Wish

[Disney's Divinity]

Asha (?)'s design looks even better from that picture. I'm glad that she looks distinct, with the braided hair, from any of the other princesses. And it's a small detail, but I like that she has earrings in her basic design. I mean, I know other princesses wear them sometimes in the more dressed up moments, but usually not in their "main" look.

Oh, that castle is very pretty!!

[DisneyFan09]

Thanks for posting the closeup of Asha, D82! I`m wondering if she`s going to be a Princess.

[carolinakid]

Yes, Disney Wiki refers to her as Princess Asha from the kingdom of Rosas.

[Sotiris]

I don't think she's a princess in the film. If that were the case, it would have been mentioned during the presentation or in the press. But, she'll probably be inducted into the Disney Princess franchise.

[DisneyFan09]

I don't think she's a princess in the film. If that were the case, it would have been mentioned during the presentation or in the press. But, she'll probably be inducted into the Disney Princess franchise.

Well, let`s remember that Raya weren`t officially announced as a Princess from the get-go either, despite how she was announced to be included to the Franchise.

[Thumper_93]

Well, it's been confirmed the film is set in the fictional Kingdom of Rosas, so I think it's going to be another cultural hodgepodge of some sort. The strange thing about the kingdom is it's being translated as the Kingdom of Wishes in the press, but rosas means roses, not wishes in Spanish.

Maybe its official name is Kingdom of Rosas, but it's also known as the Kingdom of Wishes by people? Perhaps that was mentioned in the presentation and that's why the press refers to it that way. By the way, here's a concept art of the kingdom:


Source: https://twitter.com/MouseInfo/status/15 ... 4586247168

I assumed because the protagonist is voiced by DeBose who is Afro-Latina, the character will also be Afro-Latina. However, the name Asha is not Spanish or African in origin. It's Sanskrit. And while the name exists in various countries in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, it only means "wish" in Sanskrit. In Swahili, it means "life". In Arabic, it means "alive and well". Is Asha supposed to be South Asian/Indian or Afro-Latina? The name of her pet goat Valentino is definitely Spanish which makes things even more confusing.

Judging by her locks, which can be seen better in the photo of the film's display below, I'd say she's Afro-Latina like DeBose. But I also thought she could be from India based on the name. And, I may be wrong, but I think Valentino is an Italian name. At least, I don't know anyone in Spain called that way. However, there are people here called Valentín, which I guess is the Spanish version of it. Maybe it does exist in Latin America, though. Anyway, perhaps the fictional Kingdom where the movie takes place is a completely made up place which is a hodgepodge of very different cultures, like San Fransokyo, for example.


Source: https://twitter.com/DisneyAPromos/statu ... 6916739072

Valentín is Valentino in Spain and here this name was very popular time ago. The paviment and the buildings that appear in the video of the song reminds me to Spain. I thought that after the cancellation of Giantic they would choose another story to be placed on Spain but honestly I Hope that they haven't chose this one.
I would like to see movies with fictional worlds again. I'm tired of seeing movies with a poor history that are only made to represent a culture.

[Farerb]

I don't know if it was mentioned before but the goat is going to talk and not just make funny noises. His wish will be to be able to communicate and that's how he gets the ability to speak.

[D82]

Valentín is Valentino in Spain and here this name was very popular time ago.

Thanks for confirming. I know more than one man in my town called Valentín and I have a relative with that name too and they're all over sixty, so I guess it was popular 60/70 years ago. I've just realized the English version must be Valentine, since Saint Valentine's Day is "el Día de San Valentín" here.

The paviment and the buildings that appear in the video of the song reminds me to Spain. I thought that after the cancellation of Giantic they would choose another story to be placed on Spain but honestly I Hope that they haven't chose this one.

It's true it has a Mediterranean vibe. Isn't it an olive tree, for example, the one that appears in the official first look released by Disney? That's a very Mediterranean tree. And there are palm trees in the background. I've also seen someone comment both the setting and Asha's dress reminded them of Morocco. I wish they had given more details about the where the movie takes place.

I don't know if it was mentioned before but the goat is going to talk and not just make funny noises. His wish will be to be able to communicate and that's how he gets the ability to speak.

