BACKGROUND
For some, celebrating a milestone birthday is the best time of their life, something they’ve looked forward to for months, or even years; something they’ve planned down to the tiniest of detail, whether that is a huge party or just a special day.
I’ve never been particularly bothered by birthdays, milestone or not. For me, birthdays are just days where you get presents. I’ll generally plan out what “special” dinner I’m going to have and what film I want to watch in the evening. That’s what my birthday normally consists of.
I haven’t had a birthday “party” since my sixteenth birthday and that wasn’t a party exactly. I went bowling with some friends who then came back to my house to eat pizza and watch Bride Wars (2009), which I’d just got on DVD. I don’t actually remember any of my friends having sixteenth birthday parties, but that year at school in the UK tends to have a lot of coursework and exam focus on it as we take our GCSE exams at that age.
Yet in some countries, including the US, sixteenth birthdays are a big deal, signalling the move from childhood to adulthood. These birthdays have even been dubbed the “Sweet 16”. In some Spanish-speaking countries, they have a quinceañera, a traditional celebration of becoming fifteen. Either way, an extravagant party is generally considered to be the best way to celebrate these milestone events.
This is where the movie 16 Wishes comes in. 16 Wishes is all about having the best Sweet 16 birthday ever, culminating in the best Sweet 16 party ever. It’s all about making sure your day is better than anyone else’s.
Although I didn’t care much about turning sixteen and I was older than sixteen when I first watched 16 Wishes on Disney Channel, I did quite like it at the time. The thought of having all your birthday wishes come true is appealing to most people, young or old, even though some aspects of 16 Wishes are quite shallow and materialistic – but that’s teenagers.
I always thought 16 Wishes was one of the better Disney Channel Original Movies, but watching it back this week, I don’t have that same opinion now. I didn’t like the main character this time, and hadn’t noticed some of her flaws at a younger age. Anyway, 16 Wishes is not even a true DCOM. It was made as a co-production between Disney Channel and other companies, including MarVista Entertainment. More on that later.
PLOT
16 Wishes begins, as you might expect, on Abby Jensen’s sixteenth birthday. She has been excited to turn sixteen for years, even writing a “Sweet 16” wish list of all the things she wants to have on her sixteenth birthday. Abby won’t let anything or anyone get in the way of her perfect day. On the morning of her birthday, despite her parents and her brother, Mike, getting in her face practically the minute she wakes up, Abby’s outlook on the day is positive. She’s got the perfect outfit to wear; spent thirty minutes doing her hair and make-up; and has money saved up to buy an amazing dress for her party that evening.
And yet, something just has to show up to ruin her day: a wasps’ nest is found in the attic. Luckily, an exterminator left their information at the front door earlier that morning – handy – and she arrives quickly, telling the family the infestation should hopefully be dealt with in a matter of days. Days?! But Abby’s birthday is today! The family is barred from entering the house, although the exterminator did manage to “save” Abby’s birthday wish list for her. Abby’s brother Mike manages to get a lift to school with their neighbour across the road, Krista Cook, who has hated Abby for years and tries to make her life a misery at every opportunity. To make it worse, Krista and Abby also have the same birthday and instead of getting wasps for hers like Abby did, Krista gets a fancy new car, a yellow VW Beetle.
Abby is left to get the bus to school, still wearing her pyjamas and slippers, since she didn’t have time to get dressed. Personally, I would’ve put my clothes on before doing my hair… At the bus stop, Abby is met by her best friend, Jay, who gives her a friendship necklace for her birthday. Randomly, as they wait for the bus, a postal service van shows up and a woman who looks very much like the exterminator hands Abby a parcel. Jay doesn’t think Abby should open it, expecting it to be something sinister, but Abby says it’ll just be a birthday present – yeah, because the postal service normally delivers packages to people stood at bus stops – and proceeds to open it. Inside, she finds sixteen birthday candles and some matches from the Lucky Duck, whatever that is. The box reckons they are meant to grant birthday wishes. Getting bored waiting for the bus, Abby lights the first candle.
