Wish

[Warm Regards]

In an article, Angelique Cabr notes that the villain changed between when she auditioned and when she was assigned the role of Queen Amaya.

She notes that her audition took place "two years ago" [from January 2024]. Meaning making Magnifico a main villain was a much later production decision.

Yeah, yeah. When I first got this audition actually, it was now almost like two years ago. She was an evil queen, and Magnifico was a good king. And she was the evil. And then, by the callback round, I would say, they had changed her character pretty completely and she was a grounded maternal, benevolent queen who was completely different than the first audition I did. So I had to really change my take on her. And I dressed completely differently and I changed my voice.

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/one-c ... cO6gbquiwG

[carolinakid]

My DVD of Wish arrives tomorrow (3/13).
I don’t know when I’ll get around to watching it, but I’m anxious to see if it’s as dreadful as people say...

[Farerb]

.

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Isn’t it weird how, even after 100 days in the movie theaters as I asked Disney to make happen, Wish is still not on Disney+ yet?

I would’ve thought they would have put a date out for it on Disney+ by now.

But at least this could be a sign that future Disney movies won’t be on Disney+ after 90 days anymore and will be out after 4 months at least.

[Farerb]

I was hoping for something more substantial from the hour long BTS feature but it was just the usual fluff "we were inspired by this and that..." sure...

[reee9948]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZyziDEf5tI

This is the making of Wish documentary. You can find a deleted scene with Evil Amaya and King Magnfico at 1:11:19

[Disney's Divinity]

I bought the Walmart steelbook this past Wednesday, very pretty cover. Watching the deleted scenes from when the movie was in process, I feel very conflicted. I like the original film, I like some of the ideas they didn't go with (Amaya and Magnifico as an evil couple, the cat sidekick)--I feel like there's a mixture of things from both ends that I like and don't like. I mostly enjoy the finished film though, so it's not really a complaint so much as I don't think what they started with was necessarily better per se than what they ended up with, more a mixed bag on both ends--a great film would've combined things from that early stage with some things from the finished product. For example, Star. I know everybody loves the humanoid character designs, I like those, too, that said I also like the character in the finished film. I feel like there's a middle ground there where both a humanoid Star character and the Star from the finished film would work together, maybe the latter as his sidekick.

The funny thing is that people try to say this film is underbaked when they criticize it, but, if anything, I have a feeling this film was likely *over*analyzed and overbaked because they were trying to be very careful with it. Things they liked initially (like Amaya being evil, too), they likely later questioned if that was a good idea and changed it because they were unsure of themselves. I like the wishing tree concept a little more in the deleted scene.... That's another thing about Disney (talking generally, not just WDAS) lately is how much overlap there is between all these studios. That seems like an idea that was shuffled over from and/or to Disenchanted from here, much like the ending of Frozen 2 has things in common with the ending of Toy Story 4. I think all this overlap is what's hurting the various studios, they're losing their individual identities because they're all mixing together so much, to the point everything that's being seen by audiences (whether it's WDAS, Marvel, Star Wars, PIXAR, etc.) develops a sort of "same-y-ness" that makes things less original and exciting.

[The Disneynerd]

Wish gets released on Disney+ on April 3rd:
https://youtu.be/JISBGkkI5rEsi=aRr1dXeAnh6bn_G8 i wonder how it will make on streaming

Thanks for sharing the making of, reee9948!
Looking back at the test footage here that they also showed in D23 Expo, although really similar to the final version, the previous test Animation looked way better. You coud really see that they were going for the water colored look, especially with the shading. The colors are also pretty and bright, while in the final, everything is traced evenly and the colors are quite pale. But Glad they scrapped the reduced Animation per sec thing like in Spiderverse. Spiderverse is an Action comic come to life, so the stylistic choice is understandable, but WDASs Animation was always aiming fluidity.

Also amazing to finally see the other test footage of Asha walking through Pinocchios background.
(At 23:10 minutes)
I would do anything to open the Research library for more Rapunzel (Keanes) and Unbraided Concept Art, songs and Script drafts. And of course Gigantic too. Aghhh

And them Cancelling Star Boy because "with Maui and Genie, we felt like weve already seen it before", while this already is a movie full of references and homages, that wouldnt hurt at all. Also kinda reminded me of Camilo. But idk if he can only shapeshift into humans or also animals.
Also those were my favourite designs they showed there:

And turns out Valentino wears a cute jumper because Walt Disney himself dressed up his farm animals. Also, was Magnifico going to be called Mirei? Mhh
And oh my im in love with the evil couple with the hidden village deleted scene, loved their dynamic there.

