Asha: No single person should have control over wishes! Also Asha: *gains sole control over wishes*

Just the female Disney protagonist from the 90's are so diverse in personality, you got Ariel who is curious and naive; Meg who is sassy and funny; Belle who is adventurous and selfless; MULAN who is clumsy but determined (the perfect balance of both releatable and admirable character). Seriously Disney, what happened?!

The movie literally gives us no reason to care for her. They tell us her daddy dies but does absolutely nothing with it. It’s not her motivation, it doesn’t leave some trauma or grief or some kinda obstacle she must overcome on a personal journey. There’s no mystery to her, she isn’t a thematic presence in the bigger story, there is no lesson for her to learn here, she’s just a plain, boring protagonist to follow. Disney really dropped the ball with this film imo… EDIT: Y’all, thank you so much for the likes, most I’ve ever had 🙏

I know the adorkable personality was created as a response to the criticism that Disney princesses were way too prim and proper and were an unreachable role model for women but I feel like we overcorrected a little. You don't need to have every protagonist be super lady-like but the adorkable personality should be used only when it makes sense otherwise you do something different, it made sense for Rapunzel and Anna and Mirabel due to their backgrounds, for Asha it makes no sense. She acts as a tour guide of the kingdom, she has seven friends, she got a job as an aprentice to the King, how do you manage to acomplish all these things when you can't go two steps without tripping over your own feet or blurbing out nonsense?

Asha could’ve been a elegant yet relatable character, who is so professional, ambitious, optimistic, intellectual, soft-spoken, bookworm-ish and competent that she comes off as an asocial, workaholic, and lonely killjoy with amateur magic skills, and her character arc would becoming less satisfied then questioning the totalitarianism of the wicked king and queen of Rosas, recognize the beauty and fun of life, work smart to make your own wishes come true and improves her own magic, become more anti-totalitarian social with the help of her true love Starboy.

Asha's "i want" is basically about other people. We know nothing about her as her. Mirabel wants a power, Vanellope wants to race, Moana wants to explore, Asha wants...more than this? What is this.

She has zero character development. They give her what she wants without losing anything. Her father doesn't count because we, the audience, didn't know him. The king is actually a good person. He only grants the wishes the benefit his kingdom or ones that won't harm his people but Asha stomps over that. If they went with what they originally intended, where Asha was the kings daughter and the queen was evil too, then maybe the story would have been better. How this plot got the green light, I will never know.

Asha: "You guys just think you're so much better than me!" *Gwen Stacy, Nimona, Ember*

Personally I would have made Asha be Magnifico and Amaya's actualy daughter because then not only is there real conflict but she would've been the first Disney princess to have her actual parents be villains since all the others have been step parents. (Lady Tremaine, Evil Queen, and Mother Gothel) I also would've given Asha a personality similar to Elsa and Mulan rather than Anna and Rapunzel

The more i learn about Wish's ORIGINAL story, art, and ideas, the more l end up HATING the way Wish turned out.

I’d read somewhere that Asha was originally supposed to be the daughter of King Magnifico and his wife, meaning he’s not just teaching her magic because we needed some way to connect them he’s trying to pass down his role as the wish granting king to his daughter. That could have lead to an interesting storyline where the grandfather has seen the negative changes in his son and wants his son to give up the wish granting power, making the grandfather’s wish that his son will stop granting wishes. I think a more interesting storyline with the star would have been finding out that Magnifico had captured another star, possibly the Blue Fairy from Pinocchio, and was using its power to grant wishes, so this other star boy comes down to find out what happened to the Star girl and ends up meeting up with Asha and they work together.

Ariana DeBose did her best, but she couldn’t save this terribly written character.

They forgot the main rule of musicals - when something is too emotional to say it, sing it. When it's too intense for just song, dance and sing. I can't believe Disney forgot it's roots like that. And a love story is way more interesting than this bullshit about wishes, or Raya and dragon stones. Love gives us SO much meaning and motivation. It gives characters the same.

I found Asha boring. She's a nice girl... that's it! Yes she is pretty but not brave like Mulan or adventurous like Kida or kind like Belle. Asha never learns how to fight or protect her freinds and her family. All i knew about her is that her father was dead, her grandpa didn't get his wish granted. Not enough to make me care about her dreams and life. Also, her dress is very similar to Rapuzel's purple dress; she has a goat like Esmeralda AND looks like a fusion of Isaberlla from Encanto (For the face) and Pocahontas for the long flowy hair. Her name is original but not her design 🙁

There were some moments where I genuinely got mad at Asha as a protagonist and while I did like Ariana Debose’s performance of her, Asha’s character didn’t resonate enough with me

My three girl cousins age 4, 6, and 10 all disliked the film. They love the older Disney films. Elementary kids are literally talking more about Godzilla Minus One and not Wish. This is the target audience! I have faith in our future generations!

the original ideas were so good, star boy was a shape shifter, he turning into "yellow luma" to hide and pass as some kind of doll so he could get into the castle would still make that plushie and keep him for interactions and plot. Asha should of be an actual princess and her parents the evil super in love queen/king couple, you still end up with her "takind down the government" but at least it would of been more entertaining.

