Disneyland’s “Wish” movie star actor who plays the antagonist Magnifico gives his thoughts on how he feels about lending his voice to the film’s character in this interview. Chris Pine also talks about what his character Magnifico is like throughout the Wish film. Check it out.
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00:00 How do you feel about lending your voice to the villain in Wish, the movie that would
00:03 mark Disney's animation 100th year anniversary?
00:07 I feel incredibly privileged to lend my voice to the villain in Disney's anniversary film,
00:14 their 100th anniversary film Wish, with Ariana and Alan and Victor Garber and all these incredible
00:21 talents and Julian Ben who wrote extraordinary music and Chris and Phone and Jennifer, all
00:28 of these extraordinary animated veterans.
00:32 Specifically to play the villain and to add my name to a long list of really famous ones
00:39 is just great fun.
00:42 What is your history with Disney animation?
00:44 What are your favorite characters, songs that you loved as a kid?
00:48 I mean Mowgli was a highlight for me.
00:51 I always wanted to live in a forest with a giant bear as a best friend and date Ariel
00:57 and swim under the sea and make wishes with Aladdin and Lady and the Tramp and Fantasia
01:06 which is this extraordinary work of art that kind of goes above and beyond being something
01:10 just for children into the stratosphere of like surrealist art.
01:14 So I grew up with Disney just like most I think children in the world have.
01:21 Who is Magnifico?
01:22 What's he like and what's so special about the Kingdom of Roses?
01:27 What is Magnifico like?
01:29 King Magnifico has got an inflated sense of himself.
01:34 He thinks he's a pretty big deal.
01:36 He doesn't have many friends.
01:38 He's got this poor wife that eventually sees the light and puts him in his place.
01:46 He's a pretty insecure guy.
01:48 He's very angry and ultimately just kind of weak and insecure at the end.
01:54 In this Kingdom of Roses, this kingdom of wishes that he's created where people from
01:59 all over the world come and give him their wishes for safekeeping so he can make them
02:05 come true is this beautiful spot somewhere in the Mediterranean in the 12th or 13th century.
02:13 It's gorgeous and he runs it as essentially a dictatorship we come to find.
02:21 Speaking of his queen, what is Magnifico's relationship like with his queen?
02:27 His relationship, you get a great sense that he leans on her for emotional support and
02:34 validation.
02:36 King Magnifico looks at his wife for support which he gives him until the veil over her
02:45 eyes is lifted to the man that he truly is.
02:49 What truth does Asha learn regarding the king's intentions for the most of the wishes?
02:56 Asha learns that King Magnifico is not in fact taking care of people's wishes.
03:02 He's granting wishes to make it seem like he's doing good work, but in fact he's stealing
03:08 the energy of all of these wishes for himself.
03:13 What's the best part about playing a villain?
03:16 The best part about playing a villain is the freedom and liberty to go play and explore
03:21 and have fun.
03:22 You don't have to be the straight man and the audience surrogate.
03:26 You get to be all the fun stuff that you never got to play when you were younger.
03:31 Tell us about "This is the Thanks I Get" and how it follows in the footsteps of classic
03:36 villain songs.
03:39 This is the Thanks I Get, which is King Magnifico's big villain song, was so much fun to work
03:44 on with Julia and with Benjamin.
03:48 They created this wonderful song about a guy that's spending a lot of the time looking
03:55 in the mirror and is upset that he's not getting the recognition that he should be getting
04:01 from all the people that he's taking care of.
04:05 So it's fun.
04:08 There's comedy to it.
04:09 You get to see deep inside this character really what makes him tick and how obtuse
04:15 and kind of not self-aware he is about it.
04:19 It's just a great song and it was great fun to work on.
04:23 Who is Star and why is Magnifico so threatened by its presence in Roses?
04:30 So Star is a great character and is Asha's best friend besides her talking goat.
04:40 She wishes so deeply that a star actually descends down and it's of such great power
04:47 that King Magnifico realizes the power that he could have if he held onto Star.
04:52 Star is too powerful for that.
04:54 In fact, Star helps Asha realize how evil this awful king is and with the help of its
05:03 powers is able to win the day.
05:07 How did the filmmakers Chris Buck and Fawn Vera Swinthorne help guide your performance?
05:13 They're my directors.
05:14 They help guide it every step of the way.
05:15 Between them and Jennifer, they were able to tell me when I walked in the booth what
05:20 they needed.
05:21 They told me my job is like I come to set and as open and free as possible and then
05:30 they guide me towards what they want.
05:32 So I had great fun doing it with them.
05:34 And why should people see Wish in theaters?
05:38 Well Wish in theaters, it's a visual event really that shot in CinemaScope 255.
05:45 This incredibly wide frame image that they haven't done since Sleeping Beauty, something
05:51 that's really made for an audience.
05:55 It's made to be seen on a big screen.
05:57 It utilizes old-fashioned watercoloring like Disney did back in the day along with all
06:04 the newfangled technology of 2023, all the CG.
06:07 So it's that combination that gives this kind of textural immersion into the screen.
06:16 Incredible songs that I hear from everyone that's seen it that makes people laugh and
06:21 applaud and stand up as if they're watching a live theater event.
06:26 So I think it's designed specifically for families to go out and to enjoy themselves
06:32 over the holiday season and see something with a great message.
06:35 [BLANK_AUDIO]