Wish (Walt Disney Animation - November 2023)

[Stitch's Grandfather]

And I'm actually a little concerned that Disney does not know how to make good content any more.

And perhaps counterintuitively, cutting out a ton of process, rewrites, reshoots, etc. will not only drive down costs but potentially improve quality. Disney may have too many cooks in the kitchen, stifling young talent.

If I were an exec in the Disney Animation space, I would try to understand current bottlenecks and if overhead/process are helping in any way. There's probably entire layers of that org that could be eliminated and not only would nothing be lost, things would improve.

Looking at the original storyboards for Wish, it seems like the most interesting aspects of the story were whittled away by timid beancounting execs. What was the cost to make all the changes from the leaked storyboards to the final product? And did those changes help in any way?

 

[Stitch's Grandfather]

On the above anecdote, I imagine a lot of families do that with Disney+...

Subscribe for 3 months for summer vacation, then cancel when the kids go back to school. Or subscribe for December to watch Christmas stuff on school break, etc.

That's us right now. Canceled all our streaming services since we're gone most often than we're home this month. Kids can get by with Amazon, PBS, etc. for a few days.

 

[brideck]

And I'm actually a little concerned that Disney does not know how to make good content any more.

Hasn't everything in the animated space (outside of Strange World) gotten an A-range Cinemascore? That implies that people who actually go and see them think they're good.

 

[Phroobar]

Hasn't everything in the animated space (outside of Strange World) gotten an A-range Cinemascore? That implies that people who actually go and see them think they're good.

The company calculates its “CinemaScore” movie grades for major movie releases in the U.S. and Canada by polling a regionally-balanced and statistically robust sample of opening night moviegoers.

That is when the fanatics showed up. Of course they would give it an A. Then they never returned to see it again and neither did anyone else.

 

[LittleBuford]

That is when the fanatics showed up. Of course they would give it an A.

If that were so, every film would get an A. They don’t.

 

[Casper Gutman]

Where is this flood of awful content, exactly? Lightyear and Strange World always get brought up, though their awfulness seems very overrated. Ant-Man 3 was a disappointment. Thor 4 was controversial. Beyond that, the Marvels was good. TLM had a great lead performance and was on par with the earlier live action remake megahits. Elemental was enjoyable and its extraordinary legs demonstrated this.

So is the assumption that the disappointing but not miserable Ant-Man, Strange World, and Lightyear killed a decade-long reputation for quality? Because that seems like a heck of a stretch.

 

[Sir_Cliff]

Well the question is, do the subjects of Rosas really know what they are giving up by giving their wishes/dreams to Magnifico to hold and potentially grant later? That is not made apparent. Its made to seem that because they have no memory of what they told Magnifico, because its a secret between them and Magnifico, that they never really know what they ultimately gave up.

They don't know what their specific wishes are, but they do know they are giving their wishes to him and they know what wishes are in the abstract as some of them do get granted in front of the whole kingdom. The situation with Asha and her grandfather also suggests that they know the wish, whatever it was, is important as he spent his life hoping his got granted.

I guess you could call it a plot hole if you really think that the subjects of Rosas can't be ignorant of the situation and can't be better overall by knowing their wishes/dreams to achieve them on their own.

The plot hole, for me, is Asha's surprise and finding out most wishes won't be granted as that much should have been obvious to everyone involved, not them being better off knowing their wishes/dreams. I'm sure this will differ from viewer to viewer, but I think it would have been more effective if they could have more dramatically demonstrated to Asha and then the population just how profound a part of themselves they were giving up and had that be the big reveal. Showing wishes like flying, singing, or mountain climbing and then suggesting the lives of the people of Rosas were ultimately empty because they weren't doing those things suggests most people in this world who aren't eccentric billionaires are also living empty, unfulfilled lives out in the suburbs and cooped up in their workplaces.

 

[Disney Irish]

They don't know what their specific wishes are, but they do know they are giving their wishes to him and they know what wishes are in the abstract as some of them do get granted in front of the whole kingdom. The situation with Asha and her grandfather also suggests that they know the wish, whatever it was, is important as he spent his life hoping his got granted.