I think a major reason why they changed the Star from a potential boy love interest to a marketable plushy is Disney's recent attempts at depicting anything but a 'traditional romance', or having male characters that 'save' or have some advantage over the female characters. Cant have a boy with magical powers to swoop in and teach the female protagonist a lesson.

How did a duck… an ILLUMINATION duck, get more character development, then this main character from a DISNEY movie? I’m genuinely confused

I think it's interesting how the film tried so hard to make King Magnifico entirely irredeemable. Even his wife who had been with him for years was just like: "Well, I guess the evil spell book says he's unsavable, so let's just let trap him in glass forever!" My heart honestly ached for the king at the end. Where if his character had been a woman, they would've redeemed her and probably blamed all her bad actions on some evil man in her life.

She sucks because she is a non-character, literally. Across the story she doesnt change, she doesnt grow, and she doesnt learn anything... There is nothing there to relate to, and her characeristics like being quirky, doesnt do her any favor. Worse is that the story constructs her to be more of a villain than a heroine... As she brings down what is essentially an Utopia, all for a tantrum (which wasnt worth it because her grandfather had the skills all along to make his wish come true)... Worse is how they went from demonizing Magnifico for deciding who gets their wishes granted and for holding all the power, while Asha is praised for granted every wish and she holding all the power... They went from one extreme to another (not even an extreme as Magnífico's stance on the whole issue was the most reasonable. Making the middle ground), and worse is that there isnt a single reasoning as to why Asha ia a better candidate than Magnífico, if anything she is the worst choice. Either way this movie is a mess which cant decide what story its trying to tell.

Also, the King who is depicted as the villain of the story is the guy who did not force anybody to his island kingdom, made sure that not all wishes were granted because many could either be achieved by the people on their own merit or they would have severe repercussions if they were to occur, and he had pretty much brought peace and prosperity to his people without any consideration for himself. This places himself as a hero whereas Asha tramples over his decisions, thinks he is an unfair person to see that good things should be taken in moderation, and acts for her own selfish interests, which in turn cause so much harm as the king had predicted. Furthermore, because no real lesson is learned, Asha never sees the fact that the King was right from the start or that she should go down a path towards selflessness as a means of bettering the world.

I don’t hate the adorkable lead cliché, but can you please stop making them, Disney! And most importantly, why keep doing so?

I enjoyed the fanarts of Asha and Starboy more than I enjoyed Asha in her movie XD

I have to side with Magnifico on this one. He created Rosas as a nice place to live where people are happy, and he keeps the peace by controlling the wishes so nobody gets hurt. Sure, he's a bit vain and controlling, but he is the king after all and that's his right. Now compare the character development in Wish to Puss in Boots 2 for a night and day difference in what you can do with an animated movie.

She’s even worse than the main character from strange word because at least the main character in that movie had A CHARACTER ARC. And Asha doesn’t have one. How bad is that?

I hate how bouncy and squishy the characters look. Its so childish. Disney used to be so elegant and mature.

We literally already Bruce Almighty to show us why just granting everyone’s wishes is a bad idea. Asha is objectively wrong

you said exactly what I was thinking. We learn nothing about asha or her own goals and aspirations. We don’t even get time to sympathize with her because her father is so brushed over it feels like she doesn’t have much of a connection with him. Her relationships with her family and friends are hollow. We never see any true obstacles for her. She’s the perfect main character with not a single flaw but flaws are what make characters interesting. They make them feel real. Asha is the first disney protagonist that feels like she doesn’t have a personality. We don’t see her having emotional connections we see her saying she does. She’s quirky and she’s a good person and that’s it. Last protagonists had so much more to them. Talking about who she’s been compared to most mirabel was deeply empathetic she was also rude and snarky and pushy. Rapunzel was naive at times and dismissive. Anna was a romantic but she also rushed into things without considering the consequences. Moana was passionate but she was also headstrong which got her in trouble before maui was even in the picture. Asha has NOTHING. deeply disappointing

To me the biggest issue is she has no real goal or dream of her own. Instead this whole movie is based upon her helping her Grandfathers dream, which was kind of weak to begin with imo. You can't even say her dream was helping others, as most the movie all she cared about was her own Grandpa's dream and no one else's. Working solely for the dream of another could of worked, if she was shown to be closer to her Grandpa but her history was rushed in the extreme to the point we didn't even know her dad was dead till a throw away line later on. Honestly it would of worked best if her best friend/romantic interest that was a bit older than her had her dream taken and that spurred the movie on. She could of seen her friend's life die as the dream was taken, even remember what the dream was that her friend now can't seem to grasp etc. That would of worked far more than a Grandpa who had a dream like 80 years ago no one can remember.