Randomly again, the tour bus of singer Joey Lockhart, someone Abby has been a fan of for years, shows up at the bus stop. Joey comes out, kisses Abby on the cheek, wishes her a happy birthday, and then leaves looking confused. Abby realises that this first candle corresponds with her birthday wish list, since the first wish on that list was to meet Joey Lockhart. Abby now knows she can make all sixteen of her birthday wishes come true today. She takes a look at her list to find something that could help her right now. Wish #8 should be good. Abby lights Candle #8 and a bright red Mustang appears. Yep, she wished for her own car, and it is being driven by a woman who looks just like the postwoman AND the exterminator. This is Celeste, and she has been tasked with making all Abby’s birthday wishes come true. However, Jay points out that Abby doesn’t have her license yet, so Celeste drives them to school instead.
At school, everyone who was admiring Krista’s car then moves on to admire Abby’s car. Emboldened by this, Abby announces that she will be having an amazing party tonight and invites everyone in the year – she has a wish and a candle to make sure she has the best Sweet 16 party ever, after all. However, Krista and her friends laugh in Abby’s face, reminding Abby that she’s still wearing her pyjamas and slippers. Jay leads her away. Abby heads straight for her gym locker to find some clothes and then realises that she has a wish that can fix this: Wish #2, which promises that she’ll have the best clothes in school. But Abby finds Candle #2 just won’t light and she is soon spotted by a teacher, who confiscates the candles and sends Abby to the guidance counsellor. I guess the teacher is concerned Abby is now a pyromaniac after playing around with all those matches?
Abby then learns that the school guidance counsellor is Celeste, well, today it is anyway! Celeste explains the rules of the magic candles. All the wishes she makes before midnight tonight will be permanent, however she can only light one candle per hour. Celeste hands over the candles and matches, warning Abby to be careful where she lights them, and as a special birthday present, Celeste also gives Abby Krista’s diary to have a read through. Abby does just that and learns that Krista has been out to get her for years, deliberately upstaging Abby at every turn. Well, not any more. Abby goes to the supply closet and lights Candle #2, since it is now a new hour. The closet is magically transformed into a wardrobe and Celeste is on hand to be her personal stylist. Abby goes back out wearing her new clothes. All of Krista’s friends love her new outfit – despite having one handbag that is now “out of style”. Celeste quickly swaps out the bag for a newer one.
At gym class, Abby uses this new handbag to avoid running laps, by handing it over to her teacher as a bribe; the whole class will now play a friendly game of volleyball. But just before she heads out to play, Abby lights Candle #12, so that she can beat Krista at something. Abby suddenly becomes a pro-volleyballer and spikes the ball hard into Krista’s face. Krista is promptly sent to the nurse as Abby is admired for her mad skills. The nurse turns out to be Celeste who tells Krista, after she regains consciousness, to go to the principal’s office. There, Krista is told by the principal that Abby is going to be the new Class President, despite not campaigning for it like Krista had. It turns out Abby was a write-in, so beloved by her class that they couldn’t bear for her not to be their president. I think a magical wish might just be classed as election interference, Abby….
Abby basks in the glow of her newfound school popularity – which happens to be all down to Wish #10 – and the fact she’ll now get free lunch as president. Abby goes to meet Jay who is working on a school project. Abby doesn’t want to do any work though, and tells Jay she’ll just bribe the teacher again. Jay reacts angrily to that, annoyed that Abby has won Class President, this being a secret dream of Jay’s. Abby makes up with Jay by offering to get him some free lunch. That was easy.
Abby then says she needs a new dress for her party, which is being planned by some girls in her year and is going to be huge. But Abby’s party money is at home and she can’t retrieve it. Jay says he’ll lend her some money and that they have a free period next so can go shopping then. The only trouble is how are they going to get there; Abby doesn’t have her license yet so can’t drive them. Well, Wish #7 will solve that. Sure enough, a worker from the DMV shows up and hands Abby her driver’s license; no need for a test!
