Wish (Walt Disney Animation - November 2023)

[TP2000]

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+?

You've made great points there, and they seem to be accurate.

I was at a big Christmas buffet party last night with multiple generations of people, and not a single person talked about Wish. Some of these same people were at that summer barbecue last June where the teens were all talking about an upcoming movie called Barbie, which is how I found out Barbie was even happening. (And I was immediately all in on it.)

But Wish is just... not happening. And the global box office proves it, in case anyone claims the party I was at was not a good demographic example of the American pop culture zeitgeist.

The problem Disney faces is that they simply can not return to throwing their mega-budget tentpole movies onto Disney+ within weeks of them flopping at the global box office. They trained their audiences to wait to see their movies "for free" on Disney+, and now they have to untrain them. They can't backtrack on that retraining strategy, no matter how badly a $200 Million tentpole movie bombs at the global box office like Wish is doing now.

This will be painful for Burbank financially, but they have to stick with it! Now is not the time to get cold feet.

 

[Miss Rori]

Yeah, I was at a Target today and the endcap in the toy aisle where most of the Wish merchandise was placed appeared to be barely touched. Looking at "nerdy" websites there's more chatter and cheerfulness about Wonka, various streaming shows (including the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials), The Boy and the Heron, Godzilla Minus One, and even Poor Things than Wish. Plenty of good and bad faith negative reviews are up on YouTube but next to no positive ones. A friend reported that Wish has already been moved to the smallest screen in her local multiplex while Godzilla Minus One got a larger one to handle demand. I just don't see Disney turning this around - this is 21st century Disney's The Black Cauldron, ironically(?) one of the movies not acknowledged in the end credits of the new film.

 

[Phroobar]

I assume a Wish ride will not be replacing Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland anytime soon.

 

[Miss Rori]

The problem Disney faces is that they simply can not return to throwing their mega-budget tentpole movies onto Disney+ within weeks of them flopping at the global box office. They trained their audiences to wait to see their movies "for free" on Disney+, and now they have to untrain them. They can't backtrack on that retraining strategy, no matter how badly a $200 Million tentpole movie bombs at the global box office like Wish is doing now.

This will be painful for Burbank financially, but they have to stick with it! Now is not the time to get cold feet.

Yeah, on the one hand doing a Christmas Day drop on Disney+ would likely draw more eyeballs than waiting until February, but on the other, they have to return to long-term theatrical windows for these films to get people to see them when they open. (Again The Little Mermaid remake and Elemental proved that it is workable.) It's just a shame that Wish is going to have to cede screens to Wonka, Migration and so on shortly.

(Incidentally, I did not have huge hopes for Wonka but the reviews are way better than they could have been, and having listened to the two villain songs on YouTube, wow are they better than the Wish songs are just on the level of technical competence. Proper and/or funny-cheat rhymes, correct syllable emphasis, etc. Why on earth didn't Disney execs at least make sure the Wish songwriters were fit for purpose?)

 

[Phroobar]

My bet is when Wish is on Disney+, no one will still watch it. It doesn't matter if it released now or in three months. A bad movie is still a bad movie.

 

[Tha Realest]

Yeah, on the one hand doing a Christmas Day drop on Disney+ would likely draw more eyeballs than waiting until February, but on the other, they have to return to long-term theatrical windows for these films to get people to see them when they open. (Again The Little Mermaid remake and Elemental proved that it is workable.) It's just a shame that Wish is going to have to cede screens to Wonka, Migration and so on shortly.

(Incidentally, I did not have huge hopes for Wonka but the reviews are way better than they could have been, and having listened to the two villain songs on YouTube, wow are they better than the Wish songs are just on the level of technical competence. Proper and/or funny-cheat rhymes, correct syllable emphasis, etc. Why on earth didn't Disney execs at least make sure the Wish songwriters were fit for purpose?)

I just looked it up, and, am I wrong that this is the first time this songwriter wrote songs for any movie, let alone an animated one?

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

For perspective, here is Wish's performance to date, inflation adjusted, compared to other non-Disney, post-pandemic, animated releases (all at half the reported budget of Wish)

View attachment 758348

Notice that distinctly lower slope of wishes trendline? That is a very inreresting metric... Disney's got issues.

I just looked it up, and, am I wrong that this is the first time this songwriter wrote songs for any movie, let alone an animated one?

I had heard that. It certainly shows in the final product with awkward music. Why wete they hired for the job?

 

[TsWade2]

Well, Wish maybe flopping at the box office (Unfairly in my opinion), but it has a second chance on Disney+. So I think it'll do better on Disney+ and become popular like Encanto and Elemental did. You guys can be negative all you want, but sometimes you'll never know what will happened. And I feel cautiously optimistic that Wish will do well on Disney+ and maybe become a sleeper hit there, because a lot of families are waiting to see Wish on Disney+ anyway. Again, be negative all you want, but I'm thinking it's going to be a hit on Disney+ and I'm sticking to it!

P.S. Just be thankful I let go of the box office results.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Well, Wish maybe flopping at the box office (Unfairly in my opinion), but it has a second chance on Disney+. So I think it'll do better on Disney+ and become popular like Encanto and Elemental did. You guys can be negative all you want, but sometimes you'll never know what will happened. And I feel cautiously optimistic that Wish will do well on Disney+ and maybe become a sleeper hit there, because a lot of families are waiting to see Wish on Disney+ anyway. Again, be negative all you want, but I'm thinking it's going to be a hit on Disney+ and I'm sticking to it!

