Wish Creators Reveal The Lessons They Learned From Previous Disney Projects

"I think that the main thing, and it wasn't necessarily specific to Wish, is really just trusting the artists," - director Chris Buck

By Jamie Jirak

The newest trailer for Wish was released this week, and it featured a closer look at the film's heroine, Asha (Ariana DeBose), as she learns a dark secret about her kingdom's wish-granting ruler, Magnifico (Chris Pine). ComicBook.com recently had the chance to chat with the film's directors, Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn, in addition to producers Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster Jones. All of the creatives have a history with Walt Disney Animation Studios, so we asked what lessons they learned from their previous projects that they carried into Wish.

"Well, I think you're always, I mean, even from when I started as a hand-drawn animator, you're always bringing those aspects and those things you're learning along the way to each one," Buck, who co-directed favorites like Tarzan and Frozen, explained. "I don't know if it was different on this one. I've learned to work with so many different departments and so many different people, so many different artists. I think that the main thing, and it wasn't necessarily specific to Wish, is really just trusting the artists." 

Buck continued, "They're going to do something much better than I would ever imagine. You just throw out your ideas, what your wants are for the scenes, for the sequence, whatever it is you desire emotionally, what you want the characters to be doing. What do you want the audience to feel, and they take it from there. We direct and we keep everybody on track, but they really do take it. So I think a lot of it is you trust them, and then they trust you to protect the movie as we go." 

"Yeah," Veerasunthorn agreed. "One thing I'm excited about, and from my experience on Raya and the Last Dragon, is that the cinematography team that I worked with at the time, I found out that they have come up with all these philosophies about how to shoot the film ... So we have the same cinematography team as Raya. So knowing that, I reached out to them really early on and said, 'Let's do this early. Let's not just let Story go on their own path. We know that you're going to think about this. Let's all think about this together.'"

She continued, "So we came up with a philosophy on how to shoot this film that will essentially highlight the format of Cinemascope, the widescreen, the experience of seeing it in the theater. We want to really celebrate that because us coming back from working from home for so many years, coming back together to work on Wish, and being able to see the work on the big screen at Disney Animation was special to us."

"Boy, so many," Del Vecho laughed when asked which lessons he's carried into Wish. "I think first and foremost, when I first started, I used to think that the idea was the most important thing. And now I realize it's the people you work with who are the most important, putting that right team together because they build on each other's ideas and they will take an idea, a good idea, and they'll make it great. So the team that you put together on these films is in my mind, the important first step."

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). 

Related:

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 with the producers and directors of Wish, which opens only in theaters on November 22nd.    

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