Disney’s newest film, WISH, was originally announced at the 2022 D23 Expo Presentation. From that moment until the premiere, the advertising for the film has been constant. Disney might expect it to be the next BIG animated movie. The last animated musical that received the biggest response in recent years was Frozen. Is Disney expecting WISH to get the same feedback that Frozen received in 2013 when it was released?
WISH
WISH was released on November 22, and a few trailers were available to watch online prior to its release. Walt Disney Animation Studios published several videos featuring moments from the film on their YouTube channel. This includes the teaser trailer, the official trailer, and two one-minute snippets of original songs from the movie. The online content didn’t end there for this movie. Behind-the-scenes footage showing the making of the film is also available on YouTube.
It was announced at Destination D23 that Asha from WISH would be coming to EPCOT for a meet & greet. Fans were surprised when her meet & greet debuted on November 1st, several weeks prior to WISH being released.
In addition to the meet and greet, official Disney merchandise for the film is available to shop online and in stores. This includes pins, dolls, clothes, plushes, and more. Three LEGO sets were also released on October 1 as part of the Disney 100 Celebration, over a month before the movie’s release date!
I don’t remember previous Disney films being advertised this much since before the pandemic. The complete opposite has been happening for the past few years: movies like Soul and Turning Red were quietly released on Disney+ instead of in theaters. Encanto was released in theaters on November 24, 2021, but was put on Disney+ exactly one month later. Could WISH be the movie that officially brings back the original excitement surrounding an original Disney film release?
Frozen
Frozen was released on November 27, 2013. This year will mark the 10-year anniversary since the film’s release, but the film is still iconic in every way.
Let It Go was sung from the top of every kid’s lungs for months, maybe even years, after the film was released. Elsa and Anna quickly became token Disney princesses and have a meet & greet location in EPCOT. Every retail store in the United States has Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf somewhere, whether it’s on a lunch box, suitcase, or T-shirt.
The film got its own attraction at Disney World – Frozen Ever After, released in 2016. You can sing along to the film’s greatest hits in the For The First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration in Hollywood Studios. Hong Kong Disneyland is now home to the new World of Frozen, a land themed entirely after the Frozen universe.
WISH versus Frozen
What prompted me to make a connection between WISH and Frozen were the similarities and differences between the two in terms of marketing and experiences. To begin with, both films are animated musicals that feature a female protagonist. However, the similarities run deeper than just this.
In terms of marketing, Frozen also had several teaser trailers and an official trailer prior to its release. As mentioned previously, Asha is currently available to meet in EPCOT, as are Anna and Elsa, but the dates when these meet & greets were available are what differs. Anna and Elsa were made available to meet in 2016, but Frozen was released in 2013. This is significantly later than the movie’s release date, as opposed to weeks before, such as Asha.
The multitude of behind-the-scenes footage available on YouTube reminds me of the Disney+ documentary Into the Unknown: Making Frozen II, one of my favorite Disney+ exclusive items that shows the entirety of what it was like to create the Frozen sequel. Will WISH be the next animated film to have a documentary released that features behind-the-scenes footage?
What does the future hold?
WISH is being advertised so heavily compared to films in recent years that it seems Disney expects a favorable outcome when it’s released. Maybe because WISH is being released during the Disney 100 Celebration, Disney is hoping more interest in WISH can lead to more interest in the celebration, or vice versa. In fact, WISH is being advertised as a film “a century in the making.” Perhaps they released Asha’s meet & greet so early to entice fans to travel to Walt Disney World to meet her prior to or around the release of her film.
Whatever the reasons, I wouldn’t be surprised if WISH is idolized as much as Frozen was when it was released. Will Asha and the WISH universe receive more than just a meet & greet? Will this film also be the star of a new attraction at Walt Disney World or another Disney theme park? Will Asha join the nighttime show Fantasmic!, located in Hollywood Studios, as Elsa did in November 2022? Regardless of the answers to these questions, there will always be just one Frozen, no matter how hard Disney tries to replicate its success.
Do you see any similarities between WISH and Frozen? Let us know in the comments!
Hi! My name is Candace King and I am a self-acclaimed Disney adult. I recently re-located to Kissimmee, Florida to participate in the Disney College Program.