Wish

ディズニー100周年記念―
『アナと雪の女王』のスタッフが贈る、100年の歴史の集大成となる世紀のドラマティック・ミュージカル『ウィッシュ』のオリジナル・サウンドトラック。

本作は、『アナと雪の女王』『ズートピア』『ミラベルと魔法だらけの家』などを手掛けたスタッフが集結し、レガシーを受け継いできた世代の違うメンバーがタッグを組み、ディズニーの総力が結集。また、『ウエスト・サイド・ストーリー』で第94回アカデミー賞(R)助演女優賞を受賞したアリアナ・デボーズが主人公アーシャの声優を務める。さらに、音楽を担当するのは、第60回グラミー賞主要2部門にノミネートし、ジャスティン・ビーバー、エド・シーランら有名アーティストへの楽曲提供をするなど、世界的ヒット・ソング・ライター兼アーティストとして活躍しているジュリア・マイケルズ。

Released during Walt Disney Pictures centennial year, the animated musical Wish offers references -- visual, musical, and otherwise -- to several Disney classics of the past, but especially to the Oscar-winning song and Disney logo theme "When You Wish Upon Star," which helped inspire the plot. The movie concerns 17-year-old Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose), whose wish on behalf of her kingdom results in a magic fallen star helping her go up against their egomaniacal king, Magnifico (Chris Pine). At the time of its release, movie goers already knew about DeBoses singing chops from her Academy Award-winning turn as Anita in Steven Spielbergs West Side Story (2021); Pines Broadway-ready skills were revealed in the 2014 film adaptation of Into the Woods. Here, the leads set aside Bernstein and Sondheim to make way for seven original songs by the newly formed songwriting team of Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice. While Rice won a Grammy for producing the soundtrack to A Star Is Born (2018), and Michaels had written songs for the likes of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, they are both singers and songwriters in their own right, and Michaels delivers the end-credits song "A Wish Worth Making." Before that, though, along with three other originals, DeBose sets the scene with the Latin-flavored "Welcome to Rosas," Pine proves a suitable foil with the playful (and ominous) villain song "This Is the Thanks I Get ?!," and the empowering DeBose ballad "This Wish" is key for launching the films supernatural story. Happily, the ensuing revolution ("Knowing What I Know Now") makes good on Ashas wish. ~ Marcy Donelson

Released during Walt Disney Pictures centennial year, the animated musical Wish offers references -- visual, musical, and otherwise -- to several Disney classics of the past, but especially to the Oscar-winning song and Disney logo theme "When You Wish Upon Star," which helped inspire the plot. The movie concerns 17-year-old Asha (voiced by Ariana DeBose), whose wish on behalf of her kingdom results in a magic fallen star helping her go up against their egomaniacal king, Magnifico (Chris Pine). At the time of its release, movie goers already knew about DeBoses singing chops from her Academy Award-winning turn as Anita in Steven Spielbergs West Side Story (2021); Pines Broadway-ready skills were revealed in the 2014 film adaptation of Into the Woods. Here, the leads set aside Bernstein and Sondheim to make way for seven original songs by the newly formed songwriting team of Julia Michaels and Benjamin Rice. While Rice won a Grammy for producing the soundtrack to A Star Is Born (2018), and Michaels had written songs for the likes of Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez, they are both singers and songwriters in their own right, and Michaels delivers the end-credits song "A Wish Worth Making." Before that, though, along with three other originals, DeBose sets the scene with the Latin-flavored "Welcome to Rosas," Pine proves a suitable foil with the playful (and ominous) villain song "This Is the Thanks I Get ?!," and the empowering DeBose ballad "This Wish" is key for launching the films supernatural story. While the performances here are expectedly strong, and the music, if not all memorable, isnt bad, lyrics are at times distractingly awkward in terms of both rhythmic stress and content, with lines like "Ooh, Im a star/Watch out world, here I are," "Had I only been not unaware/I would not be in this state of affairs," and a chorus-opening "Promise, as one does/I will protect you at all costs" somehow making their way into the final cut. In the context of a family film, "When it comes to the universe, were all shareholders/Get that through your system (solar)" is not only clunky but weirdly consumerist. Happily, the ensuing revolution ("Knowing What I Know Now") makes good on Ashas wish, but the Wish soundtrack (which also includes instrumental versions of four of the songs) falls short of the bar for an instant classic. ~ Marcy Donelson