New animated musical 'Wish' celebrates Walt Disney's legacy

LOS ANGELES (WPVI) -- Disney's new animated musical "Wish" hits theaters in a few weeks, but it made its world premiere Wednesday night in Hollywood.

"Wish" stars Oscar winner Ariana DeBose as a 17-year-old girl named Asha, who wishes on a star when she senses a darkness in the Kingdom of Rosas that no one else does.

It also stars Chris Pine among other Hollywood A-listers.

The movie's creative team says "Wish" celebrates Walt Disney's legacy, while also looking to the future.

"This is our love letter to all that Disney has been to all of us growing up, and we recognize what a privilege it's been to get to make this film," said Jennifer Lee, the writer and executive producer of this film. Lee is also chief creative officer at Walt Disney Animation Studios. She's worked on countless Disney hits from "Frozen" to "Moana," and more.

"I hope people watch this and feel like, 'I can try, I can go after that wish and that dream,'" she said. "And that's very much in the spirit of what Walt started with Disney and what Disney is."

Fawn Veerasunthorn and Chris Buck both directed the film, which has so much nostalgia, but also a fresh feel.

"It's emotional to get to see the story be embraced, and it's about to come out," Veerasunthorn said. "This movie is about when you have a wish, you shouldn't keep it a secret. You should share it with the world. A wish is such a universal thing. It's not just for kids, it's for adults too. Everyone has a wish in their heart."

Buck said this has truly been a labor of love for this team.

"We work on these movies for like four to five years, and they're almost like a secret," Buck said. "We can finally share the joy and the magic of this film that we've been loving."

He adds that while they were extremely excited for this world premiere, they're even more excited for audiences to see "Wish" when it hits theaters on November 22.

Disney is the parent company of this television station.