Asha's story should have been her gradually seeing the cracks in the system. The star showing up would he the biggest crack, as maybe she saw Magnifico as all knowing and benevolent even after he denies her request. His hunting of the star would be her first true point to change. The star boy being mute would be a nice reference and reuse of The Little Mermaid, him having to communicate with his hands and powers. Her being an awkward yet loyal girl who eventually rises up and goes against the system she wanted to he a part of would have been very interesting to watch.

The Disney corporation is their own worse enemy, they continue to censor and restrict the people they hired to do what they're supposed to do. I'm pretty sure that corp Disney knows nothing about writing stories or making characters. They need to let their artist be artist, trust me they know what they're doing obviously. The fact not only did they get rid of a new potential and never before seen hero couple, they also got rid of the villain couple. Imagine how cool that would be to see the hero couple go against the villan couple. That shit would go so hard. Also have no doubt they had other cool ideas. But it seems like corporations (not just Disney) wont let artist do their fucking jobs. Too scared to offend the sensitive crowd's that complain about everything. Despite the trash being out these days artist do still exist, and they aren't scared to take risk. But the people above them won't let them do what they need to do. Remember all the patience and care it went into the little mermaid song 'part of your world?' Remember when the animators went out to china to study the culture for Mulan? Those things no doubt took a lot of time but it was worth it. Now it seems like they can't even have a month to fully flesh out a story. This is why corp Disney needs to focus on the corporation aspect of the business and the writers and animators focus on the actual art.

As someone who recently passed through children's literature, just the general synopsis and soundtrack was already telling me how bad Aisha was written. Like the story needs to be driven by the protagonists' will and Aisha has no will of her own! She is selfless but without a goal she wants to achieve for herself. The 'I Want' song was literally all about highlighting that very goal, their own dream. And then we're not even talking how on paper, she de-stabilizes a peaceful kingdom because they aren't getting even more privilige despite living in a near utopia. No taxes, no discrimination or crime. As cringy as Magnifico's villain song is, I understand exactly how he feels, but Aisha? How am I supposed to understand wrecking a kingdom out of greed and being rewarded for it?

Wish: *celebrates a 100 year anniversay by making Asha a girl boss, the star a plushie & annoying but less motivated villains but ended up failed miserably as well as the film* Walt Disney's Ghost: You have failed me for the last time.

bruh we got a Luma Rip-off instead of a love interest that could have added more? WEAK DISNEY MOVE

The fact that Disney lost to a Kaiju movie and a Ghibli movie this year at the box office is hilarious and sad 😂

I feel like so much of the movie could have been fixed if A. Asha wanted to become the Kings appreprentice because her father and the king were close,she sees her father in magnifico so she wants to believe hes doing good and to find out he had been holding the wishes for a selfish purpose would give added depth to her being distraught and give a reason for why Magnifico said he knew him OR B. Asha was the daughter of the king and queen and was born with no magic,she believes that the wishes arent good until she meets starboy who was locked up by her parents and she finds the value in wishes and fun- ANYTHING TO ADD DEPTH

Asha can easily be described as the standard template for a modern Disney heroine, or modern heroines in general. Let's be honest here, the west only uses two archetypes now for females: headstrong girl boss, and adorable/awkward girl. As long as activists say, that being feminine is something bad, we will never get another motherly figure such as Mrs. Brisby, an innocent, naive girl such as Giselle from Enchanted, a big sister type such as Franky from Foster's Home, a sexy one like Nessa, a clumsy one such as Lola Bunny (Looney Tunes version), an evil and vain one like Gruntilda, a gold digger like Mrs. Tweety, or an animal lover such as Bubbles from the PPGs.

Tiana is by far the best princess that knew how to handle a Wish from a Star

Asha: Character that loves to destroy a person (that is mean to her) life. Tells people that the king is such a bad person and manipulating her friends to believe Magnifico lied to them the whole time. Magnifico never lied. He told Asha people come there willingly to give there wishes and to give in there memories of what they want to be. That means people aware that there memory of that wish will be removed. Magnifico didn't steel there wishes because he was a careless evil theif. It's because he once made a Wish that destroyed his homelands. (The angry people) was possibly made up so Asha doesn't get frightened that a wish destroyed his homelands. He didn't want anything happening again (ALL OF THIS SO THAT DOESNT HAPPEN AGAIN). He knew Asha made that mistake he did. He was trying desperately to stop that star that Asha was with. Unfortunately he was controlled with his anger by the book and opened it and his soul was consumed and Evil Magic took over his body

I think the plot could have worked without making Star and Asha lovers. They could have done a Disney princess version of "Lilo and Stitch."

I know Kuzco from The Emperor's New Groove started out as a villain and was redeemed at the end. But what if there is a protagonist who is a villain through and through ? In that case, Asha, whose motivation seems more questionable than heroic.