P.S. Just be thankful I let go of the box office results.

I think everyone knows your thoughts on the matter by now. Reiterating this over and again without adding anything new to the conversation is simply bad forum etiquette at this stage.

 

[TsWade2]

I think everyone knows your thoughts on the matter by now. Reiterating this over and again without adding anything new to the conversation is simply bad forum etiquette at this stage.

Sorry, but I have to say what I have to say. Because I had enough of negativity, even if Wish did flop at the box office.

 

[Figments Friend]

Someone mentioned the toy aisle end cap display at Target.
Yep, I was just noticing that at my own local Target a few days ago.
( Hey TP! I did a ‘Smuggler’s Target Run’…!)

They had a ‘Wish’ display full of merchandise in an attractive end cap display and it didn’t look as though any of it was touched.
Well, except the talking and walking Valentino goat toys.
Those had obviously been tried out by the kids…but the dolls, Star figures, ‘blind boxes’, and other assorted things were just sitting there being ignored.
Not a good sign….

-

 

[Miss Rori]

They had a ‘Wish’ display full of merchandise in an attractive end cap display and it didn’t look as though any of it was touched.
Well, except the talking and walking Valentino goat toys.
Those had obviously been tried out by the kids…but the dolls, Star figures, ‘blind boxes’, and other assorted things were just sitting there being ignored.
Not a good sign….

There are going to be a lot of Funko Pops of Valentino discounted within a month or two if the pile of them I saw was any indication...

 

[TP2000]

Why on earth didn't Disney execs at least make sure the Wish songwriters were fit for purpose?

I just looked it up, and, am I wrong that this is the first time this songwriter wrote songs for any movie, let alone an animated one?

So, I had to Google this. I wish I hadn't. It was like what many feared about the entire movie; written by committee and approved by HR every 30 days before it was allowed to continue. And run by people you've never heard of before.

This is the first quote when you Google "Disney Wish Songwriter"....

"Disney Animation Studios' chief creative officer Jennifer Lee had not yet written the script for “Wish” when Grammy nominated songwriter Julia Michaels wrote the demo for “This Wish” in 2020. But that demo, Lee says, “defined the whole movie; it became our North Star.”

First of all, the trendy 2022-23 psychobabble term "our North Star" makes my eyes roll back into my head faster than you can say 'Gavin Newsom'.

I'm struck by the fact that Ms. Michaels has enough tattoos that she could get a job at StorybookLand Canal Boats in an instant. So why is she writing un-memorable songs for movies instead of being a Disneyland ride op where all her tats would be more appreciated?

 

[celluloid]

Demos are nice, but a great musical has the song as progressions of the story and what the character's desires are.

No wonder the songs were so awful.

 

[Sharon&Susan]

Sorry, but I have to say what I have to say. Because I had enough of negativity, even if Wish did flop at the box office.

Nothing wrong with being positive! Just no need to repeat yourself so much, especially since I would imagine you should have plenty of things to talk about the movie itself with how enthusiastic you are about it.

 

[Disney Irish]

So, I had to Google this. I wish I hadn't. It was like what many feared about the entire movie; written by committee and approved by HR every 30 days before it was allowed to continue. And run by people you've never heard of before.

This is the first quote when you Google "Disney Wish Songwriter"....

"Disney Animation Studios' chief creative officer Jennifer Lee had not yet written the script for “Wish” when Grammy nominated songwriter Julia Michaels wrote the demo for “This Wish” in 2020. But that demo, Lee says, “defined the whole movie; it became our North Star.”

First of all, the trendy 2022-23 psychobabble term "our North Star" makes my eyes roll back into my head faster than you can say 'Gavin Newsom'.

I'm struck by the fact that Ms. Michaels has enough tattoos that she could get a job at StorybookLand Canal Boats in an instant. So why is she writing un-memorable songs for movies instead of being a Disneyland ride op where all her tats would be more appreciated?

Your comments about her tattoos aside, which is very common in the music industry by the way, she is a Grammy nominated singer/song writer. She has written a couple things for both TV and movies, including things for Disney like the theme song for the Disney Channel show Austin and Ally, and performs on the Ralph Breaks the Internet sound track. So this isn't her first foray into the movie music world.

So say what you will about the music for Wish, she at least has the credentials to write songs.

 

[TP2000]

Your comments about her tattoos aside...

Why? That's the funniest part. It's not like anyone cares about her songs, so we might as well laugh at her tats.

So say what you will about the music for Wish, she at least has the credentials to write songs.

So why didn't any of the songs from Wish get radio airplay? No one cares about the songs, and no one cares about the movie.

Was Alan Menken not within reach with only a $200 Million production budget?

 

[MoonRakerSCM]

Totes Hellfire vibes...



A masterpiece of autotune...

 

[LittleBuford]

I think Wish has some beautiful songs. I’m quite disappointed that “This Wish” isn’t likely to enter the Disney playlist given the film’s underperformance; I would have loved to hear it during a fireworks show.

 

[Disney Irish]

Why? That's the funniest part. It's not like anyone cares about her songs, so we might as well laugh at her tats.

Because her appearance has nothing to do with her music, or even the topic at hand.

So why didn't any of the songs from Wish get radio airplay? No one cares about the songs, and no one cares about the movie.

Plenty of Disney movie soundtracks don't get airplay including modern classics.

Was Alan Menken not within reach with only a $200 Million production budget?

Dunno, you can question Jennifer Lee if you ever get a chance to talk to her.