#didn't feel like a disney song. wasn't intriguing. too much going on

[mercuriallily]

So I've never seen Encanto but I've heard good things about that one song (We Don't Talk About Bruno) so I finally decided to listen to it and uhhhh wow it did not live up to the hype. Mid at best

[rj-winter]

Disney's 'Wish' is Disappointing.

RJ Winter

[This review contains spoilers for Wish (2023)]

Before I watched Wish, I did something I don't normally do: I let myself read one of the (non-spoiler) reviews that was published before the movie released. I don't usually like to do that, because I feel it gives away too much of the story if I want to be surprised, but I was intrigued after talking with a friend about how the critic consensus was that it was mediocre and didn't push the boundaries of Disney.

All in all, those complaints didn't turn me off the movie. If anything, it made me look forward to it; those same reviews praised the soundtrack and the homages to Disney's history, and that's arguably the most important thing for a musical intended to celebrate the studio's centennial anniversary.

As a rule, Disney holds itself to a certain standard of quality. I thought that it would be fine, maybe a little bit boring.

Let me say this: Wish is not boring.

To follow up on that, though, it also isn't good. It's not even really mediocre. I hesitate to call it bad outright, if only because there's quite a bit of potential underneath, but I certainly can't give it the same praise I've seen others offer.

Let's start off with the things that this movie does well: the visuals are beautiful, calling back to the 2D animation that Disney was built on without directly returning to that style. Most of the character designs feel the same way. The standout song, This Wish, was the only thing from the soundtrack I let myself listen to before watching the movie (as it was the first song they released), and I'll probably continue listening to it on my own time because I do really like it. Perhaps most importantly, considering this movie's entire reason for existence, the subtle homages to Disney's history were a welcome addition and a nice touch. Also, the little star critter is adorable; as is its way of communicating, given that it can't talk.

And now that I've sufficiently praised the things I thought were good, let's address the parts where the movie falls flat: first, and most damningly, Wish is a musical comedy with jokes and songs that both tend to miss the mark. A number of the homages to Disney's history aren't the subtle ones I praised before, but instead a lot more overt in a way that's often distracting.

Its comedy is often in the same vein as something like Frozen, and while I'm in the camp that does still like that movie I have to admit that ten years on I'd like to see them try a different approach. I had hope that they would lean more into the old styles of storytelling, of something timeless, but Wish is unfortunately filled with jokes that rarely land and already feel somewhat dated. The best example of that is the goat, Valentino, whose design feels as out of place as his comedic timing.

Earlier I praised This Wish, the standout song, because it made it feel like a true return to form for Disney--feeling somewhat fresh but also calling back to the classics. However, it exemplifies some other problems with the movie: first, that the pacing in this film is outright bad. It feels like they had to squish a much longer story into their 95-minute runtime, or maybe like a handful of scripts got squished together and the final product either wasn't edited at all or went through one too many revisions.

And, similarly, the entire thing feels disjointed; none of these songs feel like they belong in the same story. A musical is only as good as its soundtrack, so let's go over each song and my personal gripes with it:

Welcome to Rosas, the opening number, is a passable opener for this movie. I actually like the first minute or so of it, before it devolves into heavy foreshadowing and jokes that don't seem to land, at least for me. It does feel the most tonally consistent overall with the rest of the movie, so there's that.

At All Costs, the duet between Asha and King Magnifico, is clearly a remnant from an older draft. The demo makes it an outright love song duet, and I've heard that an earlier version had the star be a boy and potentially had a romance between him and Asha in the script, so that's quite possibly where this came from. It feels strange and out of place, especially in the scene it's in, and the alterations to make it less overtly romantic do it a disservice. I do like the demo version, though.

This Wish is, as mentioned, the standout song; my issues with it are unrelated to the music. It's a song that belongs in a movie with more heart behind it than this one, and feels like another remnant from a different take on the storyline; the movie itself feels like it was rushing to get to this point and so the moment doesn't feel earned. Several things, such as Asha recalling her late father's lessons, would have more impact if we'd seen them more clearly beforehand. Most importantly, though, Asha hasn't gone through any real development or change at this point in the story--despite the song itself claiming that it should be a turning point for her.

I'm A Star has a lot of little bits that I like, but the focus on comedy that slowly slips in brings it down; the ending having the 'homage' to Disney's history that I found the most painful to watch. I think that with less comedic asides, I would like the overall song more. It's another one that feels like it was at least meant for this version of the movie, but I don't think that's necessarily a good thing.

