As the Dad of three young girls, I’ve just watched the trailer for the new kid’s movie “Wish.” It’s… ok, I suppose. The central conundrum of the film is the evil king who only grants wishes that are in the best interest of the kingdom, versus the young idealistic apprentice who wants all wishes to be free. On a whim, I asked my girls what they would wish for. The answers were the ability to freeze time; to open interdimensional portals; and to enslave continent-destroying earth spirits. I’m, ah…. going to side with the evil king on this one.
The complaint I’ve come across in the reaction videos has intrigued me: that the heroine is too “adorkable.” The general gist of this term is a character who is nervous and clumsy under stress but is so cloyingly sweet in their intentions and outlook that their mishaps are intended to be endearing. I’m sure the heroine of Wish will have her own unique story, but there is some truth to the claim that the adorkable trope has become over-used. In the last few Disney movies alone, we have Mirabel from “Encanto,” Sisu from “Rayla and the Last Dragon” and Anna from “Frozen.” Rapunzel’s name has come up a fair few times, but I’m giving her a pass as being socially awkward is understandable for a character who was literally locked up until she was eighteen.
But is this being fair? A few years ago, another trope that everyone loved right up until they got sick of it was the “Manic Pixie Dream Girl,” denoting a breezy, eccentric and upbeat female character who exists solely to love the male lead or teach them a valuable life lesson. I’m looking at you, 2004’s “Garden State.” And don’t even get me started on the “Pretty Ugly Girl,” the social outcast, usually played by a stunningly beautiful actress, whose purpose is to realise how beautiful they are by putting their hair up, dressing in something sexy and taking off their glasses. The worst offender in this category is Allison from 1985’s “The Breakfast Club,” which sacrificed a perfectly beautiful goth girl on the altar of this trope.
However, being trope-y doesn’t have to be a death sentence for a good story. The adorkable girl can still be a great character, if given the care and detail she deserves. Why is the girl from Wish nervous and clumsy under pressure? Why does she have such a relentlessly pleasant outlook? At a glance, these are symptoms of a character who has been through some form of harsh, judgemental trauma, or who is all too aware of a personal darkness that they try to smother with incessant sweetness. Pair this with an evil king who will place overwhelming pressure on her, or better yet, appeal to that long-hidden seed of darkness, and we have the makings of a great story.
So adorkable isn’t dead, or at least, doesn’t have to be. All it takes is moving beyond the sweet exterior to explore the real character beneath. I’m not holding my breath that Disney is going to achieve that here, but all we can do is cross our fingers and… wish (cue exasperated groans from my three girls).
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