For The Walt Disney Company, there’s nothing more powerful than wishing upon a star. 

Heading into its opening weekend, Wish is a 2D-/CG-animated musical comedy that explores the power of wishes. The film commemorates Disney’s 100th anniversary by celebrating everything the studio does best: Fantasy-adventure storytelling about a young teen girl on a hero’s journey (with a talking animal thrown in for good measure).

Featuring an innovative art style that marries the iconic artistry of Disney’s 2D-animated classics with the latest in CG technology, Wish celebrates the studio’s past, while also ushering it into the next century.

In the film, a North African 17-year-old named Asha makes a wish so powerful that it’s answered by a small ball of energy called Star. With the help of her celestial friend and a talking goat sidekick, Asha battles an evil king to save her magical kingdom and the wishes of its inhabitants.

Wish takes place in the Iberian Peninsula, which is a part of the world that Disney has never explored before in its animated movies. “The Iberian Peninsula had a very diverse culture in medieval times, and we wanted the film to reflect that,” says producer Peter Del Vecho (Frozen).

Director Fawn Veerasunthorn (Raya and the Last Dragon) adds that the team worked with cultural consultants to get the approach just right. “I think it’s great that we bring something new to the table, and that we can represent an area where all cultures converge to bring a melting-pot sensibility to the film.”

Disney also created seven teenage friends for Asha, who are inspired by the personalities of the seven dwarves in Snow White. And instead of portraying a princess as the main character, the team built the story around an average young woman the audience could relate to.

Music is an essential component in Wish, offering yet another tribute to Disney’s winning filmmaking formula. Del Vecho says, “One of the reasons we love producing musicals is because the level of emotion you get with a song transcends what you can get with dialogue.” 

Because of that, Disney’s animated musicals resonate with audiences around the world, even when the films are not shot in their local language, says Veerasunthorn. “I grew up in Thailand. When I first saw Disney movies on VHS, they were in English, and I didn’t understand what they were saying,” she says. “But the amazing thing about [animation as a medium] is that…it transcends language.” 

Chris Buck (Frozen) is a co-director on Wish with Veerasunthorn (this was her first directing credit on a feature), and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones (Encanto) produced with Del Vecho. Executive producers included Jennifer Lee (Frozen) and Don Hall (Raya and the Last Dragon), with Lee and Allison Moore (Night Sky) working together on the screenplay. Grammy-winning producer and songwriter Benjamin Rice and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, who previously collaborated on A Star Is Born (2018), wrote and performed the film’s original songs.

Photos courtesy of Disney.