If you are at all curious as to why Disney is falling into creative (and financial) difficulties, you need look no further than this latest waste of time. The geniuses there apparently don’t realize that merely tossing certain tried-and-true elements into a cauldron and uttering “abra cadabra” isn’t quite enough. You have to add a story, a bit of heart, and don’t forget the magic. Probably too busy plundering the studio’s fabled animation catalogue in order to create smug, wan advertainments like this.

A plucky young girl named Asha (voice by Ariana DeBose) discovers that King Magnifico (Chris Pine), a powerful sorcerer who claims to be able to grant his subjects’ fondest desires (represented by floating spheres), actually hoards them as a way to control the populace. Or something. Being plucky, she wishes upon a star for a way to bring down this despot, and gets in response a impish little star that only the Mouse House could see as entertaining.

Though positioned as an homage to the studio’s 100 years of unforgettable animations, this is a huge disappointment that instead merely prompts nostalgia about how great it once was.

Miss it twice. (95 min)