This Is The Thanks I Get is just not a good villain song, which pains me to say as someone who absolutely adores the old ones. It lacks style and substance, and overall it feels like a first draft song that would benefit from some heavy rewrites; as is, it's not funny or menacing. Magnifico in general suffers from them seeming to take him from being an outright villain from the start to trying to give him a sympathetic origin but only ever committing to it halfway. A villain song about someone being corrupted by the darkness in their panic can work; but he snaps too quickly.

Knowing What I Know Now is another song that feels like a very disjointed first draft. There's potential underneath it, but it's buried in how everything is so rushed and seemingly haphazardly slapped together.

The reprise of This Wish feels even more unearned than the original song does; existing solely to serve this scene in the plot rather than for the sake of the story and the characters. I like the idea behind it, it has some of the same heart, but it feels strange and out of place in this version of the movie. It definitely doesn't hit the way it was intended to.

In the end, Wish feels like several movies, all of which have the potential to be good, but none of which were successfully realized; and that genuinely pains me to say, as someone who grew up loving Disney and its history.

[captain-amadeus]

I feel the "Magnus mistreated his staff" theory only sort of applies to Greylock, but to say that's why Slickwell wanted to become steward of Enchancia leaves out the context of the entire episode.

Think about it: if Slickwell was desperate to stop serving Magnus, why would he have to specifically look towards taking Baileywick's job of all positions? Even if it would've been easier to get rid of Baileywick because of his age, it doesn't make sense considering Slickwell wasn't presented as needing to escape from Magnus because of any mistreatment.

In fact, he shows time and time again how happy he is to be sabotaging Baileywick with the Pin of Klutzenheimer. He SINGS a song about it too, expressing how it's always been his dream to be steward of Enchancia in that same song. Not steward of any other kingdom. Steward of Enchancia.

He's specifically going for Baileywick's job not because it would be easier, but because he intentionally wants his job because it's his dream.

His behavior even shows him being content with serving King Magnus. Sure, he looked nervous when asking if he could take over for the Jubilee, but that's because he had to ask for permission, still trying to ease his way into becoming a steward for Roland. He doesn't want anyone to realize what he's doing, so until he was able to officially hold Baileywick's position, of course he's going to act nervous.

He's literally trying to play it cool until he can snag the spot.

He fails of course.

Slickwell's motives are pretty clear because his motives are actually presented, but when Greylock, someone who worked for Magnus and wasn't given any explanation for being in Day of the Sorcerers, the theory that he didn't want to continue being underutilized or trapped by Magnus seeps into Slickwell's motives because they worked for the same person.

Of course, if you think Greylock wanted to overthrow Magnus because of the motives of all the other sorcerers, then it's reasonable to assume that was the same motive for Slickwell wanting to become steward of Enchancia, despite how it was merely his dream to and would go committing terrible and cruel surprises to achieve his goal.

It's ironic because even with Greylock being a fan favorite, Slickwell is more fleshed out than him. Despite being in a single episode, his role as the antagonist intrigues me more since he has a clear motive that speaks to his character and makes worth of his sole appearance in the show.

Greylock's role could've been more present in the series than Slickwell, absolutely. Slickwell never came back because his voice actor was Christian Borle. As far as I know, Borle does cameos in shows (and hazbin💢 in many musicals like Something Rotten as Shakespeare and Some Like It Hot as Joe/Josephine), but Disney probably wasn't able to get him back even when Slickwell says his iconic line, "You haven't seen the last of Slickwell," and promptly trips over.

Meanwhile. Mitchell Whitfield worked with Disney more, with shows like Vampirina as Demi, as well as provided voice acting for Boo, another character from the show in the episode "Ghostly Gala"

They were also able to bring him back for Day of the Sorcerer, but probably wasn't able to do Greylock due to his workload. Other than the fact that they might've seen Greylock as another side character who would only have the one episode, if they had brought him back, they should've given more time for him to be a friendly rival for Cedric since he does give off that sort of energy; being a constrast of Cedric's seriousness and them working well together with their different mindsets. And they should've never taken the cameo in Day of the Sorcerer to begin with because of how much it went against what we know of Greylock.

They really handled his character as a seat warmer for the group of sorcerers despite him showing no interest in overthrowing anyone. They literally made Greylock a villain just to fill in someone who would go overtake Rudistan. Although a kingdom that's been established to exist in EverRealm, the fact we never get to see Rudistan at all? Rudistan pretty much served as expedition for Day of the Sorcerers, sacrificing what could've been fully fledged locations and characters.

All in all, I sadly think it would've been better to have left Greylock at Baileywick than butcher his established character.

