Honestly, the 90s were a weird time for kids' movies. We had a massive influx of "high-concept" family comedies that relied heavily on the burgeoning world of CGI, and smack in the middle of that 1997 summer heat was A Simple Wish. It didn’t set the world on fire. In fact, it kind of burned out at the box office, pulled in some rough reviews, and then lived a quiet life on VHS and cable TV. But if you grew up with it, or if you're looking back at it through the lens of modern film history, there is something weirdly charming about this Martin Short vehicle that most critics totally missed at the time.
It’s a fairy godmother story. Except, it’s a Fairy Godfather.
Martin Short plays Murray. He’s a bumbling, well-meaning, and slightly incompetent member of the North American Federation of Fairy Godmothers (NAFFG). It’s such a 90s premise. He gets assigned to Anabel Greening, an eight-year-old girl played by Mara Wilson, who was essentially the queen of 90s childhood cinema after Mrs. Doubtfire and Matilda. Anabel doesn’t want much—just for her father, a carriage driver played by Robert Pastorelli, to land a role in a Broadway musical.
What follows is a chaotic, effects-heavy romp through New York City that involves a villainous Kathleen Turner, a giant dog, and a lot of spells that go sideways. It’s messy. It’s loud. But it’s also got a heart that most modern, polished streaming movies lack.
Why A Simple Wish Didn't Hit the Bullseye in 1997
Timing is everything in Hollywood. When A Simple Wish dropped in July 1997, it was competing with Men in Black. You can't win that fight. One was a cultural phenomenon with Will Smith at the height of his powers; the other was a whimsical fantasy about a guy in a velvet suit.
Critics like Roger Ebert weren't exactly kind to it. Ebert gave it one and a half stars, basically saying the special effects were okay but the movie lacked a "sense of wonder." That was the common consensus. People felt it was too frantic.
But looking back, that frantic energy is exactly what makes it a Martin Short movie.
If you hire Martin Short, you aren't looking for a grounded, subtle performance. You want the man who did Ed Grimley. You want the physical comedy, the weird vocal tics, and the "I’m trying my best but everything is exploding" energy. Murray is an underdog. He’s the only male fairy godmother, which is a plot point the movie handles with a sort of casual "why not?" attitude. He’s clumsy because he’s nervous, and that makes him relatable to kids who feel like they’re constantly messing things up too.
🔗 Read more: The Real Story Behind I Can Still Recall Our Last Summer ABBA: Why This Melancholy Hit Still Hits Home
The Kathleen Turner Factor
We need to talk about Claudia.
Kathleen Turner plays the villain, a former fairy godmother who went rogue and started stealing wands. She is having the time of her life. While Short is playing the bumbling hero, Turner is leaning into a campy, theatrical villainy that feels like a precursor to the over-the-top Disney villains we see in live-action today. She has a literal "mirror mirror" vibe, but with a 90s edge.
Her character, along with her long-suffering dog-turned-servant Boots (played by Amanda Plummer), provides a genuinely weird contrast to the schmaltzy "wish-granting" plot. It’s dark in a way that 90s kids' movies were allowed to be. There’s a scene where she turns Murray into a giant, and then things get even weirder. It’s not just "simple" magic; it’s a power struggle within a magical bureaucracy.
The NAFFG itself is a fun piece of world-building. It treats magic like a union job. There are meetings, rules, and a ton of red tape. This "bureaucracy of magic" trope became huge later on (think Harry Potter or The Umbrella Academy), but A Simple Wish was doing it in a goofy, technicolor way back in '97.
Mara Wilson: The Anchor of 90s Sincerity
Without Mara Wilson, this movie probably falls apart.
She had this incredible ability as a child actor to look at a grown man acting like a total lunatic (Short) and react with genuine empathy and frustration. She was the "straight man" to the chaos. Following her massive success in Matilda just a year prior, audiences expected another masterpiece. A Simple Wish isn't Matilda. It’s not as smart, and it’s not as well-directed by Michael Ritchie.
However, Wilson brings a groundedness to the role of Anabel. Her wish isn't selfish. She isn't asking for toys or fame; she’s asking for her dad to succeed. That's a heavy burden for a kid, and Wilson plays it with that trademark 90s sincerity that feels a bit lost in today’s more cynical, "meta" kids' programming.
There's no winking at the camera here. Everyone is playing it straight, even when they're being turned into statues or flying through the air on a magical carriage.