My girlfriend is a huge disney fangirl,and i was really into it too. And i was disinterested the whole movie,and my girlfriend who remembers everything disney forgot about the villian's and most of the character's names in a week,which shows how forgettable it was. After seeing the star boy and the evil power couple villains concept art,fellas we've been robbed of a good movie due to disney's recent obsession equating romance to weakness

Here’s a good way to look at this whole issue: a good lead is changed by their dynamic/relation/encounter with the antagonist by the end of the story. Asha is not changed in virtually any way beyond a mild snap out of her “charming derp”and naïveté. On the flip side, because of her, Magnifico goes from a benevolent (if a bit egotistical) king who granted wishes, housed charitably his subjects, and was a loving husband to his wife, to a man desperate to keep things from breaking down as he’s seen before with untamed magic to the point where he resorts to magic that perverts just to keep things in a form of check that served everyone so well up until she showed up. She’s the villain who won! From the moment she learns how things in Rosas works: her family goat is no longer useful to its purpose (no slaughter, sale, or as a beast of burden) because it’s now sapient; the people are now disenfranchised to a great many things; the queen is no longer a loyal, caring woman to her spouse but bitter and unforgiving; and the kingdom is now doomed to have her incompetent ass playing judge on who gets their wishes and who doesn’t. And the worst part is, beyond that one lady who wanted to fly, every wish we’re made privy to in the film are all generic enough that they could come true by merely getting off one’s own ass and working for it!🤨 The trailer made it seem like the star was gonna come down because of her and start wantonly granting wishes proving to her the king was actually right and wishes can’t always come true because they can be dangerous or reckless. But nope, it only turns a bunch of animals in the immediate vicinity into whimsical talking critters just for a shitty song and then just tags along like a puppy until giving her the king’s job before leaving back to the night sky. In every revolution, the outcome is to go from one tyrant to another.

“We were on the verge of greatness.” “We were this close.”

In a flourishing kingdom, our main narcissist wishes for "more than this." Weak and unmemorable.

I wouldn’t she’s bad or the worst, she more of the same characters we’ve been seeing in the last few years.

"We root for Asha because the fact king is a bad guy who *only grants wishes that he deems are good for Rosas* which isn't explained well." What a villain? Are we sure we aren't following an 'evil' or at least selfish protagonist?

THE MOST FRUSTRATING PART IS TO SEE WHAT WE COULD HAVE HAD. The sketches of concept art and stuff is so amazing!

Asha is such a nothingburger of a character, Mirabel is a similar type of character but she actually works because Encanto is about generational trauma, she's socially isolated and she has to deal with the conflict of family, it's like this movie doesn't even know who Asha is because she is so cookie cutter

What bothers me is how shes portrayed as this good and kind girl, when she isnt, shes just a selfish spoiled brat. Which would be fine if that was the point of her character, like with Kuzco, and she develops and becomes better by the end of the film, but the story is contantly acting as if shes in the right. The only reason for her to be the king's apprentice was because she wanted to get her grandpa's wish granted. Not everyone's, ONLY her grandpa's. She knows very well the rules of the kingdom about all that, but she still thought she could slime her way to get an exception for her own benefit (her family's at least), which wasnt even like, her grandpa was dying or something, his wish was extremely vague, and its not like he wouldnt be able to do it without it right? I mean, did his "wish to inspire people with music" would grant him some sort of siren powers? Because how exactly would a wish make a difference unless you dont want to put in the effort to learn how to play and how to write songs? The only reason she decides to OVERTHROW THE MONARCHY, was because Magnifico wasnt going to budge, so instead of finding a middle ground or another solution, she throws a temper tantrum, breaks the hopes of her grandpa and decides to break in a castle and steal everything. And how exactly is she supposed to be the hero here? Her song makes it seem like she and the kingdom are miserable, when everyone INCLUDING her family, are all genuenly happy. What exactly do they have to complain about? They dont pay taxes, 12 wishes get granted every year....there isnt a problem. The only reason its suddently horrible is because Asha didnt get what SHE wanted. Never mind that her and her friends make fun of one of their friend's wishes, then feel all hurt when the guy has enough and betrays them.

I can't believe that some of my friends love her 💀 They even say she's the best Disney heroine

So if I wish for Cthulhu to rise and destroy humanity, and that's my dream, and I want it with all my heart, Asha will grant my wish, right?

if Star had actually been a magical Starboy love interest, this would have been so much better. I see him as a mix of a Peter Pan tinkerbelle and Jack Frost from rise of the guardians

I am in the process of rewriting the plot of this movie. I have a google doc and everything, and so far I can say that Asha would have been infinitely better if they had done one single thing with her: Make her Magnifico's stepdaughter. Make her mother the queen, and give her this goal to try and build up a relationship with her new stepfather in an attempt to give him the apprentice/heir he never had. Then, when that budding relationship with Magnifico is forced to crumble, we get a tribute to villains like the Evil Queen and Lady Tremaine, and also this really satisfying sucker punch right in the feels!

