Why Disney's Wish Isn't Enchanting the Box Office (2024)

Wish is the latest animated movie from Disney, but it's far from the greatest. The movie has received tepid reviews from critics and audiences, and this has been reflected in the movie's monetary performance. Being beaten at the box office by a few unexpected contenders, the movie is currently set to be a major box office disappointment.

As unfortunate as it is for Disney's prospects, many somewhat saw it coming. The reason for the movie's failure are many, and it's building upon a notable downturn for Disney's brand as a whole. From the uninspired songs to the less-than-polished animation, it's clear that Wish isn't anything that audiences' hearts desire.

Why Disney's Wish Has a Low Rotten Tomatoes Score

There was a lot riding on Wish, and for a lot of reasons. The movie is the final film coming from Disney in 2023, which marks the 100th anniversary of the Disney studio. It was also a return to formula with the magical musical being made in a similar vein to various Disney Princess movies of the past. The concept of wishes being granted and several other elements in the movie were meant to be nostalgic callbacks. Conversely, the movie even acts as the origin story for the studio's iconic wishing star. Sadly, none of this amounted to much critical success, with the movie being seen as middling at best.

The main issue with Wish is how bland the movie is, with many finding the movie to be a menial version of older, better movies. Nothing stood out in a way that felt fresh or creative. Conversely, the callbacks to Disney's history were mostly halfhearted, and this was reflected in the marketing. Not only did many viewers fail to realize the significance of the star in Wish, but the movie's nostalgic nature as a whole came off as an afterthought. The movie currently boasts a 49% rating on the review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, marking the movie as "rotten." It's definitely a poor state of affairs for a movie that was meant to celebrate what was once the premiere name in animation, but the reception -- both critically and at the box office -- ultimately makes a lot of sense.

Wish's Soundtrack Is Not Among Disney's Best

Perhaps the biggest issue with Wish is the movie's soundtrack. Even some of the most standard Disney animated musicals of the past were able to coast by due to great songs. In the "Disney Renaissance" era, said musicals were known for being breezy, epic and beautiful, with the songs still being highly regarded and remembered to this day. That's not at all the case with Wish, however, with some actually accusing the songs of being created by AI. Most fans have found that there aren't any truly memorable tracks, and this likely led to the lack of pre-release hype.

The biggest offender was easily "This Is the Thanks I Get?!", the character song for Chris Pine's villainous King Magnifico. The song is meant to define him and be his equivalent to tracks such as "Hellfire" and "Be Prepared" from The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Lion King. Unfortunately, the song isn't worthy at all of a tense villain, and instead (despite Magnifico's claims otherwise) makes him come off as petulant and pathetic. The lyrics in particular have been heavily criticized, with the redundant line "I let you live hеre for free and I don't even charge you rent" being lambasted by many. Furthermore, it feels like a lackluster pop song than something cinematic, and it's part and parcel with the quality of the Wish soundtrack in general.

Wish's Villain Is Not Particularly Compelling

King Magnifico is a problem for the movie in other ways. The uninspired theme song illustrates how poorly thought out the character was, as he's rarely menacing or frightening. At times, he doesn't feel like a villain at all, forcing the movie to play up his antagonism to a cartoonish extreme in order to make him fit the role. His modus operandi is that he steals people's wishes, taking them from people with the false promise of granting them one day. It's a ridiculous premise that doesn't work at all, namely, because it's so unrelatable and esoteric.

With villains such as Scar from the classic movie The Lion King, even their most evil actions have some sort of tangible premise. His killing of Mufasa was in order for him to gain the throne for himself. Likewise, Claude Frolo's eventual desire was to kill Esmeralda due to the intense lust she inspired in his depraved heart. Something as petty and buffoonish as hoarding people's wishes is a poor comparison to these ideas, and it all came together to make the villain of Wish seem like a joke.

Wish's Art Style Looks Particularly Uninspired

Another somewhat bland and generic element from Disney's Wish is the movie's art style and animation. Despite the fact that the movie cost around $200 million USD, many have noted a lack of polish in the finished product. There's almost nothing that feels inventive or as if it's taken Disney animation in a bold new direction. The star mascot is somewhat unique looking, but that's mainly due to how bland and blasé everything else is. This includes the movie's protagonist Asha, who simply looks like an AI creation of the typical Disney Princess aesthetic.

Further compounding things is the fact the movie came out in the wake of much more energetic animated movies. Chief among these was Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the sequel to the 2018 movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. The first movie revolutionized the state of animated Hollywood movies due to its plethora of styles and experimental aesthetics. This continued with the follow-up, with Puss in Boots: The Last Wish and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem also having similarly unique art styles. This made them appeal to kids while standing out from the crowd of other animated movies. Wish had none of that, and the rote nature of the movie reflects the current status of the studio behind it.

The Disney Brand Is Not in The Best Place

Sadly, the failure of Wish is only one of several proverbial beatings that Disney has taken in the past year or so. 2022 wasn't a great time for the company's animated movies, with Lightyear being a notable misfire. It was both critically and financially a disappointment, especially given the fact that it was a spinoff of the iconic Toy Story franchise. This was followed later that year by Strange World, and while it received more positive critical reception, it was largely rejected by audiences and became one of the biggest box office bombs of all time. These were major blows to the reputation of Disney and Pixar, with 2023's animated movie Elemental only being able to possibly squeak toward the break-even point at the box office.

Beyond the main Disney brand, Disney's extended umbrella has also seen some rainy weather. For instance, there hasn't been a theatrical Star Wars movie in four years, with attempts to get one off the ground constantly falling through. Conversely, while many of the Disney+ streaming shows have been successful, more controversial and negatively-received entries such as The Book of Boba Fett and Obi-Wan began to chip away at the brand's popularity.

The same is now happening with Marvel Studios, with multiple TV shows such as Secret Invasion having some combination of poor reviews, poor viewership or both. The same goes for the movies, which are now reaching unexpected critical and box office lows. Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania was a critical and financial flop. While The Marvels was seen as merely middling, it had the worst opening for an MCU movie, and it's only getting worse for its monetary prospects.

From essentially every angle, the Disney brand has lost its luster. That's without even getting into some of the company's more political scandals, though those have definitely made it less of a "family-friendly" corporation for large swathes of the US population. Probably the biggest branding issue has been the Disney+ streaming service, which trained audiences to simply wait until movies are available there instead of watching them in theaters. It's unknown if that's what happened with Wish, as many simply seem disinterested in the movie as a whole. More than likely, it's a combination of multiple problems that have made the celebratory movie into such a letdown.

Wish is now playing in theaters.

Wish

PG

Adventure

Comedy

Wish will follow a young girl named Asha who wishes on a star and gets a more direct answer than she bargained for when a trouble-making star comes down from the sky to join her.

Release Date

November 22, 2023

Director

Fawn Veerasunthorn , Chris Buck

Cast

Chris Pine , Alan Tudyk , Ariana DeBose , Evan Peters

Runtime

1 Hour 35 Minutes

Main Genre

Animation

Production Company

Walt Disney Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures