Ariana DeBose To Voice Disney’s First Afro-Latina Princess In ‘Wish’
Ariana DeBose becomes Disney's first Afro-Latina princess.
BlackNewsPortal
Ariana DeBose did the thing and will be starring as Disney’s first-ever Afro-Latina princess in the upcoming animated film Wish.
Disney unveiled the first trailer for the new animated film at CinemaCon on Thursday, Deadline reports. DeBose takes the lead as 17-year-old Asha, an adventurous idealist who makes a wish so powerful that it is answered by a cosmic force—a little ball of boundless energy called Star.
Chris Pine plays the powerful King Magnifico and Alan Tudyk plays Asha’s pet goat Valentino. Set in Rosas, a fantastical land located off the Iberian Peninsula, the children’s film follows Asha and Star on their journey to confront King Magnifico in hopes of saving her community.
In accomplishing her goal, Asha aims to prove that courage aligned with the magic of the stars can make wondrous things happen.
“Our heroine, Asha, lives in Rosas, known as the kingdom of wishes,” director Chris Buck said. “People come from everywhere to give their wishes to a magical king who promises to grant their deepest desires—someday. Only he can decide which wishes will come true and when.”
DeBose steals the show with her stellar vocal performance of “So I Made This Wish.” It’ll serve as redemption for DeBose’s viral BAFTA performance in February where she rapped about how “Angela Bassett did the thing.”
Now with DeBose being Disney’s first Afro-Latina princess, the “Hamilton” star will continue adding to the history she made last year when becoming the first Afro-Latina queer woman to win an Academy Award, as noted by NBC News.
Wish pays homage to Disney’s long history of magical fairytales and works to carry on the media giant’s legacy of introducing iconic princesses.
“We have been inspired by so many iconic films over Disney Animation’s 100 years, especially stories where we explore the power of someone with a wish, combined with the conviction to make that wish come true,” director Fawn Veerasunthorn said.
“Being able to honor that legacy with this incredible story and these amazing characters has been a joy for our entire team.”
Wish is slated to hit theaters on Nov. 22.