And because it's canon, fans have to reason why Greylock was even there, again, leading them to assume theories for Greylock also apply for Slickwell just for being related to the same king.

Tl;Dr.: Slickwell was a one-hit wonder, and Greylock should've been kept the same because how they destroyed his character wouldn't be worth it.

Why did Slickwell wanted Baileywick's job so much?

If King Magnus were a good boss then Slickwell wouldn't have tried to take Baileywick's job in Enchancia, neither Greylock would try to take over the kingdom/accept to be part of the Order Of The Wand.

What are you doing with your employees, King Magnus?

(Once I saw a theory that Greylock took over the kingdom (which made a lot of people confused because he apparently didn't had any reason to do that) because the king expects too much of him, when he just wants to be treated like a person. King Magnus seed him more like a trophy then a royal sorcerer. Maybe it's the same for Slickwell)

But is it so bad that the only two characters that work for him (that we have seen until now) are trying not to work for him anymore, in different ways? King Magnus what are you doing with your employees?

[filmmakerdreamst]

Ahhhh! I can't believe someone actually read any of my HSMTMTS posts let along liked some of them! Thank you so much, I felt so validated lol. I totally want friends in this fandom so yeah let's talk about it! It's a good time too, time to catch up int he hiatus :-D

eeep! Ok I'll tell you my HSMTMTS story!

I hated the High School Musical movies when I was little. Everyone was nuts about them and I just didn't get it. (Mind you, I had only seen bits of it at the time) Being an Artsy kid, there was no escaping them. I had to learn the songs in the School Choir, For Plays and in my singing lessons. It was hell. Could be that I wasn't a big fan of Disney. I grew up with gritty British kids TV like Tracy Beaker - so everything I watched on Disney was extremely sugary in comparison.

I did however watch the movies fully when I was alot older, and they weren't as bad as I initially thought, but they still didn't really do it for me personally. Maybe because I'm not the biggest fan of musicals I don’t know.

I was aware of HSMTMTS when it first came out. I had already been told that they were possibly going to do another High School Musical - which turned into a tv show instead. I did initially cringe at the idea but what intrigued me to it was Sofia Wylie (I was a big fan of Buffy in 'Andi Mack') But the clips I saw didn't particularly. 

I saw the Season One Finale moment where Ricky confesses his love to Nini and..they just seemed to be like every average Disney Couple to me. (especially since they were a carbon copy of Troy and Gabriella) Under developed, Cliche, Main Guy + Girl ending up together, Singing while gazing into each others eyes etc.  

I found the scene to be awkwardly co-ordinated as well. The way Nini immediately flipped round, to walking towards him smiling didn't strike me as very natural. 

Generally speaking the main couple of a show shouldn't put a viewer off from watching it if they don't like them, but it does to me a lot of the time. Possibly one of the reasons why I never got into High School Musical when I was little - so the clips I saw of the show didn't really interest me. Josh and Sofia's acting (especially Josh) was the only thing that stood out.

Its only until Season 2 came out that I saw the videos of Ricky and Gina -- I went.."oh hello. "

At first, I was like, this the typical  'plot device' loosing side of the love triangle ship where the girl unrequitedly pines after the guy that chose his inevitable endgame over her - so might as well forget it.  

The only thing that indicated to me in the few music videos and scenes (out of context mind) that I saw that Ricky might have feelings for her too was his eyes. 

Must give props to Josh in the eye acting department, because I feel like he expressed Rickys POV very well. 

I did see their chemistry and all that, but never thought they were ever going to go there because Disney Shows never do with those types of pairings e.g. where its less obvious and cliche. 

The Main Guy does not end up with a girl who was originally supposed to be a side character on a Disney Show. (And lets face it, someone who isn't white passing) That rarely happens. Typically, on those types of shows, especially today, the main characters end up with their 'endgame' from day one and thats it.

I also saw videos of her and EJ and I was like 'no'. Even before watching the show, I didn't find them to have that much chemistry - they just seemed pretty bland to me. 

I heard somewhere by the end of Season 2, they were  supposedly doing a 'Next Generation' in Season 3, and the original cast weren't coming back and I was like 'noo that means Ricky and gina won't happen' I don't know why i thought that.

Then I heard on twitter that the writers were going to explore Ricky and Gina in Season 3, and i was like 'SHUT UP! NO WAY' and my interest in the show peaked from mildly interested to INVESTED SO FAST. 

The show quickly went from (to me) a cheesy reboot to the Deepest Show on Disney.