Simon's betrayal makes NO sense and the resolution to it is stupid too. Ir's also strange that the whole apprentice position plot line is just dropped after Asha messes it up. It would make so much sense if after his friends all shit on him for having changed after giving up his wish, he gets motivated to apply to the apprentice job right after Asha does. Magnifico, still angered over his interaction with Asha, is refreshed by his general lack of interest in magic and hires him. Then when he gets his wish granted, yes it's to fuck with Asha, but there is plausible deniability because Simon is the apprentice now. Then when he gets mind controlled, or does it even need to be mind controlled? His wish was to be a loyal knight for Rosas, so he's automatically on the King's side and rats them out. You know, the problem with poorly worded wishes? Wishes can have consequences! That's a concept you's think would be in a movie about wishes but strangely isn't. It was in goddamned Aladdin over 30 years ago!

All they needed to do was make her dad dying a bigger deal. Like she could’ve had to learn how to function with grief and that carrying on isn’t disrespectful to the dead. Boom, much better character.

The storytellers of these Disney films show really take notes on how the protagonists in recent Disney shows like Amphibia and The Owl House should be written. Heck, even the main character from The Ghost and Molly McGee is a better example. Molly herself is the typical quirky optimistic heroine, but what's refreshing about her is how the show isn't afraid to make her take Ls with how she handle certain situations. She's basically the better version of Chole from The Fairly Oddparents.

In fact Asha is a villain.

I'm so tired of modern Disney protagonist with the same cliche of "Quirky girl who is different than the others and talk back to the adults around them" these days. The last time it worked was Moana, and for me, she was the last good Disney Princess. Remember when Disney Princess has their own personalities? -Snow White is caring -Aurora is naive because she's been raised by the fairies in the forest most of her life -Cinderella is hard working -Belle is a booksmart -Ariel is curious about how it feels being a human -Mulan is a fighter -Jasmine is standing up for herself -Pocahontas is wise -Megara or Meg is sassy -Esmeralda is using her charm and bravery -Tiana is a hard working girl to have her own restaurant -Rapunzel wants to know how outside world look like and also has a passion of art -Elsa is insecure at first but she later embraces her true power -Anna is quirky and talkative but still caring -I know she's not from Disney but Brave is from Pixar which is also part of Disney, Merida is rebellious and likes to do something different.

I mean, they could have had something like the source of Magnifico's wish-granting power was him stealing magic from the stars or something, and when Star comes into the movie we see it's a cute little Disney companion or even the magic prince... but now Magnifico wants to capture him and drain all his power or something to make Magnifico stronger once more. So Magnifico could actually be a villain in that he's totally willing to steal magic from star people to grant his wishes, and we see he isn't even that fond of granting wishes to his own people unless it benefits him. Then as Asha goes on a journey with Star and learns about how shifty Magnifico has been and defeat him, they reach some compromise where Asha and Star run the kingdom and use Star's power and Asha's humanity to properly run the kingdom without making promises they can't keep. "We know we won't be able to make everyone's wishes come true, but we make sure the kingdom and it's people have what they need." or something like that as opposed to an Evil Magnifico only promising to grant wishes, but really only granting ones that would benefit himself and ignoring bigger problems or whatever.

Asha should have been more like Elsa when it comes to personality. Reserved and serious. Would have been a nice change for all these adorkable characters Il

Asha's the actual villain of the movie. Magnifico was driven to desperate measures and was possessed by an evil spirit in a book. Everything would be fine if not for Asha. She has no idea how to handle the reality-warping magic of what is basically a toned-down version of the D&D spell wish. I'd give Rosas about a month before it's on fire and they're going to beg for their rightful king and founder to return.

Disney used to write so many compassionate, brave, multifaceted and layered women. I understand the want to bring more female lead stories, but the thing is that the company has already written so many women that people love and many of them are diverse women. You guys already did it but the difference is that you made them talk, act and behave like real and believable people. With Asha, I have no idea what she stands for or what her personality is. She more often than not comes across as the unreasonable one rather than the one who is right.

I give it a month before Asha's misrule of the kingdom (or at least, of the wishes) leads to the kingdom and the waters around it being set on fire, the magnificent buildings being reduced to rubble, gravity selectively breaking down so that the ruins sometimes float in the air, and for a gigantic black hole with great green tentacles coming out of it to have formed in the sky, which hovers menacingly over the kingdom at all times, while the stars over Rosas fall every night, leading the sky to grow blacker and blacker with each passing day, as the black hole gets closer and closer. No one knows just how close it is, but hungry roars can be heard from the hole now, and they're getting louder. "We tried putting the fires out with water, but that only makes them burn hotter." A pity they got rid of the ONE PERSON in the entire kingdom who knew how to actually work reality-warping magic.

She feels like if someone saw Rapunzel, Moana, Anna and Mirabel and tried to replicte them all without understanding what made them so charming in the first place

The fact that Illumination could portray a princess character much better than Disney nowadays is shocking to me. Disney doesn’t understand how to portray their princess characters.

I’d love a protagonist that is uptight and insufferable at first but meets someone that brings out their fun side or willingness to care for others. It’d be an awesome arc to watch.