I remember reading that, but it probably hadn't been posted here. Here are a couple of videos from the presentation where Alan Tudyk reveals that detail:

https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1568401871135723521
https://twitter.com/SinfullyCinema/stat ... 8026721280

He shows what Valentino's voice sounds like in these interviews:

https://twitter.com/DEADLINE/status/1568446888596340736
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1vippHdheA

And he talks a bit about the film here:

Now that we can finally talk about it, what can you tell us about the Disney centennial film recently announced at D23 Expo, 'Wish'?

Oh yeah, I can't say too much. It's a new musical, it's original. Ariana DeBose is the lead and she's a sweetheart. I met her for the first time the other day and we hung out for a while because I had only done one recording session, and the movie is still in the beginning of filming. It's just started. She's been involved longer, since she's working with the music and everything. I'm not going to be as involved in that whole process. It's going to be more between me and her. And that's all they've announced. I play a goat who can't talk. But the movie is about the blinking star that we see at the beginning of the Disney opening logo, about the desire towards that star. There have been many stars at Disney that have been wished upon, and this is the story of that star, where it came from, what makes it special and why it grants wishes. And it really does grant them, as it gives my character, Valentino, who by the way is in his pajamas, the ability to speak so he can communicate. So they go on an adventure together with wishes and songs. I think that's all I can say. And that it's for 100 years of Disney. The animation style is really cool because it's classic. It looks old school, but it's still being created from scratch. There's a lot of reasons to be expectant.

Source: https://www.ecartelera.com/noticias/ent ... -2b-70498/

[carolinakid]

Wish

[carolinakid]

Just the observations of a non expert...

Princess Asha ethnically looks to me to be more sub Saharan (black) African, although her hair style and dress remind me more of the way they usually portray Egyptian or other Semitic looking people from North Africa and the Saharan/Mediterranean area. But that’s my observation after having seen only one picture.

Ariana DeBose is Afro Latina, but I don’t see any Latino characteristics in Princess Asha. Her skin is much darker and her features more black African than Ariana’s.

I agree with previous posters who think the Princess will be a Disney mishmash of cultures and ethnicities that may or may not actually exist. The important thing it seems now for Disney characters is that she be anything but white racially and European ethnically/culturally . Again just my observation of the direction Disney has chosen to pursue in their product output.

[Thumper_93]

[

It's true it has a Mediterranean vibe. Isn't it an olive tree, for example, the one that appears in the official first look released by Disney? That's a very Mediterranean tree. And there are palm trees in the background. I've also seen someone comment both the setting and Asha's dress reminded them of Morocco. I wish they had given more details about the where the movie takes place.

They should have chosen another voicen if they were trying to represent Morocco. Also the design of the princess doesn't look like a Morocco Woman. She doesn't look like a women from Spain or Italy neither. I hope that this is just a fictional world because It doesn't look mediterraneal. I live in Spain and the culture of the countries that are around the mediterranean are very reach and beautiful. We don't want to be represented by a character that doesn't look like us.

[Sotiris]

The setting has to be a fictional mash-up of various cultures. The presence of an Afro-Latina in the Mediterranean wouldn't make sense, especially during ye olden times. I agree that Asha looks more African than Latina, but I understand why Disney made that decision. If the character was as light-skinned as Arianna, Disney would be accused of colorism.

With the company going full "woke", it shouldn't come as a surprise that the protagonists of WDAS features, particularly the female ones, are going to be of color from now on. I think we will get another white princess eventually, but she would need to belong to a marginalized community of some sort, like the LGBT or the autistic community, for example.

[carolinakid]

The next white Disney princess will probably be a walking cheese wheel i.e. fat.

[Farerb]

I might be the only one who wants Disney to take a break from Princess movies. They are just becoming repetitive anyway.

[Warm Regards]

The setting has to be a fictional mash-up of various cultures. The presence of an Afro-Latina in the Mediterranean wouldn't make sense, especially during ye olden times. I agree that Asha looks more African than Latina, but I understand why Disney made that decision. If the character was as light-skinned as Arianna, Disney would be accused of colorism.

