For its 100^th Anniversary, Disney delivers an animated film that exudes the magic, music, visuals, and genuine joy that have defined its legacy and impact in pop culture. But it’s a shame that it also carries some tiresome tropes that also embody Disney’s overdone formula.

The film, Wish, takes viewers to Rosas – a kingdom ruled by the powerful and handsome King Magnifico (voiced by Chris Pine). Alongside his beautiful and good-hearted queen Amaya (voiced by Angelique Cabral), Magnifico uses his powerful spells to protect and even grant the wishes of Rosas’ people. As he searches for a new apprentice, he meets an energetic and hopeful young woman named Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose). While Asha is initially excited to work with Magnifico and possibly get her grandfather’s wish granted, she discovers that he isn’t all he’s cracked up to be. He displays power-hungry intentions with everyone’s wishes and snaps at Asha for going against his thinking. So, Asha makes a wish that not only gains the unwanted attention of Magnifico’s paranoia, but also sees her obtain a new ally in a plump little star who helps her stop Magnifico’s dominance.

Although Disney generally utilizes 3D/CG animation, the studio goes back to its roots a bit to deliver a more unique aesthetic for Wish. The film blends more modern animation techniques with the studio’s classic hand-drawn art style to create a hybrid visual experience that surprisingly enhances the film in many ways. When the movie’s trailer first dropped, the more cel shaded appearance didn’t come off that striking and felt a little off. But, in the final cut, the animation in Wish is very appealing, colorful, and elevates its two lead characters.

The color palettes both Asha and Magnifico have are as lively and intriguing as their personalities, and their expressions and movement help make them more compelling in their interactions and emotions. In short, they have fantastic character designs, and this distinct animation helps flex their best qualities that are uplifted even further thanks to the voices and characterizations behind them. DeBose and Pine give superb voice performances that highlight the aspirations and beliefs that take their characters down different paths. DeBose excellently brings out that sense of care, determination, and heart that makes for an instantly insightful Disney protagonist. She’s able to show a range of emotions that make you connect with Asha’s personal struggles and mission to stop Magnifico. Plus, she absolutely nails every song that Asha sings throughout the film.

Right from the charismatic and warm vibes of the opening number “Welcome to Rosas,” it’s hard to resist the genuine charm and likeability of DeBose’s performance and Asha as a character. It’s heavily reminiscent of Mirabel’s introduction with “The Family Madrigal” in Encanto where audiences will be wrapped in Asha’s love for Rosas and its people. Then she absolutely kills it with the film’s surprisingly varied song genres and takes things to a whole other level. “This Wish” is an instant classic that audiences will love and there’s a great rebellious tune with “Knowing What I Know Now” that builds incredible momentum into the final stretch. DeBose definitely owns this film and helps make Asha a good addition to Disney’s strong lineage of female protagonists.

Now, despite Magnifico not having the darkly sinister qualities of other great villains seen in Disney’s cinematic history, he boasts more arrogant and narcissistic traits that Pine works with perfectly fine. The charming part of Magnifico is how blatantly desperate he is to maintain his public perception and power. It constantly results in fun lines from Pine, delightfully nefarious antics, and some good villainy that’s been sadly absent from Disney’s animated films lately. Magnifico is a villain through and through and there’s no attempt to redeem him as anything but that – which is remarkably refreshing. Also, Magnifico gets a very fun villain song with “This Is the Thanks I Get?!” that has major vibes of “Gaston” from Beauty and the Beast.

Even in terms of the story, Asha and Magnifico’s personal narratives and arcs embody what Disney’s films are all about. Asha represents that classic underdog trying to stop corruption and save the people she cares about – ultimately inspiring others and herself along the way. Her personal journey has plenty of tender feelings, moments of triumph and defeat, as well as a sense of coming together that audiences always love about Disney movies. Honestly, it’s what makes Wish a fitting choice for Disney’s 100^th year celebration and there’s some awesome nods to Disney’s lineage that fans will really enjoy. Unfortunately, the film’s lack of depth and intrigue outside of Asha and Magnifico holds the film back from being a grand return to form for Disney.

Overall, it’s great that Disney takes a back-to-basics approach with Wish and crafts a story that feels both classic and somewhat new. But it relies too much on the standard story formula it’s used in many films before. If you’ve seen most of Disney’s animated filmography, you’ve seen the film’s story flow and direction time and time again. It’s a predictable narrative that Disney’s formed over the years and there’s no ambition seen that’s trying to bring it out of that shell – which in the end makes it underwhelm. Plus, as nice as the Disney references are in Wish, they can be slightly obnoxious and cause the film to pick and pull different tropes of “Disney Princess” films too often.

Wish struggles to stay fresh because it sticks to the usual script and actually misses out on widening its story potential. Most of the side characters are just there for jokes that hit and miss and aren’t given a chance to make a deeper impression. Asha’s group of friends is overfilled with lackluster personalities and even the character designs for Rosas’ people aren’t as inspired as Asha and Magnifico. Even when the film tries to build other storylines that influence the main plot, there isn’t enough time put into these ideas to make them have a satisfying impact. There are characters that don’t feel as important as they should and the twists the film tries to present are super weak because of it.

The film also lacks big visual moments to take full advantage of its new animation style and Rosas as a setting is wildly generic because it lacks any energy. It’s basically like any other fantasy/castle setting and doesn’t touch on interesting cultural elements that could set it apart. The film lacks that magic in its visuals to really put viewers in a state of awe and even its more fantastical characters just don’t wow. Worst of all, Alan Tudyk’s performance as Valentino is just abysmally annoying. Tudyk has become a staple for Disney lately – generally playing animal characters or smaller side characters. But his work here is overly familiar to the point where he’s literally just doing his voice for Clayface in Harley Quinn. The lines he’s given are forced jokes that don’t land and in general, Valentino sticks out so badly.

Wish doesn’t escape the run-of-the-mill story formula and disappointingly lazy efforts that drag it down, but it’s still an easy-to-love animated tale that embodies most of the reasons that audiences have loved Disney for roughly a century. DeBose and Pine help make their respective characters have tons of fan-favorite potential and Wish shows that Disney is starting to head in the right direction again.

Watch the Trailer Here: