Wish (Walt Disney Animation - November 2023)

[Andrew C]

Ahh. It wasn’t a take, just them saying where the film currently lands % wise:

Pocahontas rated worse than the black cauldron. whatever.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Pocahontas rated worse than the black cauldron. whatever.

Sometimes you have to shrug at the critics (imo).

 

[Disney Irish]

Pocahontas rated worse than the black cauldron. whatever.

What this shows is that critics are just people too, they aren't special. And they have opinions good or bad just like anyone else.

So why do we give them so much weight in terms of a films quality?

 

[Tha Realest]

What this shows is that critics are just people too, they aren't special. And they have opinions good or bad just like anyone else.

So why do we give them so much weight in terms of a films quality?

In an aggregate sense they help us determine how well received a movie is.

 

[Disney Irish]

In an aggregate sense they help us determine how well received a movie is.

I lost faith in critics a long time ago, so they hold no weight with me.

But I'm sorry nothing against Tink but her series of films is not better than Pocahontas -

 

[Andrew C]

I lost faith in critics a long time ago, so they hold no weight with me.

But I'm sorry nothing against Tink but her series of films is not better than Pocahontas -

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This one like a Pixar movie though. Waterworks.

 

[WorldExplorer]

Comparing to movies before Rotten Tomatoes (or even the internet) became a thing always seems extremely pointless to me.

Like, Black Cauldron has 35 counted reviews (Pocahontas 57, the aforementioned Tinkerbell movie has 20). Something recent like Encanto has over 200.

Significantly less feedback is put in for older stuff.

 

[Ghost93]

Pocahontas is probably being judged more harshly because it's based on a real-life story and many feel the film distorts history in a way that is harmful.

Anyway, I saw Wish this afternoon. I liked it, but I can also see why critics don't love it. It 's a very nice, pleasant film, but with the exception of its new animation style, it doesn't really do anything new. It's very much a throwback, and I suspect many critics had a "been there, done that" reaction to the movie. About a decade ago Frozen and Moana did a better job of containing what audiences loved about the Disney formula while also shaking up things to feel fresh. Wish didn't really have anything about it that makes it really stand out. It's a competently made, but standard and basic movie.

I think kids will love it. The ones in my audience seemed engaged and laughed a lot. It's watchable for parents but doesn't have that appeal to adults that more recent Disney and Pixar movies did.

The songs are good, but not up to par with the songs of Frozen, Moana, Encanto or any of the Disney Renaissance soundtracks. I'm happy to report that some of the lyrics I had previously criticized on this thread (such as "throw caution to every warning sign") made more sense within the context of the movie.

The best character was Chris Pine's King Magnifico, who had layers while still being a good, traditionally evil villain. I also found the dynamic Magnifico had with his wife compelling. I didn't care for Asha at first, but she grew on me as the movie went on. She started the film feeling like a Rapunzel/Anna knockoff but became more of a character in her own right as the film progressed. Asha's friends and the talking goat sidekick weren't that funny, but they didn't actively annoy me either. The star is adorable and is likely to become a fan-favorite character.

My thoughts on the new animation style are that the backgrounds are STUNNING while the character animation is hit or miss.

I'd give it a 7/10 overall. It was nice, but not really deserving of being the film that honors a 100-year legacy.

 

[TP2000]

“But hey, it's no Chicken Little and Brother Bear.”

Yeah, those movies more than made back their budget in the theatrical window.

Here's how that box office looks numbers wise, adjusted for inflation...

Interestingly, the 2000's were the decade everyone was buying DVD's to replace their old VHS tapes. Chicken Little made more money off of DVD sales in the few years after its theatrical release than it did at the box office.

But now that revenue stream (get it?) has died, and Target and WalMart and Best Buy have turned their old DVD sections into vinyl record sections in the 2020's. And Disney+ keeps losing a few hundred million every 90 days, and a lot of families will wait to watch Wish "for free!" on the money losing Disney+. Ouch.

 

[Figment1984]

EDIT: Sorry, double post.

Just got out of watching the early access screening and I liked it a lot. The movie absolutely has its flaws but it’s no where near the level of Chicken Little bad. Heck, in terms of recent offerings I enjoyed this much more than Encanto and Ralph by quite a bit. Is it the most original story ever told? Nope, but it was an enjoyable 90 minutes for me.

My main problem with the plot is the relationship between Asha and King Magnifico. In the span of 5 minutes they go from introducing themselves, to sympathizing with each other, to singing a duet, to fighting, to hating each other. Speaking of Asha, she’s perfect. Like literally, she has no flaws whatsoever. The movie even states her weakness is “caring too much”. Because of this she doesn’t really grow the entire movie.

Other than that, the goat is annoying, and that chicken breakdancing scene (yes really) was awful. But he has very minimal screen time so it didn’t kill anything for me.

I enjoyed everything else. Soundtrack was great, the cast was phenomenal, the plot was good and had a decent message.

The art style they went with was just… fine. The nighttime and darker scenes were beautiful. The flaw with this art style is when it’s daytime/bright the 2D backgrounds look like cardboard stage sets against the 3D models.

