The Big Picture

“Wish,” the new animated film from Disney, takes audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas and introduces them to Asha, a 17-year-old with a mission to save her community. The film offers original songs from Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice, and ensures that audiences will fall in love with Asha and her pajama-wearing goat sidekick. The producers discuss what makes being part of Disney’s storytelling legacy magical.

Wish, the latest musical adventure from Walt Disney Animation Studios, will introduce audiences to the magical kingdom of Rosas and its 17-year-old resident idealist Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose). Her mission to save her community from villainous ruler King Magnifico (voiced by Chris Pine) sends her on an unexpected journey, accompanied by her favorite pajama-wearing goat Valentino (voiced by Alan Tudyk), where Asha will learn from a cosmic ball of energy called Star that a little inner courage can go a long way.

Collider recently got the opportunity, along with a variety of other media outlets, to preview approximately 30 minutes of the upcoming release at the El Capitan Theater in Hollywood. With behind-the-scenes glimpses of this new kingdom and the characters that inhabit it, and the chance to hear what the original songs from Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice will sound like, it’s clear that audiences will not only fall in love with Asha, but who can resist a goat sidekick in pajamas?

During this interview with Collider, producers Peter Del Vecho and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster Jones talked what makes being a part of Disney storytelling and its 100-year legacy so magical, how Wish evolved into what it is now, why they hope audiences will embrace Asha, working with Tudyk to discover who Valentino the pajama-wearing goat would be, what to expect from the original songs, how King Magnifico stands up against previous Disney villains, and how all of the color choices in the film were made for very thoughtful, specific reasons.

Collider: Because we’re celebrating 100 years of Disney magic, what makes being a part of Disney storytelling magical to each of you?

PETER DEL VECHO: Just walking into the building. I still remember the first day I walked in, just being a part of the history and the creativity that’s inside that building, and realizing we’re working with some of the best in the industry, that collaboration and teamwork makes it a joy, every day, to come to work.

JUAN PABLO REYES LANCASTER JONES: Yeah, I remember when I was coming in for interviews, listening to songs like “Part of Your World” and “The Second Star to the Right” on my way here. And here we are still, trying to make magic together, because we’re all fans and we all love this place.

Image via Disney

I’m always interested in how a story starts. Did Wish start with an idea that then led to the characters inhabiting that world, or did Wish start with the character and then everything was designed around that?

DEL VECHO: For the projects I’ve worked on, Wish had a different start than most of them because it was looking back at, what is it about Disney animation? If we’re celebrating 100 years, what are some of the core truths that should be part of this movie? Certainly, the wishing on a star came fairly early on because that’s such a part of the Disney DNA.

LANCASTER JONES: We had very early conversations about what classic Disney elements we definitely wanted in this movie, and stuff like a classic villain and being a musical were things that were in it, from very early on. And then, discovering that it probably should be a fairy tale because that is a quintessential aspect of what we do. And then, that idea of the fairy tale also informed the visual style of the movie, going back to that watercolor style and looking at Pinocchio and Snow White as references.

Since this is a new story that’s unlike anything we’ve seen in Disney animation, and it has a new character at its center, what are you most excited about when it comes to introducing the world to Asha?

DEL VECHO: Our hope is that they embrace her the way that we fall in love with her. She’s very real to us and very relatable. She’s not perfect. She’s not a Disney princess. She’s a regular girl who has hopes and dreams, like we all do. That’s something that’s universal to all of us. Hopefully, what people will take away is the courage to pursue their own dreams.

Image via Disney

And who doesn’t want to have a friend that’s a goat in pajamas? That’s all I’ve been able to think about.

LANCASTER JONES: The goat in pajamas is a concept that we all gravitated towards. Jen [Lee] always pushes us to make the characters very specific, so not only should it be a goat, but it should have pajamas. And then, for the discovery of the character, Alan Tudyk was a huge part of it. I remember the first recording session with him, where we didn’t know what the voice would be. We chose him, and he helped us figure out the voice and style of the character. He tried many different things, and he was a part of that discovery.

Bringing a character to life at the center of an animated movie is always a partnership between the creative team and the performer that’s cast in the role. What magic did Ariana DeBose add to this? What most stands out to you guys about her performance, as both actor and singer?

DEL VECHO: The character development is a collaboration between the writers, the directors and the songwriters, but certainly, when you cast someone like Ariana, who brings such fun and quirkiness herself, you can’t help but evolve the character to incorporate some of her personality. The writers then know who they’re writing for, so that helps them evolve the writing. And then, the animators feed off of every part of Ariana’s performance to create a character that’s very endearing.

LANCASTER JONES: The thing that influenced the character the most is just Ariana’s energy. When she walks into a room, she has that energy that Asha has. That is very real. She is an extremely authentic person.

Image via Disney

We’re also getting new music with this movie. What would you say to tease the original songs that we’ll be getting from Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice?

DEL VECHO: Music plays a huge part of this movie. What’s interesting about Julia’s writing is that it’s very diverse. There are so many different styles of music within this film. It’s hard to pick a favorite. We always joke that our favorite song is the one she just wrote because, every time she comes in with a song, it very quickly becomes our favorite.

LANCASTER-JONES: As a songwriter, Julia is such a poet. Songs like “I’m a Star” are so fun, but if you actually listen to the lyrics and read them, it’s pure poetry. Julia is a fan of Disney who’s studied everything, so you’ll have those classic flavors, as well, and you’ll have the return of the Disney villain song. There are very exciting things about this movie that celebrate the past, as well.

Every great Disney hero or Disney princess story has to have that fabulous villain to defeat or overcome, in some way. How does King Magnifico stand up to the lineup of Disney animated villains, over the 100 years of Disney?

DEL VECHO: Jen and Allison [Moore] have written a very dimensional character. King Magnifico is charming and charismatic, and you believe that people would give their true wish to him. And yet, he also has that villainous side. Because of how the story evolves, you don’t necessarily agree with the choices he makes, but you can understand why he’s making those choices.

LANCASTER JONES: Because of that, casting that character was super complicated. We put up an image of the character and we listen to people’s voices, just to see how that matches up. And I will say the first time that we put Chris Pine’s voice to that image, we immediately knew it had to be him. Of course, he is a very charming person, but he can also bring the scary into the character, and he has a fabulous singing voice.

Image via Disney

How much did this story develop and evolve, over the years? What aspect changed the most? Was it something involving the story, or something involving the characters?

DEL VECHO: Like all our movies, the story evolved quite a bit. There are characters that come and go, and there are characters that change. The first version of the movie, we got part way through boarding it and already realized, “Okay, this isn’t working,” and they made some fundamental changes. It’s part of what we do. We screen the movie every three to four months. We bring in all the other writers and directors, and they’re very hard on us and help us bring the movie to the next level. It all looks easy, in hindsight, but it’s hard, in the moment.

I love everything about the look of this film, and my favorite color is purple, so I especially love that aspect of it.

LANCASTER JONES: Purple means hope. That is something that was done on purpose because Asha means hope and she brings hope to the people. All of those color choices are made for a reason and our art department does them very, very thoughtfully.

Wish is in theaters on November 22nd.