At the store, Jay unknowingly drops his wallet outside. Krista has followed them there and picked up Jay’s wallet. As Abby tries on dress after dress, Krista heads in and tells the assistant that those two won’t be buying anything. The assistant tells Abby and Jay to leave, as Jay figures out he has lost his wallet and will not be able to pay for anything. Jay rushes outside to look for his wallet, and Abby goes back into the changing room. There, she lights Candle #9, so that people will stop treating her like a kid. Suddenly, Abby is transformed… into a girl with straight hair, because that is what signals “adult” apparently! She asks the assistant where her friend is, who tells her he left with another girl, presumably Krista. Abby is annoyed Jay just left her, but she becomes distracted by the assistant who suddenly wants to help her find some more “age appropriate” clothing. You might think Abby not having any money might be an issue here, but nope, that’s what a charge account is for.
Abby arrives back at school in a whole new wardrobe. She is mistaken for being the new substitute teacher, and discovers that nobody remembers her as the Abby Jensen from their year. Abby is soon picked up from school by her parents, who instantly move her into her new apartment, telling her she is 22 years old today and needs to grow up. Wow, harsh or what! At least wait until the day after her birthday… Her parents have paid the security deposit but it’s up to her to pay the first month’s rent so she’ll need to find a job. Abby is overwhelmed by how badly her last wish has gone wrong and lights Candle #3, a wish about decorating her room the way she wants, to get Celeste to explain what has happened here. Celeste tells Abby that the candles have their own logic and since Abby has no do-over wish on her list, at midnight, this will be her new life. Abby desperately tries to find a way back to her old life and thinks Wish #14 will do the trick: to get her parents to understand her.
She goes over to her parents’ house, to find them living in an RV on the driveway because of the wasps, and tells them the whole sorry story of her day so far, showing them the candles and matches as proof. Her parents are distracted by the matches as they are from the Lucky Duck restaurant that they went to on the night Abby was born. Although her parents understand what Abby is going through, they don’t believe she is actually 16 and tell her she needs to be independent. At a loss as to what to do next, she walks over to her crush, Logan, who is admiring her car. Logan is on his way to Krista’s party across the street. Abby uses this as an opportunity to get Jay to listen to her. She proves their friendship with the necklace he gave her that morning, as Jay has the other half of it. Jay remembers. He looks over her wish list to try and find a solution but all her wishes are pointless and won’t help her. As Abby annoys herself with her stupid wishes, like wishing to like sushi when she’s sixteen, she learns that her brother is a talented guitarist, having his own guitar in this life instead of playing a plastic one in her real one, and that Krista is nice without having Abby to compete with. So, everyone is better off without Abby in their life and she should just get on with her new independent life. That’s the lesson here, isn’t it?
Perhaps it should be, but that’s not the case. Abby sadly heads back to her apartment. Her car runs out of gas, she breaks a heel, and then is splashed by a driver going through a massive puddle. When things look really bleak, Celeste arrives with pizza to cheer her up. Abby takes another look at the list, realising that all of her wishes for clothes, popularity, and cars were a total waste, and that being an adult isn’t as amazing as she thought it would be. Celeste hands Abby Candle #16, and Abby looks at her corresponding wish. It is simply a picture of Logan that she stuck on there with gum that morning. As Abby wishes she could change this wish, she flicks the photo – and it comes off, leaving a blank space. She quickly rummages around her belongings and finds the photo her parents took of her that same morning. She sticks it on the list and lights Candle #16, wishing she could start the day over again, just before midnight.
