The problem with Wish, Walt Disney’s official 100th anniversary production, is not that it is a bad film. It is that is crushingly ordinary. While undoubtedly there are many younger viewers – and young at heart, of course – will be entertained, in the long term this is not going to be remembered as one of the greats. Directors Chris Buck (Tarzan, Frozen) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (head of story on Raya and the Last Dragon) have both made better films.

On the Mediterranean island of Rosas, 17 year-old Asha (Ariana DeBose) auditions to become apprentice to king and sorcerer Magnifico (Chris Pine). Magnifico is loved by the people for granting random wishes out of dreams given to him by his subjects. When Asha learns that Magnifico’s actions are not so benevolent, and she is visited by the very star that she wished on, Asha resolves to free Magnifico’s captured wishes and return them to their owners.

There is a superficial resemblance here to Neil Gaiman’s novella Stardust, but really the origins of the story are fairly obvious: the events are initiated by a character wishing on a star. This is not the only reference to Disney’s animated history to be found in Wish. The production runs awash with visual and character-based cues from Mickey Mouse to Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid, and many others. According to one Internet source I read, these nods run to at least 40. It turns the film into something of an Easter egg hunt, distracting from and weakening the main storyline. One or two might have been rather cute. 40 is definitely some way beyond overkill.

Asha is a reasonable protagonist and Magnifico a semi-decent villain, but the film’s supporting cast runs far too broad and numerous. Asides from Asha’s mother, grandfather, and pet goat (voiced by Disney stalwart Alan Tudyk), she also has seven close friends – each one resembling one of Snow White‘s seven dwarfs. While viewers might remember royal baker Dalhia (Jennifer Kumiyama) and the irascible Gabo (Harvey Guillén) by the end of the movie, it seems unlikely they will also be able to name and identify Hal, Simon, Bazeema, Safi, and Dario. The film becomes overburdened with characters, all to make a film reference.

Aesthetically there is a bold attempt to blend computer-generated animation with a flat, painterly look intended to resemble hand-drawn traditional art. As an experiment it is interesting, but as an overall presentation the look backfires. The loss of detail makes the animation look weaker. More than once I was reminded of a cut scene in a videogame.

The songs, by Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, seem to hit all of the expected beats without generating a specific ‘knock-out’ musical number. The same goes for Dave Metzger’s orchestral score, which feels suited to the events onscreen yet never inspires much enthusiasm. These drawbacks represent Wish in a nutshell: it is competent but boring, typically Disneyesque yet unenthused and forgettable.

The quality of the Walt Disney Animation Studios goes up and down with time, like any long-running enterprise. Wish seems to catch the studio in a fallow period. 2022’s Strange World was uncharacteristically poor, and looking forward there is nothing announced but sequels. It is slightly unfortunate that Wish‘s closing credits are decorated with images of Disney’s long legacy of animated features (although, notably, The Rescuers, The Black Cauldron, and a handful of 1940s films fail to get a look in.) They are there to be celebratory, but simply remind us how much better Walt Disney can be.