One of the most interesting scenes in this documentary is when they first encountered the idea of a celebration movie, and even considering doing a Fantasia like flick, but looking at their recent sparkshorts, im glad they didnt do it.

But most interesting out of the making of is how they all were able to talk about the movie positively for almost 2 hours with a smile. Fake it til you make (the making of) it.

Also im thinking the movie really didnt need those nods to the legacy AT ALL. The Wishing star concept was already enough. I mean stuffing 100 years of WDAS, wasnt this not already established with the Once Upon a Studio short?

They mentioned "Disneynerds" in 1:01:30, representation!
Ok i need to pinky promise to stop thinking about the movie cause it already kills my last few braincells.

[Vlad]

Oh, they finally announced the Disney+ release date. I will watch it then, and will decide if I'll get the Blu-ray or not.

[Pokenonbinary]

After some months I think I hate the movie, at first I thought it was just meh, but now I hate it a lot for using my culture, like Disney is not going to make another movie based in Spain, they usually don't repeat countries

Still hoping Pixar makes a flamenco dancer movie in the style of Coco

By the way, hey, how's everybody? Zero hyped for Moana 2 because I think it will be a critical flop after being transformed last minute into a movie, but Inside Out 2 looks great

[Vlad]

I managed to watch it on Disney+. I thought it was okay - I liked the animation, the story and the characters. However, I was quite disappointed by the soundtrack. Except for "This Wish", none of the other songs was memorable to me.

[Sotiris]

Jennifer Lee leaned too heavily into an audience’s desire to hunt for Easter Eggs versus telling a good Disney classic story. An insider reached out to me regarding the Wish Easter Eggs. This source attended several audience test screenings of Wish—the first in February of 2023. In the first screening, 5% of Wish was fully animated, with 85% being storyboard animatics. Much of the criticism from the audience spoke to confusion with the overall story and character motivations. It was perceived that the moderator wasn’t looking for story feedback but was more interested in whether they saw all the Easter Eggs. About a month later, another test screening was conducted. Though more of the film had been animated, none of the story feedback from the first session had been incorporated into this version. This particular screening was catered explicitly to “Disney Adults,” who said they visit Disneyland several times yearly. The moderator kept probing into how many Disney references they caught…they caught five.

Source: https://filmthreat.com/features/the-d-f ... th-wish/3/

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Seems like more lies and half-truths made to appeal to the pro-John Lasseter crowd. Sorry but I don’t buy any of this for one second. The use of slander with the term “Disney adults” is proof enough to make me doubt this article of theirs, just as their article about Raya and the Last Dragon is full of BS, in my opinion.

This article just feels like copium after the messiah to the grifters that is Nelson Peltz lost to Bob Iger.

[twihard]

Jennifer Lee leaned too heavily into an audience’s desire to hunt for Easter Eggs versus telling a good Disney classic story. An insider reached out to me regarding the Wish Easter Eggs. This source attended several audience test screenings of Wish—the first in February of 2023. In the first screening, 5% of Wish was fully animated, with 85% being storyboard animatics. Much of the criticism from the audience spoke to confusion with the overall story and character motivations. It was perceived that the moderator wasn’t looking for story feedback but was more interested in whether they saw all the Easter Eggs. About a month later, another test screening was conducted. Though more of the film had been animated, none of the story feedback from the first session had been incorporated into this version. This particular screening was catered explicitly to “Disney Adults,” who said they visit Disneyland several times yearly. The moderator kept probing into how many Disney references they caught…they caught five.

Source: https://filmthreat.com/features/the-d-f ... th-wish/3/

thank you so much for sharing this informative article!! this explains so much about what is wrong with Disney these days.

I thought John Lasseter was a rapist based on everything I heard in the media. Now it's so shocking to read the truth that he didn't do anything really bad at all. All he did was ...hug ppl? This reminds me of a boss in my workplace who got MeTooed and I found out it was only cuz he wrote a pregnant lady's delivery date on the board. Apparently she got uncomfortable by that and made accusations against him. Now I'm seeing this happened to someone as powerful as John Lasseter and Disney let it happen cuz they knew he was the next Walt Disney and didn't want him to be so powerful. I actually do not like his Disney stuff but I think his Pixar stuff is a masterpiece. It seems so unfair to him and it makes sense now why Alan Menken took his side and moved with him to that new company. Menken knew the truth.