How to make Wish Better. 1. Star Boyfriend 2. Star Boyfriend 3. Star Boyfriend

All i see, is a blackwashed version of Rapunzel with some changes. And both are from the same studio!

Well, at least the most forgettable Disney Princess. That's for sure

Im super dissapointed. Asha has such an amazing character design and I actually like the "adorkable" trope but she just fell flat and is a nothing character and i in fact agree with Magnifico's reasons for what he does before he turned evil.

Here's a short pitch if anyone is interested :D (inspired from all of the lovely and creative commentors, fan theories, rewrites and of course original concepts!) They could've made Asha a killjoy character - a grumpy character that does not believe in the wishes or anything to do with the magic and what not, why? Because not only did the magic were the cause of her father's death but her wish was the root of it. And in result because of this trauma she condemmed anything to do with the wishes and sworned off any magic of happiness due to her internal guilt, but deep down, she still cared for Rosa just as much as she cared for her mother and grandfather. So throughout her growth, she was outcasted and deemed to be the grumpiest person of the town, whilst the king and queen strive to be kindest rulers and this is where of course the writers could chose to bring out more of her flaws in the sense that she even has demonstrations started to hate/complain on the wishes, which distrupts the ceremonies. She stayed as so until a star appeared infront of her. A star that did not leave her be and even turned into a wish she had deep inside her heart. A friend. The star became a star boy. Abit cliche with the opposite attract thing but if Disney is recyling and taking inspirations form their older love stories, than i feel like this concept albeit common, could still pretty well. Cause with more details and depths of developement brought upon the characters, automatically you would get a deeper meaning to the tropes. So in this case ideas like plot-twisting, not only having the rulers being a power-villain couple but also they were Asha's original parents. The wish that Asha made to save her dad could easily have been twisted by Magnifico to kill him instead, but why does he want him dead you ask? Maybe the father knew too much of their history or maybe they found out that their child was still alive, as the father as a huntsman did not kill Asha but brought her up as his own as his wife could not have children (nod to snowhite). Due to their narcistic tendencies, Magnifico was easily swayed by his queen's wants to want Asha dead, as she could not bear having to be dethroned by her offsprings in due time. And dun, dun, dun, another plotwist, maybe coming to the end of the love song we found out that starboy is not who he seems to be... he was actually working under Magnifico with an order to hypnotize Asha into being "happy" because they didn't want a defiant in their kingdom. And their biggest plan is too of course make their entire kingdom to continue believeing in them and turn "zombie-like" to their commands. Edit: Here's more ideas regarding the other side characters; - While I don't mind "Disnified" characters, but I do miss the more realistic looking animal sidekicks they use to have - and specifically for Valentino, I don't mind his look but it would have been interesting to see him being more than just lamb looking goat, maybe a goat smaller for his age (e.g. dwarfism) which explains his deep voice but also potentially highlight his development throughout the story of wanted to wish to be heathier (although not always there are alot of animals with dwarfism having all sorts of health conditions, making then more vunerable and need more attention). This could maybe also to show the bond between him and Asha, is that she accepts him for who he is no matter his condition. Basically giving him more complexity. I def don't mind only having him to be the maind sidekick as we would have more room to focus. - Moving on to the Seven Teens, I could def see the potential here as well! Each characters as well having diffrent ethnicities were pretty cool to tie in the diversity knot (the cultural stuffs are def another rabbit hole to geg into) and paying homage to disney's classic "Snow White". Although i did chuckle when i remembered where else I've seen the scenario at... Snow White Live Action (the teaser if you know, you know)... classic Disney being a copy-mouse of themselves. Story-telling wise i wouldn't mind if the diversity and inclusivity as well include more health and disabilities as how the Seven Teens were started as but not finished. As plots and characters were rushed, all them felt more of back-up singers and dancers than the band they could've been, because even the movie itself, felt like music videos strewn together. E.g. Safi could've had more moments than just sneezing, being the character that maybe suffers from alot of allergies, maybe in the Magnifico cookie scene, Dahlia made sure to bake a batch specifically for him, maybe he is still an animal lover or enthusiasts despite the health issues he will suffer upon just meeting them. - Scenarion pitch: if we are going with grumpy version of Asha, it would be interesting if we see her learning how to make friends, and who to better start with than the most welcoming bunch. Maybe she learned more and more about the meaning of gratefulness or acceptance through the hardships of others without the means of magic or wishes (accepting hardships if you will) and that she is not alone in feeling heavy emotions like guilt. On a more specific hypothetical note, I thought the scene of Asha and Starboy dueting could begin in a sadder tone, when Asha ran away crying after her mother revealed who was her original parent (Magnifico and Amaya). Overwhelmed with emotions and having a panic attack she ran into the forest, with Starboy following suit. He then found her by the tree, where she use to sit with her father. He began to sing "at all cost" in a way to bring her father back to her, but also embracing the vunerable version of her, as maybe throughout the story Asha had been a very hard-shelled person, that prefers protecting others than herself.

