Last week I had the chance to screen nearly a half-hour of footage of Disney’s upcoming animated feature Wish at the historic El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood. The musical adventure, opening in theaters on November 22nd, celebrates the studio’s 100th Anniversary by showcasing the power of dreams and wishing upon stars. For this Animation Scoop Q&A, here are highlights of my conversations with directors Chris Buck (Frozen) and Fawn Veerasunthorn (head of story on Raya and the Last Dragon), as well as producers Peter Del Vecho (Frozen) and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones (development on Encanto). (These interviews were combined and edited for length and clarity.)

Jackson Murphy: How is Asha the next great hero for this studio?

Chris Buck (Director): Well, gosh. It’s hard to say. She goes through quite a journey.

Fawn Veerasunthorn (Director): We start her off as someone you can relate to, who wears her heart on her sleeves and say whatever comes to her mind. Over the course of the journey, as it gets harder, we get to see her make more mature choices. To us, that’s what brings the aspirational aspect of classic Disney heroines. “You go, Asha! I’m rooting for you!” Ariana [DeBose] brought so much fun energy and quirkiness.

{At this point in the conversation, Chris Buck asked the Disney rep in the room, “Can we make it clear that she’s not a princess?}

CB: A lot of people assume when they see the trailer that she’s a Disney princess. And sometimes that comes with some things that they expect of a certain character.

FV: With it being a fairy tale, that’s what’s expected of us. But we set out with a goal to try to make something new and fresh.

JM: What do stars mean to you?

Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones (Producer): They mean hope. They are the symbol of that. It doesn’t matter where in the world you are. You can always look up at the stars and there’s always something there that guides you and you can put your faith and hope into. I love the Star character. There’s always a friend up there you can trust. Now it’s up to you to make that wish come true, like it is for Asha. But you have that companion.

Left to right: Chris Buck, Jackson Murphy, Fawn Veerasunthorn.

JM: In trying to make the Star character have the power of a Jiminy Cricket… a side character… the importance of that. Star shines. What do you love about Star?

Peter Del Vecho (Producer): I love that it’s an animator’s dream. Star doesn’t speak but yet has to communicate. The audience has to feel a connection, as does Asha. The animators did an incredible job of communicating through such a simple character design.

JM: My all-time favorite film is the animated “Beauty and the Beast”. When I saw the scenes [of “Wish”] today, I thought, “Here is the scope. Here is the scale.” We go through a town with an “I Want” song. It reminded me of that and brought me back to that feeling of watching that for the first few times. How has that movie influenced the studio over the years, and how do you want this movie to be the next one in terms of the lasting impact?

FV: You walk into the space and the castle is so grand. We picked out the Cinemascope 2:55:1. You can get into these visuals that surround you. And it does force us to frame the film differently from how we have done it before because of the aspect ratio.

CB: It’s interesting. You bring up a good point. We did a test, originally. It’s based on the “Pinocchio” village. What the artists did… those moves were so classic and so restrained because they could only push in or go horizontal. The multiplane camera. That was one of the guides we used for cinematography. How can we embrace that hand-drawn restriction but still have the CG element and be able to move around when we need to… and the elegance of the hand-drawn feel. Maybe you’re feeling some of that, which is good.

JM: I am.

FV: And when you think of “Beauty and the Beast”, that ballroom scene was the first time they implemented that CG environment, so you feel the dimensions, yet it’s in 2D.

JM: What do you love about how the [introductory] Kingdom of Rosas song brings us in?

JPRLJ: It’s a celebration. That song is a celebration of this being a place where wishes come true. You see people all around that are doing magnificent things. And it’s a place where you want to live. Then you, of course, start to discover the mystery behind that. But you can feel at home, dance and eat all day.

PDV: I think it very quickly establishes a believable world. We never necessarily create a realistic world but we want the audience to believe this place actually exists. The conceits they buy into… and suddenly they’re immersed in the story. The song does a great job of doing that.

Left to right: Peter Del Vecho, Jackson Murphy and Juan Pablo Reyes Lancaster-Jones

JM: Chris Pine kind of stole the show in Disney’s “Into the Woods” in a very funny [role]. This seems like a grittier character [King Magnifico] this time around.

JPRLJ: Yeah. We looked high and low to cast this character. And what he does so well is he brings the charisma but also brings the scary really well. And he also sings beautifully. It is a very complex character to cast. Chris is perfect.

JM: Many of the classic and modern Disney animated movies have been released at Thanksgiving — and many more to come. What does Thanksgiving time mean to you for this studio to be releasing these movies?

PDV: I think it’s the perfect time. This is a film we made for families — for reconnection. The holidays are certainly about that. It’s something you can go to the theater to see with friends and family. To me, it’s the perfect time to release this movie.

JM: What you were talking about today with wanting the other movies to be a part of this and also having it be original… you have the right to do that. It’s the 100th Anniversary. Anniversaries are so important. To be able to look back and bring in the new, I think is really smart, in the ways you’re doing that with this film.

CB: It’s that and it’s also kind of our love letter to Disney, to Walt. What he brought so much to the world and us. And it’s for the fans too. Everybody who has grown up with Disney. Disney means so much. It was never a chore.

FV: This movie is Disney fans making a movie for Disney fans. (laughs)

CB: Not only is it made for fans but it’s made by fans. We’re some of the biggest Disney fans on this planet.

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Jackson Murphy

Jackson Murphy is a movie critic and entertainment columnist. He is the creator of the website Lights-Camera-Jackson.com, and has made numerous appearances on television and radio.

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