Chris Pine is not prepared to be hated by kids around the world for his despised 'Wish' villain
"That's an intense question," the actor replies when asked if he's prepared for the wrath of children.
Spoiler alert: If you’re taking your kids to see Wish this weekend, chances are they’re going to really, really hate Chris Pine. Or rather King Magnifico, the character Pine voices in Disney’s Easter egg-filled cinematic centennial celebration.
There’s something about Magnifico — a gender-flipped amalgamation of classic royals like Snow White’s Evil Queen and Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent — that’s striking a nerve with young viewers. Little ones are not responding kindly to his wish-suppressing ways and hostile actions toward the Mouse House’s latest animated heroine, Asha (Ariana DeBose). Which makes him a pretty great villain, right?
“I did my job,” Pine told me when informed of my own daughter’s reaction to him.
“But isn’t he delicious?” DeBose asks. “You deliciously don’t like him. … Chris Pine is an excellent villain.” The West Side Story Oscar winner says she went as far as texting Pine that he was “one of the greatest Disney villains of all time” after hearing his musical number, “This Is the Thanks I Get.”
Pine, though, isn’t ready for the hate.
“That’s an intense question,” he replied when asked if he’s prepared to be despised by children worldwide for his voice performance. “No, actually. Thank god I’m animated.
“But if I can be catapulted because of their skills into the pantheon of great villains, I’d be very happy,” he adds, credited co-writer (and Disney Animation chief) Jennifer Lee and co-directors Chris Buck and Fawn Veerasunthorn.
Magnifico isn’t the first villain the Star Trek hero has essayed.
He recently played the sinister leader of a seemingly idyllic (but ultimately nefarious) town in Olivia Wilde’s twisty thriller Don’t Worry Darling, and also served as the big bad in Horrible Bosses 2.
“I’ve played some before,” Pine muses. “But never at this level.”
Wish is now playing.
