Anybody who saw Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story knew that Ariana DeBose was a born star. Born in Wilmington, North Carolina, DeBose made her on-screen debut on So You Think You Can Dance back in 2009, where she made it to the Top 20. From there, she had a successful career in theater with roles in performances like Hairspray, Les Misérables, and Hamilton. In 2021, her roles in Schmigadoon! and West Wide Story shot her to superstardom.

It was no surprise when she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for playing Anita in West Side Story, the same role Rita Moreno won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for, for the original film. So, it also should not surprise anyone that Disney called her up to play the lead role of Asha in their latest animated film, Wish. After all, it’s clear that she has a voice Disney would absolutely want to be part of the company’s rich legacy. Yet one person who was not expecting a call was Ariana DeBose herself.

I never thought I would be voicing a Disney character, let alone a new Disney heroine. I just sit here trying not to be massively overwhelmed.

Ariana DeBose sat down with MovieWeb to discuss her latest movie, Wish. DeBose talked about how she got the role, how Asha honors past Disney characters while also standing alone, showing off her Disney passion and also the legacy that Wish and Asha will give her. You can watch the video interview above.

Meet Asha, the Newest Disney Heroine
Wish Release Date November 22, 2023 Director Chris Buck, Fawn Veerasunthorn Cast Alan Tudyk, Ariana DeBose, Chris Pine Main Genre Animation Genres Animation, Adventure, Comedy
In Wish, DeBose voices Asha, a 17-year-old girl who is a caring member of her community. She wishes on a star to save her kingdom from their ruler, King Magnifico, the movie’s villain (played wonderfully by Chris Pine). As this is Disney’s 100th-anniversary film, there is a lot of pressure on DeBose as she steps into the role of Asha. But, fortunately, she tells us, “I’m feeling humbled and excited.”

“I love this character. I am so proud of Asha. She has braids, she has freckles, and she’s beautifully brown. It’s been a fantastic journey and process, and I think you can see it in the film,” said DeBose. “Having the opportunity to make a new character and do it alongside Star, the star that so many people have wished upon for years and years. I just found that to be really moving and exciting.”

DeBose had been sitting with the part for some time. In fact, by the time the movie comes out, it will have been almost exactly two years since she was first approached about the project. She explained:

“They came to me shortly after West Side Story had premiered, and I hadn’t really won anything. I was just excited that West Side Story had come out, and it looked like I was going to have the opportunity to make more work. Then they called, and Chris Buck [the director] was like, ‘We want to make this movie with you.’ I was like, amazing, what is it? Because they hadn’t really told me, but then they explained what the story was going to be, and I cried like a baby because I was a Disney kid growing up.”

Princesses Now and Then
Disney

Regarding Asha’s place among the many great Disney heroes, DeBose said, “I can tell you definitively that so many of our previous Disney princesses and heroines inspired me while in the booth.” She added, “I could hear the echoes of Mulan and Cinderella. I would go, ‘Alice would have said that’ or “Raya, there you at girl!” I drew inspiration from so many of the characters from the canon. I also think Asha sits in her own realm. I think she ushers us into an entire new chapter of Disney characters. I don’t know if they will be princesses or heroines.”

A common criticism of Disney by a very select but vocal minority is how the company is chasing an agenda by being more inclusive with its leads. Not only is this an absurd statement on its own, but it also ignores history, as Disney has been doing this for years. Disney has always been in a state of updating their character archetypes for the modern era. Even as far back as Beauty and the Beast and Aladdin, Disney was selling to audiences that Belle and Jasmine were not like Disney princesses of the past. If these stories are to continue and evolve, they need to speak to modern audiences, and DeBose acknowledges how Asha fits into that.

Related: 30 Best Animated Disney Characters of All Time, Ranked

“I think we are entering a time that is very exciting to me, that you’ll get characters that feel like they are walking around today,” Debose said. “Yes, our film does take place in the 12th or 13th century, but what you are watching Asha do is what I would do. I see something, I say something, and I am willing to ask questions. I think people are starting to do more of that and take action, and that’s good.”

While it is unclear at the moment if Asha is an official Disney Princess, the symbolic nature of the first Disney princess, Snow White, holding Asha’s hand in the short film Once Upon a Studio (which will be playing in theaters ahead of Wish) does at least suggest Disney acknowledges the symbolic nature of the gesture.

Favorite Disney Memory
Disney

One of the most common questions everyone has an answer to is six simple words: what is your favorite Disney movie? Someone’s answer tends to reveal a lot about them. It can show a lot about when someone grew up, as a particular era of Disney films might speak to them as what they remember seeing in theaters. Some people might prefer the old material to the new, or vice versa, and see the older films as dated. DeBose, though, is not kidding when she says she is a fan of Disney. “I don’t know if I can choose just one. That’s really hard.”

Related: The Official Disney Princess Rules, Explained

“Every step of the way through my journey of growth, there has been a Disney animated movie with a character that reflected some part of me back or inspired me or taught me a lesson,” DeBose said before listing off an impressive amount of films from all over Disney’s rich history:

I wore out my VHS tapes of Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast. My grandmother was so annoyed with me because I could not stop watching them. But I remember Tarzan, I remember Princess Kida from Atlantis. Lady and the Tramp holds a beautiful place in my heart. The Aristocrats! The Rescuers! There are so many characters I can’t choose just one.

Ariana DeBose’s New Legacy
Disney

DeBose spoke about how the past Disney characters inspired her, but now she is part of a rich legacy that will exist for years and will inspire generations of kids. “I can’t believe that someday someone is going to say Asha inspired me,” DeBose gushed.

Disney films are very different from many other movies. Since they are designed for young audiences, they often become linked to an early memory that sticks with them for life, be it something related to Disney, seeing a movie, liking a character, or going to the park. The impact it has on small children stays with them. Any parent can tell you the joy of a kid meeting a Disney character at Disneyland, that for them, this is real and it means something. There is a special magic to that, a legacy that stretches for years.

The people who voice these characters eventually pass on, but their voices stay alive in these characters and are heard through generations. They have the ability not just to entertain but also to inspire and leave a lasting impact on this world. DeBose realizes the power these films hold, telling us:

That’s exciting. I feel like I did something good with my time. It’s extensional, but with the time that I’ve been given and get to live on this planet, and I have Asha to show for it. I did a good thing.

Somewhere out there, a child will go and see Wish, and it will become an important part of that child’s memory that they will carry with them for years. In the same way that kids belt out “Part of Your World” or “Let It Go,” there will be someone out there singing “This Wish,” inspired by Ariana DeBose and Asha for years to come.

Wish opens in theaters on November 22, 2023.