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{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox film
| name = A Simple Wish
| image = Asimplewish.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Michael Ritchie (filmmaker)|Michael Ritchie]]
| producer = [[Sidney Sheinberg|Sid Sheinberg]]<br />Jon Sheinberg<br />Bill Sheinberg
| writer = Jeff Rothberg
| starring = {{Plainlist| 
* [[Martin Short]]
* [[Mara Wilson]]
* [[Robert Pastorelli]]
* [[Amanda Plummer]]
* [[Francis Capra]]
* [[Kathleen Turner]]
}}
| music = [[Bruce Broughton]]
| cinematography = [[Ralf D. Bode]]
| editing = William S. Scharf
| studio = [[The Bubble Factory]]
| distributor = [[Universal Pictures]]
| released = {{Film date|1997|7|11}}
| runtime = 90 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget = $28 million
| gross = $8.3 million<ref>{{mojo title|simplewish|A Simple Wish}}</ref>
}}
'''''A Simple Wish''''' is a 1997 American [[Children's film|children's]]-[[Fantasy film|fantasy]]-[[comedy film]] directed by [[Michael Ritchie (filmmaker)|Michael Ritchie]], and starring [[Martin Short]], [[Mara Wilson]], and [[Kathleen Turner]]. The film is about Murray (Short), a bumbling male [[fairy godmother]] who tries to prove himself capable by helping a young girl named Annabel Gleening (Wilson) fulfill her wish that her father, aspiring actor Oliver ([[Robert Pastorelli]]), wins the leading role in a [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] musical.

It was the final film to be directed by Michael Ritchie, before his death in 2001 (not counting ''[[The Fantasticks (film)|The Fantasticks]]'' (2000), which was shot in 1995).<ref name="nat">Nat Segaloff, ''Final Cuts: The Last Films of 50 Great Directors'', Bear Manor Media 2013 p 247-248</ref> It [[box office bomb|bombed at the box office]] and received mixed to negative reviews from critics with praise for its cast and humor but criticisms for its weak plot.

==Plot==
Carriage driver Oliver Greening aspires to perform on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and, despite an outstanding audition for a new musical based on ''[[A Tale of Two Cities]]'', he loses out to the seasoned Tony Sable, who is considered more bankable than the unknown Oliver.

Later that night, Anabel, Oliver's young daughter, does not convince her brother Charlie that [[fairy godmother]]s exist, and after they fall asleep, she awakens to find Murray, a male fairy godmother, in her room. Murray, who is treated with disdain for being a man in a female-dominated profession, agrees to grant Anabel's wish that her father get the part so that her family will not have to move to [[Nebraska]], hoping that by doing so he will be taken seriously.

Hortence, the head fairy godmother, oversees the North American Fairy Godmothers Association (NAFGA)'s annual meeting. All participants must turn in their [[wand]]s so that no trouble occurs. The evil [[Witchcraft|witch]] Claudia, who was banished from the NAFGA for her selfish use of magic, sneaks in and turns Hortence into paper with a curse. She then steals all the collected wands; Murray arrives late to the conference and does not check his wand in, making it the only one she does not have.

Seeing Murray accidentally left his wand behind in his rush to make it to the conference, Anabel plans to return it to him. However, Charlie breaks it. Anabel glues the broken pieces together and gives it to Murray, only to wind up in Nebraska after the former botches a spell for instantaneous travel. Duane, an angry local threatens them, and Murray tries to turn him into a tiny rabbit but instead transforms him into a giant [[rabbi]]. Before the giant stomps on them, Murray casts the travel spell again, and they wind up in the [[Central Park]] zoo just as Oliver arrives in his carriage with Charlie.

Anabel begs Murray to grant her wish, but he accidentally turns Oliver into a [[statue]]. To fix it, the three go to ask Hortence for help, only to find her still under Claudia's curse. While Murray fixes his wand with Charlie's help, Hortence reveals that, in keeping with the rules governing fairy godmothers, Anabel must break Murray's spell by midnight, or Oliver will be a statue forever. Claudia, meanwhile, realizes that Hortense had secretly given her wand to Murray so as to keep her from regaining her full power.

At the theatre, Anabel asks Murray to try sabotaging Sable's audition. First, he tries to make it rain on the stage, but the weak downpour is dismissed as a simple technical problem, and the audition continues. Then she asks him to give Sable a "frog in his throat" to impair his singing. Murray takes this literally, and frogs start hopping out of Sable's mouth, shocking everyone.

Nevertheless, Sable is given the part as the director Lord Richard refuses to wait for Oliver and wants to get the show into production. Boots, Claudia's dog-turned-human servant, finds them. Murray and Anabel trick Boots into taking them to Claudia by begging her not to. Claudia demands that they hand over her wand, and when they refuse, she resorts to torture by enchanting them to dance for her amusement until they are worn out.