This is a fascinating point. If Disney is making Asha an ethnic mix princess (i.e., she's from a make believe kingdom that takes influence from multiple areas like Spain, Morocco, etc.), a lot of people will be disappointed with the representation.

I saw a bunch of reviews on Raya and the Last Dragon on how disappointed they were with Raya/Namari/the humans being so vaguely South East Asian without committing to anything. Because the movie was a mix of Vietnamese culture, Filipino culture, etc. to the point of it not really representing one culture that well at all, it's all make-believe.

On YouTube someone also noted that if Raya was more outwardly written as a Filipina (for example), her clothing would have been much more elaborate and sparkly and the movie likely would have had more dancing and music accompaniment (like a musical? In a Disney movie? Unheard of!)

So yeah... Asha looks diverse enough (which for some people and kids primarily, is enough). But time will tell if her movie actually is culturally deep.

[Sotiris]

The next white Disney princess will probably be a walking cheese wheel i.e. fat.

Oh, that's not nice. There's no need for such rude characterizations. Anyway, given that Disney is releasing a short with an obese woman as the lead and who is a ballet dancer no less, I think it's entirely possible for a future princess to be overweight or obese.

I might be the only one who wants Disney to take a break from Princess movies. They are just becoming repetitive anyway.

Their non-princess movies are even more dull and derivative than their princess ones. Just look at Strange World.

If Disney is making Asha an ethnic mix princess (i.e., she's from a make believe kingdom that takes influence from multiple areas like Spain, Morocco, etc.), a lot of people will be disappointed with the representation.

I get that, but that the same time, there are benefits to having a fictional setting. It gives artists more freedom to be creative without having to be beholden to a single culture and time period. It also protects them from potential criticism regarding cultural or historical accuracy and even from accusations of exploitation.

[Farerb]

Their non-princess movies are even more dull and derivative than their princess ones. Just look at Strange World.

These shouldn't be the only two options. It just feels like an algorithm comes up with these ideas for movies instead of coming up with a good story (and if it happens to feature a princess then sure), but another "something bad happens to the kingdom and she's the only one who can save everyone" is so overdone at this point, and it just doesn't feel like it comes from a genuine place, but rather to make something commercialized because the Princess Franchise is successful.
The people who work at the studio need to remember that the studio used to make movies like Fantasia, Bambi, Lady and the Tramp, 101 Dalmatians, Lilo and Stitch as well as Cinderella and Mulan.

Speaking of Strange World, it's funny that the trailer was shown at D23 over a week ago, they still haven't released it online, and yet people don't seem to care.

[carolinakid]

Just the description of Strange World sounded boring to me. I’m so sick of science fiction/super hero crap.
I still love fairy tales and fantasy and romance .... but not the woke versions.

[unprincess]

The setting has to be a fictional mash-up of various cultures. The presence of an Afro-Latina in the Mediterranean wouldn't make sense, especially during ye olden times. I agree that Asha looks more African than Latina, but I understand why Disney made that decision. If the character was as light-skinned as Arianna, Disney would be accused of colorism.

With the company going full "woke", it shouldn't come as a surprise that the protagonists of WDAS features, particularly the female ones, are going to be of color from now on. I think we will get another white princess eventually, but she would need to belong to a marginalized community of some sort, like the LGBT or the autistic community, for example.

I dont think we'll get another Princess film with white European lead until they're through with the Frozen sequels, as they probably feel those will fill the quota for white princess films. And they are taking their sweet time with the Frozen sequels (and you know more are coming) so its gonna be a while...

I dont think biracial or POC would be weird in the Mediterranean world, at the time, wasn't it a hub for commerce and trade routes from all sorts of cultures? (I see the ocean and ships in the concept art.) What is weird is that she would be a princess.

[Disney's Divinity]

I agree that they invent settings that are amalgamations to avoid controversy. It makes sense because every film they've made with a non-White lead has some sort of controversy, Tbh, I've liked all of the princesses, White or PoC, what have you, other than Aurora and Jasmine (well, I like her in TV series and the remake). I even liked Mirabel even though her design was almost as bad as the Strange World designs .