Media Essays: Why King Magnifico is NOT a Good Guy

Sometimes, it's no fun having unpopular opinions. That's how I feel about it. Sometimes, whenever I have an unpopular opinion about something, I end up feeling like some alien from outer space and trying to understand how humans work. And then sometimes I feel like "Why do I think this way but no one else does?" It can make me feel like there's something wrong with me, or there's something wrong with everyone else.

Disney's 2023 animated film Wish is one such example. You hear the internet talk, they make it sound like it's this godawful terri-bad movie that promotes harmful messages or something. I've seen Wish, multiple times in fact, and I still can't see what everyone's problem with it is. Sure it's not the best thing Disney ever made (I wouldn't even put it in a Top 20 list of their best movies), but I really don't see why everyone thinks it's so bad. It really isn't this disaster piece that everyone would have you think it is and it's why I don't tend to take opinions on the internet that seriously.

One opinion I ESPECIALLY cannot take seriously is the one where people think King Magnifico is a good guy. Of all the terrible criticisms and ridiculous takes I've seen regarding Wish, this is the worst one I feel and it really shows how much we've failed as a species when we somehow think this obviously bad person is the hero of this story. King Magnifico is NOT a good guy and this essay will explain why...

Who is King Magnifico?

For those who haven't seen Wish yet, I'll give you the run down on this guy.

King Magnifico is the main antagonist of the movie, and that was a big deal at the time since Disney had forgone giving us straight-up evil villains for a while. Starting from Wreck-It Ralph, their villains either had a twist identity, were seemingly good people who turned out to be evil or they didn't have a villain and just had an antagonistic force instead. Magnifico was the first straight forward evil villain we've had in a Disney film since Mother Gothel from Tangled...which was released back in 2010! So yeah, it took 13 years to give us a proper Disney villain again! That's insane!

Anyhow, in the movie proper, Magnifico is the ruler of the Kingdom of Rosas and is this all powerful sorcerer who has the ability to grant wishes. He also has a rather tragic past in where his old home was ravaged by what he describes as "wicked and greedy thieves" and it's clearly taken a toll on him for he's paranoid about bad things happening to the point where he won't grant certain wishes just in case they "might" be bad. Over the course of the movie, he gets too drunk on his power to the point he becomes the very villain he's trying to protect Rosas from and in the end, his thirst for power and control becomes his own undoing...

Why He's NOT A Good Guy

For starters, look at that devious grin on his face. What benevolent ruler SMILES like this?! What heroic person mind you would smile like that?! How can you look at this image and tell me "yeah, he's not the villain here"?

OK, that's me being facetious. The real point I want to make here is that if you actually sit down and watch the movie like I did instead of listening to terrible reviews on the internet by people who don't know what they're talking about, it's obvious even to the most half-witted of human beings that King Magnifico is NOT a good guy. Let's break down all the things that prove why he's no hero and never was one.

First of all, his backstory is so vaguely explained that you have to wonder if he's leaving out any...convenient details that would explain the whole story? I mean given what a narcissistic blowhard this guy is, I don't think he's the most reliable narrator to his own story. He says his home was destroyed by selfish and greedy thieves, but...is this true? How do we know he didn't actually kill those people and take everything for himself? Like I said, his backstory is so vague that it's open for interpretation like that and given the kind of guy that he is, I can easily imagine him lying about his backstory and twisting the facts in order to make himself seem like a good guy. After all, real world leaders and politicians do that all the time, so who's to say King Magnifico's any different?

And now let's cover the Dumbo-in-the-room...this spell book. King Magnifico, this supposedly benevolent, kind and just ruler is casually in possession of a spell book that is forbidden and is said to contain dark magic. When looking at the book later in the movie, Dahlia describes it as reading like "a recipe book for the foul and the savage". And King Magnifico just...has it in his possession. Like, how does this not raise any red flags for people? If I found out the prime minister of the UK had some kind of evil spell book in his possession, I'd want him out of power as quickly as possible! If Magnifico is truly a good guy, then why does he have this thing? What benevolent and good king would ever keep this thing around? If it's to make sure actual evil people don't get their hands on it, then that's fine, but that's NOT what Magnifico says! When Asha asks why he has it, he says these exact words:

"A king must be prepared for everything!"