Anabel keeps Claudia distracted while Charlie attempts to give Murray the wand, but Boots manages to grab it. Murray then plays on Boots being unhappy with the way Claudia treats her to convince her that he should have the wand instead of her mistress. Claudia attacks him, but Murray tricks her into casting a spell that traps her within her own magic mirror, which she accidentally shatters after pushing it over the edge, keeping her imprisoned for eternity.

Murray, Charlie, and Anabel return to Central Park and restore Oliver just in time for him to be given the part of Sable's [[understudy]]. To grant Anabel's wish, Murray appears backstage and causes Sable to slip on a bucket and twist his ankle. The resulting temper tantrum gets him fired and Oliver, his understudy, takes over. Charlie and Anabel watch the show with Murray and the other fairy godmothers.

==Cast==
* [[Martin Short]] as Murray: The first male fairy godmother.
* [[Mara Wilson]] as Anabel Greening: Oliver's daughter and Charlie's younger sister.
* [[Kathleen Turner]] as Claudia: A former fairy godmother turned witch who seeks revenge for having her wand taken away.
* [[Robert Pastorelli]] as Oliver Greening: Anabel and Charlie's father who works as a coachman and dreams of becoming a Broadway star.
* [[Amanda Plummer]] as Boots: A dog enchanted by Claudia into a human woman, who serves her mistress loyally despite being pushed around.
* [[Francis Capra]] as Charlie Greening: Oliver's son and Anabel's older brother.
* [[Ruby Dee]] as Hortence: The head of NAFGA.
* [[Teri Garr]] as Rena: Hortence's secretary.
* [[Alan Campbell (actor)|Alan Campbell]] as Tony Sable: A conceited and arrogant actor.
* [[Jonathan Hadary]] as Lord Richard: A playwright and director.
* [[Deborah Odell]] as Jeri: Oliver's agent.
* [[Lanny Flaherty]] as Duane: A motel owner who lives in Nebraska.
* [[Jack McGee (actor)|Jack McGee]] as Officer Davis York: A police officer that Murray has an encounter with one night.

==Reception==
Reception to the movie was negative, with Pixelated Geek's Cinerina stating that while the movie's jokes might not appeal to adults, the movie would have appeal for a younger audience.<ref>[http://pixelatedgeek.com/1997/07/a-simple-wish/ A Simple Wish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130917154143/http://pixelatedgeek.com/1997/07/a-simple-wish/ |date=2013-09-17 }} PixelatedGeek</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film one and half stars, saying "When family audiences avoid inspired films like ''[[The Secret Garden (1993 film)|The Secret Garden]]'' (1993), ''[[A Little Princess (1995 film)|The Little Princess]]'' (1995) and ''[[Shiloh (film)|Shiloh]]'' (1996), why would they choose a pallid exercise like this?"<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19970711/REVIEWS/707110303/1023 |title=A SIMPLE WISH (PG) |access-date=2008-04-25 |archive-date=2011-06-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605221633/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19970711/REVIEWS/707110303/1023 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[James Berardinelli|ReelViews]] and ''[[The Austin Chronicle]]'' both reviewed the film,<ref>[http://www.reelviews.net/movies/s/simple.html Review: A Simple Wish] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101219213913/http://reelviews.net/movies/s/simple.html |date=2010-12-19 }} ReelViews</ref> with ''The Chronicle'' stating that "The concept's good... But this family film about an incompetent fairy godmother named Murray ([[Martin Short|Short]]), is shy several handfuls of fairy dust."<ref>[http://www.austinchronicle.com/calendar/film/1997-07-18/a-simple-wish/ A Simple Wish] Austin Chronicle</ref>

On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 20% based on 20 reviews.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/simple_wish | title=A Simple Wish | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | access-date=September 22, 2025 | archive-date=April 22, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422035308/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/simple_wish | url-status=live }}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==

* {{IMDb title|0120133}}
* {{TCMDb title|335724}}
* {{Letterboxd film}}
* {{mojo title|simplewish}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|simple_wish}}

{{Michael Ritchie}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simple Wish, A}}
[[Category:1997 films]]
[[Category:1997 children's films]]
[[Category:1990s fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:1990s coming-of-age films]]
[[Category:American children's comedy films]]
[[Category:American coming-of-age films]]
[[Category:American fantasy comedy films]]
[[Category:1990s children's fantasy films]]
[[Category:Films scored by Bruce Broughton]]
[[Category:Films about fairies]]
[[Category:Films about wish fulfillment]]
[[Category:Films directed by Michael Ritchie]]
[[Category:Films about witchcraft]]
[[Category:1997 comedy films]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:1997 English-language films]]
[[Category:1997 American films]]
[[Category:English-language fantasy comedy films]]

{{Wikipedia attribution|original_title=A Simple Wish|access_date=2026-02-24}}