Wish

A tribute to Snow White

Wish is a feature film that Disney Studios conceived as a tribute for its centenary. In this regard, it is filled with references to the studio’s previously released films. And none is as evoked as much as Snow White. Among these references, we have:

• The first title card of the opening credits reads “Walt Disney Presents” in the same style as that of Snow White. And the end credits use the same font. The film opens with a richly decorated storybook, a tradition started with Snow White, and it has been translated in all languages.
• Asha has seven friends including a Grumpy, a Sleepy, a Sneezy, a Dopey, a Bashful, a bespectacled “leader,” and a rather cheerful woman. Each shares the initial of their name, as well as a color palette with the dwarfs.
• Asha spends time near a well that looks identical to the wishing well from Snow White.
• She also talks to animals, such as blue birds singing for her.
• The villain utters the words “mirrors, mirror on the wall,…” and becomes the slave of the magic mirror himself.
• Like the Queen, he descends into his secret laboratory to perform magic, where there is a poisoned apple.
• Snow White is the first character whose portrait appears in the end credits.
• The star is heavily inspired in its design by those from the dream sequence, ultimately discarded from the film, but several elements were reused in Wynken, Blynken & Nod.
• Lastly, the film’s visual style is inspired by the watercolors of Snow White, as Chris Buck reveals.