As for the complaints that there is too many Disney references and the movie doesn’t stand up on its own, I have no idea where they’re getting that from. Besides the obvious 7 dwarves callback with Asha’s friends, this movie is pretty light with the references. Ralph Wrecks The Internet did it much, much worse 5 years ago (and reviewers loved it then).

Overall, I’d give this a 7.5/10.

 

[TP2000]

That’s because Rotten Tomatoes “expanded” to include garbage like KBFE Radio Yuma and Larry’s Movie Blog as “reviewers”.

Luckily, they kept the “Top Critic” rating so we can see what legitimate reviewers think.

(BTW, Top Critics currently at 43% on Wish, but it’s early)

Oh, I hadn't realized there were two levels of critics; top critics from established networks and major magazines and newspapers, and minor critics from random blogs and fan sites.

But you're right, when you toggle to Top Critics, the rating for Wish drops to 43%.

 

[Animaniac93-98]

I lost faith in critics a long time ago, so they hold no weight with me.

But I'm sorry nothing against Tink but her series of films is not better than Pocahontas -

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The Tomatometer is the % of critics who recommend seeing the movie, not a score out of 100 like on a test.

That's where there's a separate average rating out of 10 listed too.

Smaller sample sizes of reviews can also skew results one way or the other.

So no, this does not mean automatically mean critics think Tinkerbell is a better movie than Pocahontas.

All of this should be known by now by our resident armchair box office analysts.

I also why I appreciate some sites and commenters who aggerate both the tomatometer and out of 10 scores for movies.

 

[Ghost93]

Speaking of Asha, she’s perfect. Like literally, she has no flaws whatsoever. The movie even states her weakness is “caring too much”. Because of this she doesn’t really grow the entire movie.

While Asha may not have enough actual flaws, the line about her "caring too much" is a joke. In real life, people seeking jobs are often asked to state a weakness and the cliche is to say you "care too much" — because that's not a weakness, but a strength. Most employers see right through that crap, however.

 

[Figment1984]

You had me at “chicken breakdancing scene”.

It was painful typing it out as it was watching it. The scene is incredibly brief, no more than 20 seconds, but it really was bad lol. The fact they feature part of it in the trailer too is bizarre, there’s a good amount of funnier / emotional moments they could have used!

While Asha may not have enough actual flaws, the line about her "caring too much" is a joke. In real life, people seeking jobs are often asked to state a weakness and the cliche is to say you "care too much" — because that's not a weakness, but a strength. Most employers see right through that crap, however.

Yeah, I understand it’s a joke, but it doesn’t negate the fact she has no weaknesses or flaws. She’s the same character from beginning to end. Perhaps the “growth” throughout the movie comes from the citizens of the kingdom, but they aren’t the main character.

 

[Disney Irish]

The Tomatometer is the % of critics who recommend seeing the movie, not a score out of 100 like on a test.

That's where there's a separate average rating out of 10 listed too.

Smaller sample sizes of reviews can also skew results one way or the other.

So no, this does not mean automatically mean critics think Tinkerbell is a better movie than Pocahontas.

All of this should be known by now by our resident armchair box office analysts.

I also why I appreciate some sites and commenters who aggerate both the tomatometer and out of 10 scores for movies.

Oh I know. I’m just pointing out again that we shouldn’t take these critic ratings so seriously. Critics aren’t infallible and don’t necessarily represent audience reactions.

 

[TalkingHead]

She’s the same character from beginning to end.

Yikes. Sounds like a major flaw of the screenplay.

 

[Miss Rori]

Yikes. Sounds like a major flaw of the screenplay.

It seems to be a common criticism in the professional reviews that the characterizations in this film are thin, with only Asha and Magnifico having actual personalities as opposed to one or two traits (most obviously with The Teens). Indeed, a striking issue gleaned from many reviews is that the story isn't driven by how the characters interact with each other and are changed by their relationships; there are no moving relationship moments cited. It's like plot point, plot point, plot point (a common complaint leveled at a lot of superhero, etc. films these days).

 

[TsWade2]

Oh I know. I’m just pointing out again that we shouldn’t take these critic ratings so seriously. Critics aren’t infallible and don’t necessarily represent audience reactions.

You're right! Critics are stupid anyway.

 

[Disney Analyst]

Well that was delightful. The film is gorgeous. Yes it’s certainly a different animation style for Disney, but I really enjoyed it. Felt like a blend of the classic with the new.

The music is fun, especially the “fight” song.

I chuckled a fair number of times, and the audience around me seemed to be as equally engaged and enthused.

The ending got me emotional, and all the subtle (and sometimes not subtle) references were a beautiful throwback.

It feels like a good classic Disney musical film, with a great story, a heartfelt message, and oozes with the Disney magic we all fell in love with as kids.

I think this will have legs.

 

[LittleBuford]

Well that was delightful. The film is gorgeous. Yes it’s certainly a different animation style for Disney, but I really enjoyed it. Felt like a blend of the classic with the new.

The music is fun, especially the “fight” song.

I chuckled a fair number of times, and the audience around me seemed to be as equally engaged and enthused.

The ending got me emotional, and all the subtle (and sometimes not subtle) references were a beautiful throwback.

It feels like a good classic Disney musical film, with a great story, a heartfelt message, and oozes with the Disney magic we all fell in love with as kids.

I think this will have legs.

Glad you liked it! I hope I feel similarly!