The Technical Side: Early CGI and Practical Effects
Let’s be real. Some of the CGI in A Simple Wish hasn't aged perfectly. There's a scene with a giant head in a mirror that looks a little "early Windows screensaver." But for 1997, the work done by the effects teams was actually quite ambitious.
The movie used a mix of practical sets and digital compositing to create a magical New York. The scene where Murray tries to turn a jerk into a "giant" but accidentally turns him into a giant shrek-like creature (before Shrek was a thing) is a testament to the era's experimentation.
They were pushing the limits of what a mid-budget family film could do. The transitions—people turning into smoke, wands glowing with particle effects—were the peak of "cool" for a seven-year-old sitting in a theater with a tub of popcorn. It has that distinct "Industrial Light & Magic" feel, even if it wasn't an ILM production. It’s tactile. You can feel the props. You can see the glitter.
Misconceptions and What People Get Wrong
One of the biggest misconceptions about A Simple Wish is that it's a "bad" movie. It’s not. It’s a niche movie.
It sits in that weird space between a Disney-style fairytale and a slapstick comedy. Because it didn't fit neatly into a box, it got lost. People also tend to forget that the movie deals with some pretty real themes. Anabel’s father is a widower. He’s struggling to make ends meet in an expensive city. The stakes aren't just "will magic happen?" but "will this family be okay?"
The "simple wish" of the title is actually quite complex. It’s about the desire to fix things for the people we love, and the realization that sometimes, even magic can’t make life perfect. Murray doesn’t solve everything with a flick of his wand. Usually, his wand makes things worse before they get better. That’s a pretty good lesson for kids: even the people who are supposed to be "experts" or "helpers" are often just winging it.
The Cultural Footprint: Does It Still Matter?
You won't find many "Greatest Films of All Time" lists featuring Murray the Fairy Godfather. But you will find a generation of Millennials who remember the "Exploding Toaster" or the way Kathleen Turner snarled her lines.
📖 Related: Why Lil Yachty Peek A Boo Still Divides Rap Fans Years Later
The film serves as a time capsule for a specific era of New York City filmmaking. It’s pre-9/11 New York, captured with a whimsical, almost European lens. It’s Central Park, the theater district, and the brownstones, all bathed in a golden, magical light.
It also represents the end of an era for this kind of "middle-tier" family film. Today, a story like this would likely be a straight-to-streaming release with a significantly lower budget for practical effects. In 1997, Universal Pictures gave it a full theatrical push. There’s a certain scale to it—the orchestral score by Bruce Broughton, the elaborate costumes—that feels substantial.
How to Revisit A Simple Wish Today
If you’re going back to watch it now, or introducing it to a new generation, don’t expect a Pixar-level emotional journey. Go in expecting a chaotic, vaudevillian performance from Martin Short and a masterclass in camp from Kathleen Turner.
- Watch the background: The production design is surprisingly detailed. The "Fairy Godmother" headquarters is full of little visual gags that go by quickly.
- Appreciate the stunts: There is a lot of physical comedy that required real timing, not just digital doubles.
- Look for the heart: Focus on the relationship between Anabel and her father. It’s the anchor that keeps the magical nonsense from floating away.
A Simple Wish reminds us that movies don't have to be perfect to be memorable. They just have to have a personality. Murray might be a terrible fairy godmother, but he’s a character you won’t forget, and in the sea of bland, sanitized modern content, that counts for a lot.
Actionable Insights for Your Next Movie Night
- Adjust your expectations: This is a slapstick comedy first and a fantasy second. If you love Martin Short’s brand of humor, you’ll have a blast. If you prefer grounded fantasy, look elsewhere.
- Context matters: Explain to younger viewers that this was made before everyone had a cell phone or "perfect" CGI. It helps them appreciate the practical magic.
- Double Feature Idea: Pair it with Matilda. It’s a fascinating look at Mara Wilson’s range and how different directors handled the "magical child" trope in the late 90s.
- Check the Soundtrack: The music is genuinely good. Bruce Broughton is a legend for a reason, and he gives the film a much "bigger" feel than the script arguably deserves.
Ultimately, the film teaches us that the best "wishes" aren't about changing the world with magic. They're about the small, simple things we do for each other every day. Murray might have been a mess, but he showed up. Sometimes, showing up is the most magical thing you can do.