in large format etc... by the time TROS came out, I didn't bother to see it for a couple of weeks because I no longer cared.

My friends and I saw Princess and the Frog at a MIDNIGHT showing (those were still a thing). I can't get any of them to go see Wish because they simply don't care anymore.

Mandalorian S1 was an event for us... we would all plan the day and meet up to gather and watch it... but after Boba Fett and Obi Wan, most didnt bother watching Mando S3 after Disneys fumbling in everything.

My friends are/were MASSIVE disney fans... they have a disney painting on practically every wall in their house... last year they stunned our social group by saying they weren't renewing their passes because they were fed up with the crap Disney was doing at the parks let alone across the entire company.

Well this turned into a rant... I just wanted to convey that some people are fans but they've been burned by Disney’s actions so there's apathy.

Also it's Saturday and I'm at work on standby for the morning.

 

[The Great Gonzo]

Yeah, certainly not at that level...

But thats the thing, we're fans here. Some of us seemingly go on and on and on about the negatives of the recent films, but that's not what we want to do. We WANT to talk about great things... but it's just not happening.

Heck, as a grown adult, I took my lunch hour to go to target and got a BB8 and a couple things when TFA was coming out and saw the first showing in large format etc... by the time TROS came out, I didn't bother to see it for a couple of weeks because I no longer cared.

My friends and I saw Princess and the Frog at a MIDNIGHT showing (those were still a thing). I can't get any of them to go see Wish because they simply don't care anymore.

Mandalorian S1 was an event for us... we would all plan the day and meet up to gather and watch it... but after Boba Fett and Obi Wan, most didnt bother watching Mando S3 after Disneys fumbling in everything.

My friends are/were MASSIVE disney fans... they have a disney painting on practically every wall in their house... last year they stunned our social group by saying they weren't renewing their passes because they were fed up with the crap Disney was doing at the parks let alone across the entire company.

Well this turned into a rant... I just wanted to convey that some people are fans but they've been burned by Disney’s actions so there's apathy.

Also it's Saturday and I'm at work on standby for the morning.

Yep, it felt like Favreau left during the 3rd season, even if they never said it. And it felt like Kennedy and Filoni took over the reins. Just so they can ruin it, like they do with most of their projects. All in Kennedy's case.

It was awful, especially the 2nd half of the season. It definitely felt like more of Dave Filoni project. He doesn't know how to reward or conclude things. Plus he likes pushing aside main characters to push his characters that he created.

 

[Phroobar]

So when is Disneyland going to become not hip anymore? It's got to follow in the next year or so since everything else is falling apart.

 

[LittleBuford]

So when is Disneyland going to become not hip anymore? It's got to follow in the next year or so since everything else is falling apart.

In what ways do you think Disney is “hip”?

 

[Haymarket]

 

[TsWade2]

Right! I’m going to stay away for this thread for awhile for my safety of my mental health! Because you guys are making fun of me and you all have to much negativity!

 

[Phroobar]

In what ways do you think Disney is “hip”?

Considering how packed Disneyland is everyday, it must be pretty hip to most people to go to. People are showing up there without children!

 

[Miss Rori]

I do find it interesting to ponder what kind of "afterlife" Wish will have. One reason I think it would be wiser to just do a Disney+ drop on Christmas Day is that it really needs any kind of boost it can get to attract eyeballs.

I know some of Disney's financial and critical failures have cult followings, but they're really narrow ones. But beyond that, I don't know what will put the movie over the top to have a loyal fanbase down the line. The cultishly loved Disney animated films have distinctive elements that sure don't appeal to everyone but mean a lot to those they do appeal to -- Atlantis and Treasure Planet's aesthetics, The Hunchback of Notre Dame's maturity (gargoyles aside!) and beautiful score, etc. And the core problem with Wish going by the reviews is that it does nothing particularly well, or distinctively. What are people going to latch on to? It's not going to be the songs; I suspect a big reason the movie flopped was because audiences got too big a taste of them from the YouTube/TikTok previews. It's not going to be the characters; nobody ever brings up how moved they were by any of the relationships. Nobody quotes the jokes except to be dismissive of them. There's no distinctive aesthetic. So what will make it a blockbuster on Disney+?

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Right! I’m going to stay away for this thread for awhile for my safety of my mental health! Because you guys are making fun of me and you all have to much negativity!