The plot hole, for me, is Asha's surprise and finding out most wishes won't be granted as that much should have been obvious to everyone involved, not them being better off knowing their wishes/dreams. I'm sure this will differ from viewer to viewer, but I think it would have been more effective if they could have more dramatically demonstrated to Asha and then the population just how profound a part of themselves they were giving up and had that be the big reveal. Showing wishes like flying, singing, or mountain climbing and then suggesting the lives of the people of Rosas were ultimately empty because they weren't doing those things suggests most people in this world who aren't eccentric billionaires are also living empty, unfulfilled lives out in the suburbs and cooped up in their workplaces.

And this is where I differ in my view, as you think it should be obvious on the whole wish system. But most teenagers are oblivious to the world around them. And for that matter, so are most people when it comes to their own self interests. Asha is a young 17/18 yr old girl that is naive to the whole wish granting process. To her prior to her "interview" she thinks everyone has an equal chance of getting their wish granted. You even have her and her friends talking about how the assistant in previous years automatically getting their families wished granted. The big reveal is actually that life isn't what it seems on the surface. That Magnifico dictates who gets their wish granted not based on some fair system as is the public facing system, but based on the whim of a king who fears losing his power if the wrong wish is granted. And these are not wishes like "I want to be king", these are the ones we keep talking about, like Asha's grandfather who just wants to be inspiring through song.

As for the losing one's self when the wishes are taken. To me this all shows that when you take away ones wishes/dreams you are left without a life of fulfillment. This is shown in one of Asha's friends where he is just a lump instead of having a life of excitement by becoming one of the palace guards.

Basically the whole morale of the story is to live out your wishes and dreams, don't wait on others to decide and dictate them for you.

 

[Miss Rori]

I'm sure this will differ from viewer to viewer, but I think it would have been more effective if they could have more dramatically demonstrated to Asha and then the population just how profound a part of themselves they were giving up and had that be the big reveal. Showing wishes like flying, singing, or mountain climbing and then suggesting the lives of the people of Rosas were ultimately empty because they weren't doing those things suggests most people in this world who aren't eccentric billionaires are also living empty, unfulfilled lives out in the suburbs and cooped up in their workplaces.

Yeah, I find that concept rather insulting myself. I have a lot of things I'd like to be working on but I need to make sure I have a roof over my head, food on the table, etc., and obtaining those things tends to get in the way of just running off to follow my dreams. (If anything, given how people in Rosas live the life of Riley they really should have no problems having it both ways - they're only giving up one wish!) Not to mention a lot of stories are specifically about how people can have fulfilling lives for themselves and others by being a functioning part of their communities and appreciating the little things (It's a Wonderful Life, Soul, etc.) rather than just moping about the big things that Life often gets in the way of doing.

 

[BuddyThomas]

So far:

Wish (2023) - Awards - IMDb

Wish (2023) - Awards, nominations, and wins

m.imdb.com

 

[Miss Rori]

And keep in mind Christmas with The Chosen is a Fathom Events limited-run program that has, at most, three screenings per day at each theater. There is generally an upcharge for Fathom Events IIRC, but then, there's an upcharge for 3D screenings of Wish (I presume it lost any remaining Dolby Cinema screens to Wonka).

I was surprised it was still playing on as many screens as it is, but get the sense, going by theaters in my area and a friend's note, that Wish's screen count has come by being demoted to smaller auditoriums in multiplexes, possibly sharing screens with other movies such as one-off reduced-price screenings of Christmas movies like Love Actually and Elf. Given next weekend brings in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (though to be honest, WB seems to have already given up on that one) and especially Migration, alongside the possibility that Wonka will have good legs, there will probably be a big loss in screens for Wish then.

 

[Miss Rori]

On the level of deceit, though, Asha's reaction is the equivalent of somebody walking into the lottery headquarters, being scandalised when she realises most people won't win the lottery, and then leading all the people who buy lottery tickets to lock up the CEO.

