Why Disney 'Wish' movie required directors, animators to 'have more discipline'

In celebration of Disney's 100 years of history, the new animated film Wish (now in theatres), with characters voiced by stars including Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine, aims to blend Disney Animation Studios' latest technology, with references to famed Disney films of the past.

"[We knew we wanted] to make a movie to celebrate the 100 year anniversary of Disney Animation and we started out by pinning up images from our films," director Fawn Veerasunthorn told Yahoo Canada in Toronto earlier this year. "What emerged is that there's a lot of characters who look up at the night sky, ... looking for hope and inspiration."

"So that's what led us to the concept of wishing upon the star and what if an actual star from the sky comes down."

Animating the wish-granting star

One of the core elements of Wish is an animated star. In the story, a young girl named Asha (DeBose) makes a wish so powerful that a star, depicted as this adorable and bouncing bundle of light, is thrusted down to Earth.

"It went through many iterations," producer Peter Del Vecho said. "It's truly an animator's dream because [the star] doesn't speak, so all of the communication has to be evoked in the animation.

"So it's been a real joy for them. It's a very fun character."

For the look of Wish the film combines modern day 3D animation tools, CGI, with older watercolour animation elements. In terms of combining these techniques, Veerasunthorn stressed that it required herself, as the director, and the animators, to "have more discipline," knowing that there specifically were scenes that did not include any "fancy camera work."

"We want to convey the sense of control or restriction," she said. "So we're going to keep the cameras still, which in CGI you don't really see it that much anymore, which is speaking to the classic feeling of Disney films a little bit."

"When we go to the section where there's hope and imagination, then the cameras are free to roam, there's a lot of rotation. So we take all these things into consideration and the tools are just there to enhance the story we want to tell."

'I realized I can turn this nervous energy into positive energy'

Trying to develop a movie to pay homage to 100 years of Disney is a lofty task and as Veerasunthorn described, she did feel "a lot of pressure" working on this project, at the beginning, which subsided as the process went on.

"I realized I can turn this nervous energy into positive energy and [draw inspiration] from Disney films I loved growing up, and leading into my career in animation," Veerasunthorn said. "I can bring all those elements, the wonder, the imagination, the magic, and we can put that in this film because we're in a position to be able to play."

"I think it's when all of those elements start to come together and materialize, then the pressure goes away because you know you're working on something really unique," Del Vecho added. "Then it starts to inspire you."

In terms of future evolutions for Disney Animation Studios, you can expect a desire to continue to change and adapt to the world, and emerging technology.

"That's part of the DNA of Disney, is to bring hope and wonder to the world," Del Vecho said. "All the stories are different and the important part is that people can see themselves in the world and in the characters, and that they can relate to the characters."

"It's all about story, but not being afraid to embrace the future."