The latest actress to play a Disney heroine is Oscar winner, Ariana DeBose in the animated musical, Wish. As fans of the House of Mouse know well, when voice actors take to the booth, often their likeness is infused into the Disney character they play. That was most definitely the case when it came to DeBose’s character of Asha, per Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Chief Creative Officer and Wish writer Jennifer Lee.
Jennifer Lee has been instrumental in the creation of the most beloved female heroines in the Disney pantheon across the past decade between Anna and Elsa of Frozen, Wreck-It Ralph’s Vanellope and Zootopia’s Judy Hopps. This is set to continue with Wish, which is led by a headstrong teen girl named Asha who makes a powerful wish on a star that challenges a major injustice in her kingdom. Lee shared with CinemaBlend how Ariana DeBose influenced the new Disney character, saying this:
I think when you meet her, the part that you draw on immediately is, I mean, she’s a dancer, so her expressiveness of ideas comes through her whole body. And I think that capturing that in Asha, who’s so open and so fun and she lifts you up with her whole being, and that she’s very funny and down to earth. And so it’s like bringing that and imbuing that in Asha.
Ariana DeBose got her start in show business when she competed in So You Think You Can Dance back in 2009 and made into the Top 20 at the age of 18. A few years later she made her Broadway debut in 2013 as Mary Wilson (and the understudy to the role of Diana Ross) in Motown before being featured in more musicals. Notably, she played The Bullet in Hamilton, which is a fun detail you might notice next time you watch Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical.
In 2021, DeBose won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story, a moment that had her making Oscar history. Jennifer Lee shared with us that the way Ariana DeBose carries herself most certainly will shine through her Disney character. Additionally, Lee spoke to one scene in particular that the actress directly influenced in Wish. She said:
But, I also think the compassion. We spent a long time talking about the scene I showed yesterday where Asha has to give very difficult news to her grandfather, and she doesn’t have to. That’s the thing she’s choosing to do, and the honesty of Ariana saying, ‘I would have the hardest time saying this’. And, so we wrote the scene in such a way where you can feel the pain and struggle and we worked with Ariana on that because then I think that spoke such a truth to her that I was able to carry in her writing if you’re watching her really overwhelmed with the impact her decisions make on others. And I think we all struggle with that and the love she feels, but also recognizing she’s seeing something wrong and she’s going to have to speak about it… I think that really gave truth to her and that all came from Ariana.
CinemaBlend spoke to Jennifer Lee when we attended a press event at the El Capitan in Los Angeles, California where Disney unveiled early footage of Wish and we learned more about the premise of the film. The footage introduces Asha’s home of the Kingdom of Rosas, where she is applying to be the assistant of Chris Pine’s King Magnifico. But during her prestigious interview with the ruler she learns that he keeps the people of Rosas’ wishes to himself and rarely grants them.
After Asha gets a glimpse of her grandfather’s wish, which the king admits he’ll never grant, she becomes passionate about changing things in the kingdom. In one particularly emotional scene, she tries to tell her grandfather his forgotten wish. As Lee shared, Ariana DeBose elevated the sequence with her own thoughts on how she would react given the situation, showing how she really influenced her character. You can meet Asha officially when Wish hits theaters on November 22. And keep track of other upcoming Disney movies here on CinemaBlend.