What I hated the most was how the dialogue is so kitschy and try-hard at being hip and modern. Look at how timeless the characters talk in Tarzan, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid etc. even Aladdin and Mulan with Mushu and Genie being comedic feels less rooted in a specific time. And Genie was literally parodying pop culture. Asha’s “omg I’m so awkward” thing is just a tired cliche and the King’s whole thing with flexing using “modern slang” was very cringeworthy. They were both not great characters.

Shes the embodiment of every stereotype of Gen Zs and the alphabet mafia. Everything is about Feelings, no logic.

The big thing too is they tell us her personality. The characters like the Queen tell us Asha is generous for example they don’t show it. For Anna they showed she’s Naive from her interactions with Hans. For Rapunzel they showed us she’s curious from the way she interacts with world around her outside of the tower. For Mirabel they show her insecurity with her interactions with towns folk. They also give us little to no character development or inner conflict whatsoever. She learns nothing, she changes nothing about herself, we know little about her goals. And the villain guy? Seriously they wanted a traditional villain but they presented him as more understandable and reasonable than the protagonist. The more I here of the original ideas from Asha being Magnifico and the Queen’s daughter to the star being her male love interest the more upset I am because it’s obvious they throw away these ideas because Disney is just cowardly because they throw away all kinds of ideas and censor their artists for the sake of not offending anyone. When you create art from movies to books to songs to paintings you will ALWAYS run the risk of offending someone. So what do you do? Not make art? Censor your art and change it so much to the point it’s so generic so no one will be offended? No! You use common sense to see if the potential offense is worth making the art and most of the time it is. Having her have a male love interest doesn’t mean it shows the message of anti feminism and girls needs guys to save them. And then you make your art and if people get offended of something.. oh well, if it’s reasonable listen but most of the time nowadays it’s not reasonable. Disney doesn’t make art anymore

Although “thrusted” exists, it’s much more common to use “thrust” in both present and past tenses. Great video!

Making Asha quirky was a big mistake, it doesn't fit her at all. It would've worked better if she had more of a Belle/Ariel type of personality which I thought she had when I saw her in the teaser trailer.

I personally blame Frozen and its popularity for how Disney movies are now. Pretty much all of the traits people are sick of with newer Disney films are in there.

I personally think Bob Iger and his executive buddy cronies need to be replaced as soon as possible because not only do they have no clue to how to run the company creativitely, but also due to overworking their employees studios to meet ridiculous deadlines. While there are those artists and animators that can work insanely fast with great affect, it cannot even save bad stories and the consequences becomes painfully obvious with those with at least eyes and ears. There are elements of an amazing movie I could see, from the exploration of Wishes, Magnifico, Amaya and even Asha, and they took the safest route which is an absolute dud. Seriously, Disney. Get some people running the company who at least has been in creative projects before as CEO like Alex Hirsch, Byron Howard, Bill Motz, Dana Terrance etc. Like if creatives were to run Disney, we'd be in a brighter era for the company where they could thrive better than ever with of course, some smart and respectful business people at least as smart as Chris Melandandri and Jason Blum while letting animators and artists cook great stories. Reduced budgets that are $100m-$130m on an animated film I'd take any day if the film is good quality on it's own compated to $200m budgeted messes of movies anyday, Look at Across the Spiderverse for example, that film looks absolutely stunning and it only costed $100m-$150m, plus it was a masterpiece of a film. The Super Mario Bros Movie is an effective example, we got fantastic advertisement that tells what the concept is about, it gives you the summary you need to know, what to expect and what to get excited for, while a memorable and enjoying film on top of that, it was a massive success. I hope Disney changes asap because if they do not, I cannot see them lasting even another decade.

The worst part is how hard they had to overcorrect and straight up lie to make Magnifico’s intentions seem evil. He’s completely right about not granting every wish! What about evil wishes? What about wishes that would take away choice/consent from another person (wishing to marry someone who doesn’t love them back). What about people who wish to hurt other people? In Asha’s perfect world, those wishes should have a chance of being granted? Huh? Instead they had to pull the strangest thing where the grandpa’s wish was basically “I want to do something” but the actual IMAGE inside the wish was him innocently playing the guitar. Like, dude. Do you think if grandpa’s wish had been to become a serial killer Asha would have gone on this journey to save his wish?

It might've been better if her dad was still alive, but was really sick, and her wish was to heal him. And as she goes on through the movie, she also begins to see all the other people who's wishes will never be granted. This would be her motivation, her i want. Which would be better for the "I Want" song, which is really vauge in the movie. This would give a greater connection to the main character, and make the main confict more impactful and interesting.

Magnifico: Vague wishes can be dangerous. Asha: Wishes everyone had more than "this." *Chaos ensues.*

so.... she became Magnifico. She became the one that decides who gets their wishes granted.

Adorkable can work when a character isn't dry and has a reason to not have their shit together. Asha is the equivalent of a chicken made by somebody who never found out what basting is in this case scenario.