Abby shows up in her room on the morning of her sixteenth birthday. Instead of shouting at her parents and brother to get out of her space, she tells them she loves them, even giving her brother her party money so that he can buy his own guitar. She also warns her parents about the wasps’ nest, panicked she’s about to relive the whole traumatic day again. But they already knew, and the exterminator is already here. It’s Celeste again, who tells Abby everything is going to be ok now. Abby then screws up her wish list and goes to confront Krista once and for all. On Krista’s driveway, Abby demands to know what she did to start this war between them. It turns out when Abby first arrived in town, she took Jay, Krista’s previous best friend, away from her – on her birthday, no less! Right… that’s incredibly childish; you’d think Krista would’ve got over that by now! Abby apologises and says they should help Jay together. After learning he wanted to be Class President, she asks Krista to join forces with her to ensure Jay is voted in. Since Krista is the only name on the ballot, if she drops out and campaigns for Jay instead, he’ll surely win.
Sure enough, at Krista and Abby’s joint sixteenth birthday party, Jay is celebrated as Class President. Krista also tells Abby she really likes Logan, but doesn’t know how to talk to him. Abby tells her to ask him about his dream car, the Mustang she used to have. Abby and Jay then dance together. Jay admits his feelings for Abby and the two kiss. As the movie ends, Celeste appears as a waitress before disappearing. Her work here is done.
CHARACTERS & CAST
Abby Jensen has never been popular. Although she has her best friend, Jay, it seems like he is her only real friend, so it’s very much them against the world. This isn’t a bad thing, but it’s not enough for Abby. She wants to be popular, but thanks to Krista Cook, she’s never been able to. This is why Abby’s sixteenth birthday is so important to her, because it’s finally going to be the day where she gets everything she wants. To be honest, Abby is kind of annoying through most of 16 Wishes with this attitude. She isn’t very nice to her family, telling them to get out of her room, and takes Jay for granted, expecting him just to go along with whatever she wants. It’s not until Abby’s wish to stop being treated like a kid goes wrong that Abby finds she’s alone, without her best friend. This makes Abby feel incredibly scared and lonely, as many people would after being thrown out of their family home and forced to live on their own. At this point, Abby learns a real lesson: that wishing for materialistic, superficial things is a waste of time and effort, because they never make you truly happy. She also realises that she shouldn’t be in a hurry to grow up, as being an adult comes with its own responsibilities and isn’t as glamorous as it looks. From this point, Abby becomes a more redeemable character, and less like a spoilt brat!
Debby Ryan was cast as Abby. Ryan began her Disney Channel career as Bailey Pickett on The Suite Life on Deck (2008-11), the spin-off and sequel series to The Suite Life of Zack & Cody (2005-08), and then reprised her role in The Suite Life Movie (2011). After this, Ryan continued to feature on Disney Channel by starring in the series Jessie (2011-15). During this time, she was also cast in the leading role of Tara Adams in the DCOM Radio Rebel (2012). Outside of Disney, Ryan’s most famous role is perhaps as Patty Bladell in the controversial Netflix series Insatiable (2018-19). More recently, she voiced the character of Krista in the animated series Velma (2023-24), a spin-off of the Scooby-Doo franchise, and is due to appear in the thriller film Famous, which will star Zac Efron.
Jay is Abby’s best friend, and former best friend of Krista Cook. He clearly has feelings for Abby that she is completely unaware of until the end of the movie. Jay is an incredibly loyal friend to Abby, quickly forgiving her even when she’s being a bit of a self-obsessed jerk. When Abby’s wish goes wrong and she becomes an adult, Jay is friends with Krista instead. I think Jay would’ve been better off in this alternate life; however, Abby makes sure that he can’t be free of her, getting him to remember that morning when he gave her the friendship necklace. He does remember, but can’t actually help, so it was a completely pointless exercise, making him feel guilty for no reason. When Abby gets to do over her birthday, she is a better person, and I’d like to think that her, Krista, and Jay become a trio, as Krista and Abby have supposedly moved on from that childhood event that caused all the animosity between them. This would be the best thing for Jay, I think, because Krista can hopefully balance out Abby’s impulsiveness and Jay’s willingness to go along with her plans. He also got to be Class President thanks to Abby, so I guess she did one good thing for him.