Yeah, that doesn't sound incredibly suspicious at all, does it? =P So he doesn't have the book in order to keep it out of the reach of villains or to stop actual bad people from using it, he has it because "a king must be prepared for everything". Like what exactly? People questioning him and so he needs a way to make people bow down and play nice for him? And guess what, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HE DOES WITH THE BOOK LATER IN THE MOVIE!!! He kept the book as means to keep everybody under control, which is not what an actual good person would want to do, nor feel the need to do so. And let's not get in the fact that he knows the book is dangerous and the magic it uses is forbidden, but he uses it anyway because of his own damn paranoia and his need to stay in power. If it isn't obvious enough already, Magnifico only cares about the power he controls and doesn't actually give a crap about Rosas or its people. Why else would he have it be a law that only he can use magic and no one else can? That's hardly fair and something a truly good person would do. He may PRETEND that he cares about the people and put an act that makes it SEEM like he does, but just like any two-faced politician, that's all it is: an act. This is further proven in the scene where he and Asha talk together.

After Magnifico shows Asha the wishes and they have their lovely musical number "At All Costs" together, Asha asks Magnifico if he'd grant her Saba Sabino's wish as a nice gesture for his 100th birthday. She's making a completely reasonable request mind you and it's just something nice to do for her grandfather's birthday. And what does Magnifico have to say about it? The wish is "too dangerous" because of the vague wording behind it. OK granted, he DOES have a point here that when you wish to create something to inspire the next generation, it is too vague a wish to grant. But be realistic here...

Does this guy SERIOUSLY look like he'd want to harm anybody, or inspire people to commit acts of terrorism? The fact Magnifico tells Asha to her face she doesn't know her own grandfather wouldn't do anything to harm anybody also adds to what an arrogant douchelord he is. He's seriously telling Asha that she doesn't know HER OWN GRANDFATHER wouldn't harm anybody? It feels less like Magnifico has a point to make and more like he's making excuses to justify his own paranoia. And then he follows up on this by saying he'll only grant the wishes HE feels are good for Rosas. Yep, not the wishes that actually are good for Rosas, the wishes HE thinks are good for Rosas. That's totally how a good guy thinks, am I right? (sarcasm) This just further proves my point that he's not as benevolent as he pretends to be. He just acts that way when really, everything he does is just a means to paint himself as a good king so he can remain all powerful.

And if that wasn't enough, Asha makes yet another reasonable request: to give back the wishes Magnifico won't be granting. There is literally zero reason for him to object to this. If he won't grant all the wishes, then just give them back to the people instead of hoarding them like he does. The only reason he possibly has for objecting to such a reasonable request? So he can keep the people reliant on him. And then there's the fact the whole wish thing is kind of a big scam on his behalf. He makes this promise to grant wishes and then only picks and chooses certain people who he'll grant wishes for while some of the wishes will never ever be granted and he just keeps them around anyway, thus meaning he's essentially a scam artist and a thief. Again, how is he the good guy here? Last I heard, scamming and stealing from people isn't heroic. And don't give me any bulls*** about how it's "not stealing" because the people give the wishes to him. Those people give their wishes to him under the promise that they'll be granted! It's like giving someone a car under the hopes it'll be repaired and then instead of repairing the car, you keep it to yourself and never give it back. THAT'S STEALING! It's no different to what Magnifico's doing with the wishes here! He gets people to give the wishes to him, he doesn't grant them and he just keeps them to himself! He is a thief, plain and simple! And then there's the crowning moment of awful from him when Asha protests and he says this line...

"I decide what everyone deserves!"

Yeah, totally not the words of a power-hungry dictator, am I right? Go on, please tell me how this guy is totally NOT a villain when this is literally what he believes about himself. I'd so love to hear how a totally-not-evil person would think this way and is definitely-not-a-villain. (rolls eyes)

Also, when you watch the scene itself, just look how quickly he flips on a dime here! He was pretty polite and pleasant when he and Asha first meet, but the moment she starts questioning him and bringing up perfectly valid points, he just snaps at her completely unprompted! That's not normal! If someone I met went from nice to nasty in the blink of an eye, I'd be concerned for their well-being and think they have some kind of problem! So once again, how are people convinced Magnifico's some misunderstood victim in all of this when there are so many red flags that prove he's not a good guy and never was? Has media criticism been dumbed down to the point we can't see what's right in front of our faces or something thanks to terrible content on the internet rotting everyone's brains? If so, then here's a couple more pointers:

Later in the movie when Asha make a wish on a star and the star comes down to Earth, it makes a heavenly glow that the people of Rosas are charmed by and love the feel of. Magnifico is the ONLY person who has a problem with it and interprets it as some kind of warning or a bad omen. He only thinks this way because he's worried about losing all the power he has, and it's what motivates him to try and capture Star. He's not motivated out of altruism or out of concern for the Kingdom of Rosas, he just doesn't want anyone to pose any kind of threat to his rule or the power he wields. A truly good person wouldn't have felt threatened by Star's power and would've enjoyed it the same way everybody else did. Also during the scene, he calls the wishes "his wishes", even though...they're not his wishes, they're the people of Rosas's wishes. Really does show how he's a guy who thinks of himself and only worries when something effects him directly, doesn't it?

And none of that is more evident with his infamous villain song, "And This Is The Thanks That I Get?!". I don't care what anyone says, that song really slaps and doesn't deserve the mockery it gets just because of one dodgy lyric or how it "doesn't sound like a villain song". Well duh, BECAUSE MAGNIFICO DOESN'T THINK HE'S A BAD GUY! Of course his villain song won't sound like a villain song! It's not rocket science people! Anyway, the song is essentially Magnifico whining like a b**ch for three minutes about how so ungrateful the people of Rosas are for...rightfully questioning his rule and if the wishes are safe? He essentially sings about how great he is and how he expects to be compensated for basic human decency, when an ACTUAL benevolent ruler would never do so. Truly good people don't demand or even want respect, they earn it and they do good things because they're good things. Magnifico on the other hand does good things because he expects to be rewarded for it, which is NOT what actual good people do. And people still see him as the good guy in all of this? I can't even with these people...

And when you go into the behind-the-scenes trivia about this movie and its creation, Magnifico was created FROM THE GROUND UP to be the film's antagonist! So there you have it, he was never a good guy in the first place. He was created from Day One to be the villain!

But...to be fair to those who criticize Wish, there is a valid point in all of this and how Disney could've avoided Magnifico being seen as the good guy he never was...

How To Improve Wish And Make Magnifico More Evil

The biggest point of contention people have with Wish is that the conflict is pretty weak, and while I disagree on that, I do agree it could've been made stronger.

So how could they have made Magnifico more villainous? Quite simple. Instead of merely hoarding the wishes to himself like he does here, there should've been a dark twist where it turns out he's using the wishes in order to increase his power secretly and his desire to arrest Asha is out of a means to stop her from spilling the truth when she gets wind of it. Also try and show more signs of people being oppressed instead of subtly being oppressed, like say anytime he uses a wish to increase his power, it causes the person who gave him the wish to fall ill and start decaying perhaps? Then when people come to him with concerns about it, he pretends he's looking for a cure and that if people want said cure, they need to wish for it, thus he gets more wishes and then he gets more power to himself behind the people's backs. If the film was executed this way, then nobody would ever be able to question it. They'd see Magnifico is clearly a villain and it'd truly make him a really despicable villain like what people have been wanting to see again for ages.

Also, I agree that the original concept of him and Amaya both being villains really should've been kept for having them both as antagonists would've helped better sell how evil Magnifico is by giving him someone to show his true colours to behind closed doors.

With just a few tweaks to the script, King Magnifico would've unquestionably been seen as villainous and we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. But the point I've been trying to make was that even in the finished version, Magnifico isn't a good guy and never was and I hope I've made my point as clear as possible with this essay...

Conclusion

Overall, I find it ludicrous that anybody would ever defend this guy and try to paint him as some "victim" and make it out that he's the hero in all this. As this essay has demonstrated, Magnifico is not and never was a good guy. He's a narcissistic, power-hungry, dictatorial douchelord who cares about being in power and only uses his "benevolence" as an act to paint himself as a good person. When the mask is removed and his true colours are revealed, it's clear he's no saint and he's a guy who shouldn't be a king in the first place. While yes, I do agree Disney should've committed more to making him evil and I've suggested how they could've fixed it, I still think the finished version makes Magnifico's villainy very clear and the fact people couldn't see it just makes me sigh in exasperation. Then again, there are people who think Donald Trump is a good guy, so why am I even surprised at all this...?

And that's it for this essay. I hope you enjoyed it and found it an interesting read. Feel free to list your thoughts down below. Do you agree with my points? Do you disagree? Do tell me.

Next week, I'll be going back to Robot Wars as I cover the career of King Buxton. See you then media fans!

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