Prince Kido wrote: βSat Jun 24, 2023 2:13 am
First of all, sorry by advance for my english!

Second, be aware of possible SPOILERS below please!
Since the presentations given by Jennifer Lee in the past few days, including the one I attended at the Animation Festival in Annecy, France, I have been reading a lot of articles on the internet and social networks as well as speculations as to the story and characters of Wish.
It's nice to see that there's enthusiasm and a certain expectation for this film, even if I find that the atmosphere on this forum is sometimes unpleasant and doesn't really make me want to participate.
However, I will try to bring my point of view and my observations that I share with you in order to perhaps clarify a little more what is put in place in Wish.
My personal feelings do not let me think that Queen Amaya can be a Villain because her attitude is soft, and very passive, not to say faded.
I wouldn't be surprised if the King manipulates her like he manipulates the citizens of Rosas and that thanks to Asha, she ends up opening her eyes.
Concerning Magnifico (great voice by Chris Pine!), from what I could see, he is not an antagonist like Namaari can be (I haven't forgotten Raya and the Last Dragon whom I love a lot despite his flaws

) but he reminds me more of Mother Gothel as he seems complex at first and probably scary and dangerous at the end.
The king has a narcissistic evil side that may not be aware that he is doing wrong. His way of responding to Asha is alternately warm and intimidating, guilt-inducing, and you can clearly sense that he's going to get nastier and nastier.
When Asha is brought by the Queen to the room of the King who is also a magician, she begins to look at the objects there while waiting for the King to arrive for the interview.
We see a large book placed in a glass case and protected by a spell that Asha unintentionally provokes: the patterns in the shape of white petals on the glass come to life and turn into a swarm of insects (like mosquitoes or butterflies - note that the excerpts were not finalized!) which are agitated around Asha who struggles in all directions, even after Magnifico who has entered in the meantime has restored order.
When they talk and at one point, Asha explains that she lost her father when she was little because he was sick (we see drawings where Asha and her father from back on a branch of a tree, the one where she sings later...), Magnifico is compassionate since he too has gone through mourning and we see a tapestry on the wall of which a section at the bottom is burnt and we see a drawing, probably of Magnifico's family towards the top .
Cute little detail: Asha has an interesting side because although she has the attractions of all the Disney heroines (Anna, Rapunzel, Mirabel, etc.), she also has a certain candor while being very wise. For example, proud of herself, she shows the King a notebook where she has drawn a little goat that runs in the corner of a page and scrolls through the pages like a flipbook. So cute and funny.
The Magnifico song was not shown to us but the excerpt resumes after obviously and the spheres containing the wishes of the people are at Asha's height and she finds and holds her grandfather one and is touched. She then asks if it would be possible to realize the wish of Sabino who is celebrating her 100th birthday today during the vows ceremony which is just after. Magnifico reacts badly telling Asha that in fact she is interested, like everyone else and she is very embarrassed and intimidated. She insists however because Saba is old and he has waited so long and his wish (I don't know if this one is said because it is rather vague from memory) deserves to be carried out but the King says that the intention of the wish of her grandfather may be ill-intentioned and too dangerous, which Asha defends herself against.
The Queen interrupts them as the ceremony is about to begin and everyone is waiting. Asha is invited to sit next to them on stage but she has lost her joy and is suspicious.
The King begins his show as in the trailer and he begins by accepting the wishes of a young couple then he will choose a person to carry out his wish and after a little suspense, chooses a woman who wants to become a seamstress (she climbs on stage and the magic operates around her in the form of scissors then a fabric which turns around her and which is a nod to the fabric to make Aurora's dress because it twirls in the air with magic) . Everyone applauds, but we see Asha's family and friends disappointed because it seemed logical to grant an old man's wish.
The ceremony ends with Magnifico telling Asha that she is not being kept to be his apprentice.
Later, we find Asha, her mother and her grandfather having dinner at home (the scene recalls dinner at Mulan's) and it's very pretty. Asha wants to tell Sabino about her wish that she saw it and she can tell him what it is since people who offer their wish to the king in the hope that they will one day come true, is forget over time. He gets angry because he does not want to know because he would be too sad then since he is not realized it and he is now too old. Asha tries to convince her grandfather but he gets mad and asks her if she is trying to hurt him and she leaves the table then runs outside and that's where her song starts.
The song stays in mind and we can see Asha singing, running, going to the tree where she was going with her father and her hair is in the wind then a star in the sky lights up and its light radiates all Rosas and we sees the pleasant reaction that all the inhabitants feel (we also see Dahlia at her house, we see Asha's mother and the grandfather smile while going to see at their window) up to Queen Amaya who goes to see her husband in him asking if he saw and felt the same as her and he replies that it is a big deal or something and that he is very worried and upset.
Later, we see Asha and Valentino discovering Star manifesting without speaking and using a yarn in the trees to draw a star to explain who it is. Star is so funny in its mute acting and animation.
We see the part where Valentino starts talking thanks to Star, then all the animals of all kinds and sizes start talking to Asha too thanks to Star and another song, You're a Star, starts. Very typical of old Disney with all these animals everywhere which explain to Asha the common point that all living beings have in themselves: hope, desire. The hearts of each being light up in yellow and everyone sings, runs, gallops, etc. in short, the classic sequence! There are also talking trees which I found very creepy because of their design but the images were not finalized and I wondered if they were not a nod to the trees of Fun and Fancy Free but I'm not sure.
At the end of the song, a bear and a deer talk to each other saying it's nice that they didn't eat each other (the bear calls the deer Bambi I believe).
Overall, the fully finalized shots look very beautiful and the rendering doesn't shock me and looks nicer when the trailer. I don't know if it's because I saw the excerpts on a big screen.
The sets are superb, very similar to those of Snow White and Sleeping Beauty. The characters are classic and reminiscent of those of the Hunchback of Notre-Dame, perhaps because of the medieval outfits.
Asha is a pretty heroine and the audience will love her for sure.
Before the clips, we saw several concept arts (most of them by Lisa Keene inspired by Gustav Tenngren), as well as final poses or concept arts of the various main characters including a test animation with Asha's friends, The Teens, which shows everyone's personality by walking towards each other and forming a group. Dahlia has a wooden cane and she is Asha's best friend (we see a pose where they are both).
Queen Amaya is Caucasian, beautiful, classic, with an outfit in the same colors and patterns as the King, and her hair is hidden by a medieval headdress (I don't know the word, but she has "macaroons" on her ears).
The Artbook should be superb I think because the visuals, the designs and especially the backgrounds are a feast for the eyes (the house of Asha and her family is too cute).
I hope this will bring you a little more information in addition to the feedback from other people on the internet.
For my part, I have of course always been a fan of Disney Animation and I am as excited by this project as by the previous ones.