I had to read all five articles even though i was shuddering from fear at seeing Disney be taken over by demons. My heart goes out to Lasseter and all those poor animators like the older white men and the women who do not blindly follow herd mentality who were lied against and fired or blacklisted. I don't understand these DEI ppl who claim they are for equality and rights for all but make up lies against innocents and torture them emotoinally to get them fired or to quit. So evil. It proves they don't want equality but just to be the power themselves and flip the system.

These new movies Disney is making sound so awful from what I read. I heard terrible things about Disney's product now but I never believed it could be as bad as the article said. I think Walt Disney is the one I feel most bad for cuz he would never have wanted this to happen to his company. I hope all the news outlets and channels give this story the attention it deserves (they won't cuz the media is in on it) and that one day Disney can be saved still.

This Jennifer Lee lady sounds like the worst. Hearing she made Frozen explains a lot. Very vile and no undestanding of what being a woman is really like. These women who think womanhood is taking the worst traits of men and claiming this is empowerment really disgust me. Especially the part where she would target other women (or men) who do not blindly follow her so this just shows they aren't really all for female empowerment. They just want power for themselves.

plz everyone share this story and spread awareness. Thank you kind Sotiris for doing your good deed of the day.

[Patricier21]

So if I may ask, per your Username, you believe that twilight is a great example of womanhood and female empowerment? More so than Disney?

[twihard]

So if I may ask, per your Username, you believe that twilight is a great example of womanhood and female empowerment? More so than Disney?

Yes I think Twilight is a great example of womanhood and female empowerment. It was written by women for women. The reason it gets so much hate online is because men can't stand it when women have their own things and feel the need to critique it and make us feel bad for liking stuff. Twilight was a cultural phenomenon and spoke to women all over and that's not even including the male fans. You know Forks New York is a tourist attraction now for Twilight fans who still visit in droves???

Also look at the strength of the Twilight community. There was a Lego set for Twilight accepted because the fandom came together to make it come true with 10000 signatures. The story I read said those 10000 signatures were all made in one day. Most Lego sets that accepted that way have to wait months at best, usually years if even.

As for your last question it depends on which Disney you mean. Cuz current Disney, yup Twilight is way better. It understands that women are not lesser for falling in love and having relationships. Love makes everyone in the world stronger, men and women. This articles I read told me everything that I already knew that Disney believes love makes women weaker because it involves relying on a man. You can't have women being saved by men anymore or falling in love. And the only way to make women look stronger in nu-Disney is by making all the men useless children. Classic Disney or Real Disney that is knows the strength of true love and relationships. Mickey is just as better off for loving Minnie as Daisy is for loving Donald.

So this is not the gotcha you think it is. Disney needs to stop inserting activism in everything and making that the focus. The article literally says they care more about shoving messages down our throats instead of making entertainment. And my fav part is that after flop after flop u would think they would learn their lesson but instead they keep doubling down and deciding they're gonna continue hiring activists and making activist pictures that don't work.

[PatchofBlue]

Well, I guess it's time we put this one up again for all those who still think that poor little Lassseter's sins amount to nothing more than "hugging."

Dropping two particularly relevant passages here. I'll add in a trigger warning, I suppose, that the post details some instances of sexual assault.

Pixar’s Sexist Boys Club
https://byrslf.co/pixars-sexist-boys-club-9d621567fdc9

During week two of my internship, I was making tea in one of the company kitchens when the production designer I’d been warned about approached me to introduce himself. When I told him my name, he said, “I already know who you are,” with a sideways grin while he looked me up and down with predatory volition, insinuating that my reputation preceded me. When he said he recognized my surname and my look from his part of the world, the hair all over my body stood up on high alert. He told me he was excited to finally have a beautiful face from his motherland in the studio.

I smiled and nodded, said nice to meet you and scampered off down the hall so fast I burnt my hand with hot tea. Even though his intended compliment creeped me out, in some ways I felt relieved that I was “his type” and might dodge the insults and bullying that he was known to dish out to women he didn’t find attractive. When I turned the corner to my office I peeked back down the hall. Sure enough, he was still standing exactly where I’d left him, watching me walk away with wolf-like intensity.

Over the years, I white-knuckled my way through many unwelcome, objectifying interactions with him, with Lasseter and other men. A big part of me is disappointed in the ways I didn’t handle those encounters. There were opportunities there — for me to push back on men who were flexing and asserting their sexual dominance over me; to establish healthy boundaries and demand that they speak to me with respect and not treat me like a sex object; to ask my supervisors (or the HR department) to help me in holding them accountable for their loose tongues and poor behaviors, and to give the man in question a chance to course-correct. More importantly, I had opportunities to protect other women from being belittled and objectified like that in the future, but I didn’t take them.