I then watched the show in context, and honestly it proved me wrong (the show itself was better than I expected) Ricky did have feelings for Gina, but he was scared of them because she was new and also he felt guilty because he was actively pursuing his old gf before he made a connection with her. So as soon as she left, it's felt like to me that he saw it as an easy out and went back to the safety of his old relationship. But when Ricky and Nini got back together, it wasn't about being 'in love' anymore, it was about having a constant or dare I say, "familiar" relationship that he could cling on to because his family was splitting apart and he felt alone. 

And you can see in the Valentines Day episode, that he's clearly freaking out when she comes to his house and if Nini hadn't called, I'm pretty sure he would of got lost in the moment and cheated. Because sure, he loved Nini but what he really wanted was Gina. His attitude towards her in that Season doesn't make sense if you assume he doesn't like her that way. All these comments saying 'Oh Ricky misunderstood Gina's confession' are BS. If he misunderstood her, their relationship wouldn't have been as awkward as it was in that part of the season. 

Gina was the one who cut him out of her life, not him, because she recognised that he was going down hill. Ricky respected that decision and gave her space until she said it was ok for him to start talking to her again. 

Basically, I find them to have the deepest, most realistic bond on that show. It's not a "straight up romance".  It's not flowery or Disney-esque.  It doesn't have a typical A- Z plotline e.g. 'enemies to lovers' or whatever. It's beautifully complicated and 100% genuine. Plus Josh and Sofia's chemistry is Electric man!

Tell me about your story! Love to chat about it!

[marciabrady]

The Little Mermaid 2 and 3 (bring it on!)

The Little Mermaid 2 and 3:

my all-time ultimate fave character: we all know it's ariel lbr but...again not to be too predictable, andrina! she's SO much funny in every incarnation i read of her and she's the only character that seems to make it with a semblance of character integrity (even more so than ariel who does NOT fare well with these sequels)

a character I didn’t used to like but now do: king triton maybe? i still think he has abusive tendencies and certain things frustrate me about him to no end but i think he's realistic and there's a weight to him that's intriguing to me

a character I used to like but now don’t: queen athena. i thought she was pretty as a kid and i liked her whole voice/singing to the kids plot thing but i just think she's so uninspired and lazy and her voice isn't even that good, her design is blah, and i don't think ariel's mom is that lady lol sorry

a character I’m indifferent about: hm. benjamin??? i guess it's fine that they kinda gay-coded him and it's some representation but he's marina's sidekick, and marina is the ultimate ick, and idk he's just so bland anyway that it's hard to feel anything for him outside of what he is

a character who deserved better: andrina! she deserved WAY more lines and screentime. i wish they got the original andrina back but tara did her best, i guess

a ship I’ve never been able to get into: carlotta and grimsby. like i get they're both side characters that are a man and a woman but obligatory hetero ships that have no chemistry aren't my thing (this is directed at the fandom, the movie doesn't really put them together)

a ship I’ve never been able to get over: i think aquata and that boy they put her with in the third movie are cute i guess? again i'm actively trying not to say ariel/eric

a cute, low-key ship: um. melody and that blonde boy??? i guess

an unpopular ship but I still enjoyed it: ??? there aren't really any other ships in these movies, they honestly don't offer much

a ship that was totally wrong and never should have happened: melody and that guy she danced with in the beginning of the second movie, but that was the point so

my favourite storyline/moment: hm...uh. um. uhhh OH WAIT i do love ariel singing in that hazy room in the beginning of the second movie. the animation is like rugrats level bad BUT jodi's singing carries it

a storyline that never should have been written: THE THIRD MOVIE. i will go to my grave standing by the fact that i think the banishment of music is the DUMBEST plot i've ever heard of/seen in all of hollywood and the fact that disney is SUCH a difficult company to break into and it's so competitive and it's supposed to hold the highest standards for its craft and THAT plot wasn't ridiculed in its initial pitch in the writer's room and how that plot not only contradicts THE FIRST SCENE we see of ariel missing the concert in her original movie but doesn't even make any sense, given that she gives her voice up to be human so clearly she doesn't care about music THAT much is baffling like the minimum wage character performers in the parks get better training on integrity than the writers from that movie

my first thoughts on the show: i honestly never cared about either movie but i think i disliked the third movie less when i first saw it because tlm2 made melody the main character and that really irritated me as a child because i didn't want to see her and her walrus and penguin, i wanted more ariel who was delegated as a side character bc i guess older women or moms just aren't interesting/worthy of being main characters???

my thoughts now: for as much as i personally dislike the second movie, i'm still glad we have it because i think some of jodi benson's singing is superior to any of her other recordings and i'm genuinely astounded by her talent in some songs. the third movie though is painful and i hate it and it makes me resent disney lol