David Poland's review for his The Hot Button newsletter really goes into this. He points out that Asha goes straight from learning this to effectively deciding that all of Rosas is built on a lie. And while Magnifico's humiliation of her and her family afterward is petty and mean, she is acting out of spite and self-interest in trying to steal her grandfather's willingly given wish back, endangering people she considers her friends and loved ones, and otherwise in the action that follows. She nearly ruins the realm all over lazy grandpa not getting a wish he could have easily obtained for himself years ago!

(In a related issue, if all the people of Rosas are stars and together are powerful enough to banish black magic and wish Magnifico into purgatory, why don't everyone's individual wishes instantly come true upon being returned to their newly empowered selves? And why does Asha get a wand? She'll just end up becoming like Magnifico...)

 

[brb1006]

 

[Phroobar]

David Poland's review for his The Hot Button newsletter really goes into this. He points out that Asha goes straight from learning this to effectively deciding that all of Rosas is built on a lie. And while Magnifico's humiliation of her and her family afterward is petty and mean, she is acting out of spite and self-interest in trying to steal her grandfather's willingly given wish back, endangering people she considers her friends and loved ones, and otherwise in the action that follows. She nearly ruins the realm all over lazy grandpa not getting a wish he could have easily obtained for himself years ago!

(In a related issue, if all the people of Rosas are stars and together are powerful enough to banish black magic and wish Magnifico into purgatory, why don't everyone's individual wishes instantly come true upon being returned to their newly empowered selves? And why does Asha get a wand? She'll just end up becoming like Magnifico...)

I dare everyone to confront Asha with these facts during a meet and greet at Disneyland.

 

[TsWade2]

View attachment 759140

Well, it didn’t do me justice here in the United States, but hey, not bad Japan! Not bad!

 

[brb1006]

Well, it didn’t do me justice here in the United States, but hey, not bad Japan! Not bad!

Japan has a longtime for doing decent Japanese dubs and translations for Disney and Pixar Films. Been lessening to tons of Disney Films in Japanese on Disney+ recently which really makes me appreciate the art of foreign dubs.

 

[TP2000]

If it can hold this $3.2M forecast in its fourth weekend of release on over 3,000 screens, it might just beat something called "Christmas With the Chosen: Holy Night". We'll have to wait and see.

Wish made it! In 3,100 theaters nationwide, and it beat that stupid old Christmas movie from a small indie studio.

 

[TsWade2]

You know, based on the global box office, I think Wish is doing well at the box office after all! Well, more or less.

 

[TP2000]

You know, based on the global box office, I think Wish is doing well at the box office after all! Well, more or less.

How do you figure that? Wish is tracking to be a historic bomb globally, and is getting far less global box office than recent animated movies from Disney and its competition. Wish is only beating Strange World at the global box office.

Wish is going to lose at least $200 Million for Disney. That's $200 Million that wasn't spent on the parks. Currently, there are no new rides being built in any of Disney's American theme parks even though five of the six parks are woefully short of ride capacity (Disneyland needs more ride capacity, but not as badly as the other five parks), there is no night parade in any park in WDW or Disneyland Resort, and there is nothing announced to begin construction in Florida or California anytime soon.

And Wish just vaporized $200 Million in cash. There is no way to look at that and describe it as "doing well".

 

[Disney Irish]

How do you figure that? Wish is tracking to be a historic bomb globally, and is getting far less global box office than recent animated movies from Disney and its competition. Wish is only beating Strange World at the global box office.

Wish is going to lose at least $200 Million for Disney. That's $200 Million that wasn't spent on the parks. Currently, there are no new rides being built in any of Disney's American theme parks even though five of the six parks are woefully short of ride capacity (Disneyland needs more ride capacity, but not as badly as the other five parks), there is no night parade in any park in WDW or Disneyland Resort, and there is nothing announced to begin construction in Florida or California anytime soon.

And Wish just vaporized $200 Million in cash. There is no way to look at that and describe it as "doing well".

If the kid wants to look at it as doing well comparatively now that some of the larger international markets are starting to open for Wish, let him.

With Australia, Brazil, and a few other major markets left to open there is potential for more gains in the coming weeks. It likely won't bridge the gap, but it could make the sting not as bad.