Disney Dishes on Chris Pine’s Wish Villain

Movies

Back on September 21^st, some of the makers of Disney’s upcoming animated movie Wish had a Q&A at the El Capitan theater when a scene from the film was screened. Check out some of Disney CCO Jennifer Lee’s comments here, via The Direct:

“Well, for us, too, it was like we always wanted to do a nod to the Disney villains. And our audience was craving for another villain. So, [that new song is] just the beginning of him, so yeah, there’s more to see. Asha will have to find the strength within herself to inspire the entire kingdom to stand up to Magnifico and use increasingly dangerous magic in the hopes of saving Star and saving them all.”

“And so that was there. And Julia Michaels was instrumental because ‘This Is the Thanks I Get’ as an idea, which, hilariously, is a nod to all moms put up within the house. We talked a lot about [and] for her, she hooked on the idea of a narcissist. So it comes really simple, down to character and the deliciousness and danger of that. And so, for me, when I write, that’s how I had to process it, was from inside out. And the person, the charm of that, that, when tested, people make different choices when tested.”

“And so, the playground always comes from character. I think people see different things in it and different societies in it, but that’s just because that’s how we live and who we are. So we’re really trying to not do one. We’re not. And actually, you’ll see the queen make very different choices from him. I won’t give those away. But it’s really just about what we kept coming back to is, at the core of the person, who’s the most vulnerable in some ways to these things? And Julia was instrumental in that. But boy, that was so fun to do once we started building it.”

Much more was said, but I’m most interested in these remarks centering on Magnifico’s song. I think it’s great that we’ll get a real Disney villain with a big, boisterous song for the first time since Tangled in 2010. The intervening films have included no villains, underdeveloped plot-twist villains, and the concept of familial trauma. The last one only worked in Encanto, and I think the less said about the other two, the better. I also like Chris Pine, and I’m excited to hear his performance as King Magnifico. I do find it interesting that Jennifer Lee references the audience’s hunger for a traditional villain and says they’ve wanted one, too. They could have done one any time they wanted. I am pumped to see one again, though.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments!