Jennifer Lee Explains Why Once Upon a Studio Wasn't Paired With Wish

11/17/2023 04:37 pm EST

Last month, Walt Disney Animation Studios celebrated its 100th anniversary, and they released a new animated short in honor of the milestone. ABC aired Once Upon a Studio, which featured 543 characters from more than 85 Disney feature-length and short films. Now, the short is available to stream on Disney+. In addition to the short film, Disney is also celebrating 100 years with a new animated feature, Wish, which is hitting theaters next week. ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with Jennifer Lee, the Chief Creative Officer at the company and the co-writer of the film. During the chat, we asked Lee why Once Upon a Studio wasn't paired with Wish. 

"Well, I think there were [talks of pairing them], but I think because what was more important to a lot of us was that Once Upon a Studio was given to the world on the actual anniversary as a thank you. The thank you to all the artists, the thank you to all the fans, the thank you to anyone who has taken Disney into their lives, and that was a whole five weeks before this film came out," Lee explained.

"Really, what it felt like is, we don't want to hold it and didn't want to feel like people had to pay for the theater to see it, if that's what it truly is. And then there's some parts of the world where it will go on the front, but just based on whether they didn't have Disney+ or it wasn't as easily available. Because we do want to make sure everyone gets to see it. But I think that's really why, and it felt like, 'don't wait.'"

You can watch our interview with Lee at the top of the page.

What Is Wish About?

You can read the official synopsis for Wish below:

In Wish, Asha, a sharp-witted idealist, makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star. Together, Asha and Star confront a most formidable foe—the ruler of Rosas, King Magnifico—to save her community and prove that when the will of one courageous human connects with the magic of the stars, wondrous things can happen. Featuring the voices of Academy Award®-winning actor Ariana DeBose as Asha, Chris Pine as Magnifico, and Alan Tudyk as Asha's favorite goat, Valentino, the film is helmed by Oscar®-winning director Chris Buck (Frozen, Frozen 2) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (Raya and the Last Dragon), produced by Peter Del Vecho (Frozen, Frozen 2) and co-produced by Juan Pablo Reyes (Encanto). 

Jennifer Lee (Frozen, Frozen 2) executive produces — Lee and Allison Moore (Night Sky, Manhunt) are writers on the project. With original songs by Grammy®-nominated singer/songwriter Julia Michaels and Grammy-winning producer/songwriter/musician Benjamin Rice, plus a score by composer Dave Metzger.

Stay tuned for more from our interviews from Wish, which opens only in theaters on November 22nd.   

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