Disney’s Pinocchio played a key role in the development of the studio’s upcoming film, Wish

The filmmakers explain how the 1940 classic film assisted them in establishing a fresh aesthetic for Disney animation. In the five years since the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the animation industry has witnessed a surge in American animation studios venturing into new styles, some influenced by Spider-Verse’s distinct appearance, while others are taking the opportunity to explore their own daring artistic directions. Jennifer Lee, Disney’s chief creative officer for animation and co-director of Frozen and Frozen II, emphasizes that she falls into the latter category. In a recent interview with Polygon at a Disney event in Los Angeles for the upcoming film Wish, which she co-wrote and executive produced, she made it clear that she isn’t merely following the footsteps of Spider-Man.

Wish, an original fairy tale intended as Disney animation’s 100th anniversary film, presents a unique blend of the studio’s traditional 2D watercolor style with the dominant CG 3D look that has defined the medium since Toy Story. The film utilizes in-house technology called Meander, which was previously employed for shorts like the Oscar-winning Paperman in 2012. However, to execute a full-length feature in this style for the first time, the creative team needed to validate their technological amalgamation against the historical context of Disney’s hand-drawn animation. This validation involved testing how their CG main character, Asha (Ariana DeBose), would interact with the environments from the 1940 Pinocchio film by Disney legend Gustaf Tenggren.

The examination didn’t stop there, as the team also drew inspiration from Pinocchio for several other elements in Wish, including the design of the fictional Kingdom of Rosas. A particular test, inspired by an iconic multiplane camera shot in Pinocchio, revealed a transformative moment for the team, instilling a sense of connectivity with the past while embracing the advancements in contemporary technology.

The journey of Wish wasn’t just about reconciling Disney’s animation history with modern advancements but rather about discovering a balance between the studio’s past and present that the rapid progress in animation had overlooked. The film, which began development in 2018, is not a direct response to Spider-Verse, but Lee hopes it will align with the movie’s groundbreaking achievements, signaling a new era of transcendent artistry in animation. Wish is scheduled for release in theaters on November 22.

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Jiminy Cricket, Bambi, Thumper, Flower, Dumbo