Disney Animation Marks 100 Years by Celebrating Its Own Wishing Star

It’s an essential Disney character you in all probability by no means thought an excessive amount of about: the star, as within the “When You Wish Upon a Star” that Jiminy Cricket sings about, the star that Princess Tiana seems as much as ask for her palace restaurant, and the star that Simba gazes at whereas lacking his father. Now, the star is getting an origin story, within the type of animated movie Wish.

And I’m right here for it—you know if Marvel got here out with motion pictures in regards to the origin of every Infinity Stone, you’d watch them. In Wish, we’ll learn how this supply of Disney magic that has guided the tales we all know and love over the corporate’s first 100 years got here to be. According to Walt Disney Animation’s Chief Creative Officer Jennifer Lee, it’ll be the right story to have a good time the studio’s centennial.

“How did the wishing star, upon which so many characters wished, come to be?” directors Chris Buck (Frozen) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (Raya and the Last Dragon) requested the D23 Expo viewers earlier than revealing beautiful idea artwork of their Afro-Latine heroine, Asha (Ariana DeBose), described as a 17-year-previous “optimist with a sharp wit who cares endlessly about her community.” We had been additionally launched to her kingdom, Rosas, a spot the place needs come true. Using watercolors and 2D textures, the animation model will meld the conventional look of Disney animation classics with CG. It brings to thoughts the attractive Disney animated brief Paperman, which additionally used that method, and I’m so thrilled to see the artwork kind used to inform this particular story.

When Asha finds herself in a second of desperation, she makes a plea to the heavens—which hails down one little ball of cosmic energy referred to as “Star” to assist her face highly effective foes in a brand new musical journey. If you’re very influenced by Disney magic, this appears to have all of it in an enormous manner, like an Oscar-successful expertise with a voice for these “I want” songs (written by Grammy-nominated pop songwriter Julia Michaels), which DeBose previewed with a efficiency of “More for Us” from the Wish soundtrack. She’s the Disney heroine we’d like and I already need to hearken to over and over.

Also, tright here’s a cute sidekick, a goat named Valentino, voiced by Disney good-luck allure Alan Tudyk, and the writing staff contains Lee herself, whose credit embrace a little franchise referred to as Frozen. So I’d say the animation studio’s fairytale legacy is in the suitable palms for this origin story, which additionally teased some sudden Easter eggs for Disney followers. I for one have to understand how the hierarchy of fairy godmothers got here to be and if Star goes to be set as much as change into the Nick Fury of the Disney Princess universe. (Listen, we’re allowed to be this fashion if all the opposite fandoms are.)

Wish is about to launch fall 2023.

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