I personally think they could had made Asha related to the royals unknowingly. I mean her father and the king could had been brothers or distant cousins. Like her branch of family (or the very least grandpa) either got kicked out or walked out with the royal family and her quest is her finding out and having to fight against her newfound evil relatives.

It does not sound good but they could have fixed it by having something else take the wishes and more but king stopped it. Then her wish messes it up and maybe even have the "wish eater" to pressure her into it. That would not happen since the king is a straight, while male so he need to be a villain or a joke. Also Asha would need a flaw.

When I saw the first picture of this movie, I expected to finally see quiet yet elegant and wise heroine. Someone that introverts can find relatable. But we got just another adorkable main character 🤦‍♀️

I can't believe Disney denied everyone the tumblr sexyman starboy and left it in the concepts

You'd get more from the story of Magnifico was the protagonist who had to battle his own ego and vices. Asha doesn't even need to be a character. Just have a story of a king who wanted to give to much by granting the desires of others, but it comes at the detriment of their kingdom as turns out, granting everyone's wish isn't a good thing. When he finds himself a wishing star that can go what he does, allow it to paint his perspective on his wish magic and take a step back from granting the needs of other and focus on his own life. It would then make more sense if he were to pass on his role as a grand wizard to someone else (maybe a young kid named Yen Sid) and organically tie together what is meant to be an unofical origin story to all disney movies

My limited understanding of the movie "Wish" is that Disney at all times took the safest, least challenging decision when it comes to plot or characters in an attempt to appeal to as wide an audience as possible and ended up creating flavourless, textureless mush of the blandest kind. *_When you try to appeal to everyone, you will please no one._*

What makes me so angry is that we FINALLY get a afrolatina , beautiful, ORIGINAL “princess” character (btw voiced by the incredible Ariana DeBose) and then they make her SUCK😭😭😭 im such a champion for representation and I was sooo disappointed

I can't believe this movie is getting nominated, hollywood really has nothing going for it these recent years.

"The star was initially intended to become her love interest." At which point they decided romance isn't suitable for "modern audiences."

What if Asha was the princess, Magnifico´s and Amaya´s daughter? Over the years her parents gave her books about astrology after she made it her hobby to charge stars. She learns magic from her dad, not a lot though. She is a clever and elegant girl. However, while Asha is elegant she is also very self absorbed and vain. She´s very quick to judge people for literally everything. When a group of suitors try to talk to her she turns all of them down in rude ways. On her 18th birthday her parents want her to give her father her wish, like everyone else in Rosas. Asha expects them to fulfill her wish at the cremony when the best wishes of people get granted, after all it´s HER birthday, and when they refuse to do so she is shocked and upset. Later that evening Asha sneeks out of the castle and sings about what she wants. Thats when she meets Star who asks her for help, much to her suprise. SHE is the one who need HIS help, or not? Over the course of the story the two get close and Asha learns to care about others. She also realizes that her parents, mainly her father, are using the citizens wishes for personal gain. It is revealed that Magnifico summons Star every time when there is a ceremony and forces him to do what he wants. This is when she realizes that they both do need each others help. At the end Asha is a changed woman, much more caring and responsible.

You wanna know what my first reaction was to seeing her? Pocahontas. She even grabbed at her necklace like she did. No originality to her design to make her stand out from the other princesses. Who, in my opinion, are leagues above the women idols they try to push now.

There’s a VAST different from how characters are written NOW VS back in the 90s and early 2000s. Now, there’s no development or anything to relate to. After Rapunzel, they all have the same attitude and adorable personality. It’s lazy writing tbh. But Mirabel from Encanto was actually so good! Even with that personality, she was still herself and you got to see her struggles.

You know is going to be bad when they didnt even try hard whit the character desing. She looks like a mixture of Moana and Raya. The braid hair does not add anything and her dress is so medicre.

She just had to be the villian. Sje wears classic evil purple. A protagonist doesn't have to be the hero and it would had been a nice change. The movie is basically the Nice Guy comic.

I may be off on this, but it feels like Disney today, When creating female protagonists, prioritize making them good role models for girls above all else. They make mistakes, they're capable of being tricked or misguided but they don't make REALLY bad choices that they then have to redeem themselves for. Compare Simba's choice to turn his back on his homeland when he's told how much they need him, Aladdin's choice to go back on his promise for his own personal gain, Meg's betrayal of Hercules for her own gain, to Rapunzel's mistake trusting her own manipulative mother, Ana's mistake trusting a secretly manipulative boy, Mirabel misreading what she needs to be for her family, Moana needing to believe in herself. I don't dislike the newer female characters but if I'm right about this theory that what matters most to Disney is that they're good role models from start to finish of a movie, than that feels limiting to the kinds of stories and characters they can create. Also if that's true, than of course they need to make their lead characters "Quirky" and "Clumsy". Giving them tiny flaws here and there makes up for the fact that they don't really have selfish flaws that they need to overcome, and that's most apparent with Asha who has a very easy to see character arc, (Coming to see that the king has a point in looking at the wishes objectively, and equally rather than just wanting everyone to get what they want all the time.)