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, but I would suggest not coming back if this is true. I only say this because you've posted similar things in the past and have come back literally the next day.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

I do find it interesting to ponder what kind of "afterlife" Wish will have. One reason I think it would be wiser to just do a Disney+ drop on Christmas Day is that it really needs any kind of boost it can get to attract eyeballs.

I know some of Disney's financial and critical failures have cult followings, but they're really narrow ones. But beyond that, I don't know what will put the movie over the top to have a loyal fanbase down the line. The cultishly loved Disney animated films have distinctive elements that sure don't appeal to everyone but mean a lot to those they do appeal to -- Atlantis and Treasure Planet's aesthetics, The Hunchback of Notre Dame's maturity (gargoyles aside!) and beautiful score, etc. And the core problem with Wish going by the reviews is that it does nothing particularly well, or distinctively. What are people going to latch on to? It's not going to be the songs; I suspect a big reason the movie flopped was because audiences got too big a taste of them from the YouTube/TikTok previews. It's not going to be the characters; nobody ever brings up how moved they were by any of the relationships. Nobody quotes the jokes except to be dismissive of them. There's no distinctive aesthetic. So what will make it a blockbuster on Disney+?

It's hard to predict these things, but I'm also a little sceptical about this one developing a big following on Disney+. Encanto seems more the model you would ideally want this to follow in that regard, and I'm not sure if the signs were there that it would catch on once it went to streaming before that happened. With Elemental, the signs kind of were there in the way it gradually found its audience in cinemas.

Besides the fact I personally didn't like it so much, I do wonder whether Wish is distinct enough to really capture kids' imagination once it ends up on Disney+ alongside the existing library of films. The fact that none of the songs have hit and I don't see many people raving about the soundtrack also seems a big minus on that front. That said, the A- audience score was pretty positive and it looks like the drop-off will be a lot lower this weekend. Personally, I would just be surprised as, while not a bad film, it just seems a bit too middle-of-the-road amongst Disney's catalogue to become a sudden phenomenon on streaming.

 

[Phroobar]

The cultishly loved Disney animated films have distinctive elements that sure don't appeal to everyone but mean a lot to those they do appeal to -- Atlantis and Treasure Planet's aesthetics, The Hunchback of Notre Dame's maturity (gargoyles aside!) and beautiful score, etc.

It's funny that even the cultish Disney followers didn't show up for this one. The movie was made to celebrate Disney's 100th anniversary and still not even the faithful showed up. Maybe the cultish Disney followers are way smaller than we give them credit for being?

 

[Miss Rori]

I have seen one or two reviews that argue this movie wasn't made for anybody but the "Disney Adult" crowd, and it would make sense that that group would be the hardest to please. I suspect so many things the film tried to do - a "proper" villain who has no nuance or redeemability, a fairy tale-style storyline, tons of Easter eggs, etc. - were things that only that group wanted all that much.

For all the hemming and hawing over the remake of The Little Mermaid, and the bad advance buzz over Elemental, those movies did leg it out at the box office and even if they weren't profitable against their ridiculous budgets were among the more highly-attended films of the year. (The only film that's posted a higher gross than Mermaid for Disney was GOTG Vol. 3; also, the merchandise seemed to do okay.) Wish not catching on in the same way, I think, speaks to fundamental emptiness - the poor marketing team had nothing to work with, and it looked less like an actual movie than one of those "shorts" Disney+ puts up around Christmastime that's really just a sentimental commercial for their various IP. And who wants to go to the cinema for that? If the movie blows up on streaming, I will be really surprised.

 

[TP2000]

So when is Disneyland going to become not hip anymore? It's got to follow in the next year or so since everything else is falling apart.

I have wondered that too. The park has always had eras where it became unhip, or the place you avoided until the relatives from Seattle or Denver showed up for a week and needed to be entertained. My gut tells me it's heading towards an unhip era rather fast.

In what ways do you think Disney is “hip”?

It's a SoCal thing, and thus a West Coast thing. @Phroobar is right; Disneyland is packed and is seen as a hip place for childless adults to hang out at. But as I said, it's a phenomenon that comes and goes for SoCal.

But for now at least...

Considering how packed Disneyland is everyday, it must be pretty hip to most people to go to. People are showing up there without children!