"This Wish" is a song in Disney's 2023 animated feature film Wish, sung by Asha, the main protagonist of the film. It expresses Asha's desire to have something more for herself and her people than the oppressive rule of the tyrannical King Magnifico, who has banned all forms of magic in the kingdom of Rosas. The song also serves as the film's main theme and the source of its title.
The song was first introduced at the 2022D23 Expo, performed live by Ariana DeBose (the voice of Asha).[2][3] It was written by pop singer-songwriter Julia Michaels and her frequent collaborator Benjamin Rice, who also served as the vocal producer for the film's soundtrack. Michaels and Rice wrote six original songs for the film, inspired by the themes of hope, courage, and friendship.[4] The film's score was composed by David Metzger, who had previously worked with the film's co-director Chris Buck on Frozen and Frozen II.[5]
The song has two versions in the film: the first version, which is sung by Asha alone after she is unable to get her family to realize King Magnifico's true nature and ventures into the forest, where she meets Star, a living star who has fallen from the sky; and the reprise version, which is sung by Asha and the other characters as they rally together to overthrow Magnifico and restore magic to Rosas. The reprise version also features the voices of Angelique Cabral as Queen Amaya; Jennifer Kumiyama as Dahlia, Asha's best friend; Victor Garber as Sabino, Asha's grandfather; Natasha Rothwell as Sakina, Asha's mother; and Harvey Guillén, Della Saba, Niko Vargas, Ramy Youssef, and Jon Rudnitsky as Gabo, Bazeema, Hal, Safi, and Dario, respectively, Asha's allies among the teens.
Isn't truth supposed to set you free?
Well, why do I feel so weighed down by it?
If I could show them everything I've seen
Open their eyes to all the lies, then
Would they change their minds like I did?
But when I speak, they tell me, "Sit down."
But how can I when I've already started runnin'?
Oh, this is where we've been but it's not where we belong
And I may be young but I know I'm not wrong
So I look up at the stars to guide me
And throw caution to every warning sign
If knowing what it could be is what drives me
Then let me be the first to stand in line
So I make this wish
To have something more for us than this
So I make this wish
To have something more for us than this
Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah
Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, ah-ah
More than this, oh-ah-ah-ah
I never knew I needed room to grow
Yeah, I did what I was told when someone told me "no"
Now I've got all of this freedom in my bones
But I've still got the lid on so it doesn't overflow
'Cause I've got reservations and hesitations
On where I should even begin
I'm past dipping my toes in
But I'm not, no, I'm not past diving in
If I could just be pointed in any given direction
On where to go and what to do
My legs are shaking but my head's held high
The way you always taught me to
So I look up at the stars to guide me
And throw caution to every warning sign
I'm sure there will be challenges that find me
But I can take them on one at a time
So I make this wish
To have something more for us than this
So I make this wish
To have something more for us than this
Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah (So I make this wish)
Hey, yeah, yeah, yeah, ah-ah (To have something more)
More than this, oh-ah-ah-ah
So I make this wish
To have something more for us than this
Asha:
So I look out at the stars just like me
And I'm begging you to see this as a sign
'Cause I know that if you choose to stand beside me
Dahlia:
We'll be greater than all his magic combined
So I make this wish
Dahlia and Queen Amaya:
So I make this wish
Gabo, Bazeema And Ensemble:
So I make this wish
Hal, Safi, Dario And Ensemble:
So I make this wish
Ensemble:
To have something more for us than this
Sabino and Sakina:
We've had generations of expectations
Wondering why, and wondering when
Ensemble:
We're past dipping our toes in
We know it's do or die, it's sink or swim
We were all confusing your promises for protection
But we know what we've gotta do
Hope unchanging, with our wish held high
The way you've always taught us to
So I look out at the stars just like me
And throw caution to every warning sign
Asha And Ensemble:
What we do in this moment is defining
And we can take it on if we align
Asha:
So I make this wish
Asha And Ensemble:
To have something more for us than this
So I make this wish
To have something more for us than this
Gallery[]
Videos[]
Julia Michaels - This Wish (Demo) (From "Wish"-Audio Only)
Ariana DeBose - This Wish (From "Wish"-Lyric Video)-2
Disney's Wish - Ariana Debose Performs "This Wish" At Disneyland
Ariana DeBose - This Wish (Live from Disneyland Paris)
Disney Peaceful Guitar - This Wish (From "Disney Peaceful Guitar")
Trivia[]
When the song was originally performed at the 2022 D23 Expo, it was initially called "More For Us", but when the lyrics and score song were filed to the United States Copyright Office on April 28, 2023, the title was changed to "This Wish".[6]