My fierce desire to land and keep a coveted job with the one of the world’s most exclusive animation studios — and the fact that I’d been well trained in the not-so-admirable art form of stomaching and absorbing moments of sexual harassment throughout my lifetime — held me back from speaking out. I also recalled how my pleas for help had backfired on me when I reported harassment at my high-school restaurant job, so I decided to follow suit with many other female Pixarians, who would privately warn one another which men to avoid, but otherwise kept their discomfort to themselves.

Pushing back on or reporting this man would have been the more dignified and principled response, but I cannot say with confidence that either path would have been the most beneficial for my budding career in animation. During my five years there, I’d witnessed several women fall from grace after failed attempts to stand up to or question the behavior of a male lead. These women often had a hard time getting cast on subsequent projects after being branded “difficult” by leadership (a sentiment that was usually then echoed by her peers), and were later even laid off or demoted by the company.

But Lasseter didn’t need an intimate setting to make female employees uncomfortable. He gave out countless lecherous looks (or unwanted hugs and touches) to women he passed every day on campus. He was known for kissing on and groping women at studio events and wrap parties, even the wives and girlfriends of his subordinates.

The entire Pixar workforce witnessed the sleazy spin John brought to the studio’s annual Halloween bash. Quite a few of my female friends refused, year after year, to enter the costume contest — even if they’d worked for hours on a prize-worthy outfit — because of how infamously uncomfortable the costume parade became. If Lasseter found a woman attractive when she got on stage, he’d ask her to repeatedly spin around or bombarded her with suggestive comments, turning the event into yet another lewd spectacle. These very public displays were so cringeworthy and inappropriate (to not only the women who braved the stage but also to the general audience) that the company eventually asked a lead animator to take over as the master of ceremonies.

Lasseter’s open sexism set the tone from the top, emboldening others to act like frat boys in just about any campus setting. I’ll never forget the day a director compared his latest film to “a big-titted blond who was difficult to nail down” in front of the whole company, a joke that received gasps of disapproval.

Not surprisingly, tactless behavior towards women had a way of trickling all the way down through the ranks. About halfway through my time at the studio, I had a more intimate, disturbing physical encounter with a brazen male employee from outside my department. During an after-work celebration at one of Pixar’s employee-run bars, the coworker smacked and then grabbed my ass with a considerable amount of force while I was waiting for a volunteer bartender to make me a drink. Like a deer in headlights, I froze until my violator stumbled drunkenly away from me. The bar was loud, low-lit and filled shoulder-to-shoulder with intoxicated employees. I looked around, but no one seemed to have noticed what had just happened.

A few minutes after this encounter, I left the work party to head home, equal parts infuriated, shaken-up and perplexed. I replayed the moment in my mind over and over again. I had no doubt been caught completely off-guard, but I couldn’t wrap my head around my utter lack of response to such a deeply disturbing and violating interaction. Similar to the time that a complete stranger covertly stuck his hand under my skirt and grabbed my vagina in a packed San Francisco bar before slipping away into the crowd, a wave of strange heat had come over me immediately after his unwelcome hand made contact with my body.

I have since come to understand that this phenomenon is actually an automatic chemical response to physical aggression. Formally referred to as “tonic immobility” or “playing dead mode,” a sensation of paralysis occurs when the parasympathetic nervous system is triggered; a reaction that occurs in 7 out of 10 women who experience assault. According to studies reported on by LiveScience, this involuntary response literally puts a person’s muscles in a catatonic-like state during which they cannot move, may be unable to speak or become unresponsive.

At the time I wasn’t aware of the science behind all this, and felt confusion, shame and self-blame about not reacting to the incident in real time. Focused on what I thought were my own mistakes that night, I decided not to report the experience the following Monday. I don’t doubt that many similar incidents may have gone unreported in the studio for similar reasons.

And let us all remind ourselves that men like Lasseter have it in with reporters and other powerful people: they know what strings to pull to make themselves sound sympathetic or even victimized. We don't need to make things any easier for them. It's up to us to see through the distortion filter.

[reee9948]

Thank you so much for linking the article! As much as I don't like Jennifer Lee, there was a reason she was chosen to take over Lassester because Disney and Pixar screwed up their public image pretty badly when the allegation against him came out. They wanted to make it up to the public by electing a woman as a cco although I wished they chose a different woman because she isn't doing a really good job as the creative officer.

[Sotiris]

‘Wish’ Hits 13.2 Million Views on Disney+ in Five Days
https://variety.com/2024/film/news/wish ... 235964539/

[D23ExpoVisitor25]

Half of what Elemental did