Jay was played by Jean-Luc Bilodeau. One of Bilodeau’s earliest roles was as Josh Trager in the ABC series Kyle XY (2006-09). After 16 Wishes, he then appeared as Jeremy in the movie LOL (2012), which starred Miley Cyrus, and in the television movie Expecting Amish (2014), alongside AJ Michalka. Bilodeau later starred as Ben Wheeler in the sitcom Baby Daddy (2012-17). Most recently, he was cast as Dr. Daniel Kutcher in the sitcom Carol’s Second Act (2019-20), and as Ronnie in the Roku series The Holiday Shift (2023).
Krista Cook is meant to be the typical mean girl who comes from a rich family and is the most popular girl in school. Krista has tried to overshadow all of Abby’s successes throughout her life, by having better parties and sleepovers, for example. It’s worked and that makes Abby jealous of her, but in fact, Krista is jealous of Abby, and that is because Abby “stole” her best friend Jay from her when they were younger. Friendship groups always change throughout school so I think this is a pretty pathetic excuse for Krista’s hatred of Abby. Why did Krista not just keep talking to Jay instead of accepting that her friend was “gone” forever? Abby didn’t even know she’d taken Jay away from Krista so I doubt she was a horrible kid who would’ve banned Jay from talking to Krista ever again. I’m sure if Krista had even had a mature conversation with Jay and Abby about it all as they got closer to the age of sixteen, this could’ve all been resolved. Krista was played by Karissa Tynes, who was cast as Rhonda Blair / Vanessa A. Williams in The Unauthorized Melrose Place Story (2015) for Lifetime, and as Jameson in Season 2 of the drama series UnREAL (2015-18).
Celeste is the magical being who makes all of Abby’s sixteenth birthday wishes come true, though I’m not sure why she chose Abby of all sixteen-year-olds to do this for; it’s never explained. Celeste seems to deliberately make the wasps more active in Abby’s house, leaving her information on the front door, knowing that Abby’s parents would need to contact someone. It’s all a bit dodgy if you ask me. I’d rather not have some strange woman put wasps in my house just to get my birthday wishes to come true, not to mention not wanting to have her follow me around all day, but Abby is quite happy with the situation, as Celeste pops up at random intervals during 16 Wishes, either to help Abby accomplish some of wishes, like being her personal stylist and interior designer, or to make sure Abby understands what is going on with her wishes. Celeste also has to come to Abby’s rescue close to midnight on her sixteenth birthday as Abby has given up hope. Celeste gets Abby to realise that she can change Wish #16 as it’s just a photo, but apparently, isn’t allowed to come out and say it. She probably hoped Abby would figure it out earlier. Talk about leaving it to the last minute! Anna Mae Wills was cast as Celeste. She was cast as Patty in the movie I Love You, Beth Cooper (2009) just before her role in 16 Wishes.
Outside of these four main characters, there are a few others to mention. One is Abby’s brother Mike. Mike is Abby’s younger brother but he isn’t particularly annoying like you’d expect, though he does play a plastic guitar around the house, clearly wanting to buy a real one but not having the money to do so. He even asks Abby for a loan but she refuses, saying this money is for her party dress. I mean, you have lots of money, Abby; do you really need a dress that costs that much? Mike is actually a pretty cool little brother, not bothering her at school, but also not being embarrassed to say Abby is his sister. Maybe that’s why Abby decides, after seeing Mike play a real guitar in her alternate life, that she should give him the money for a guitar; she thinks he’s really talented and should explore that. Cainan Wiebe was cast as Mike. Just before appearing in 16 Wishes, he had been cast as Gareth in the television movie Beyond Sherwood Forest (2009).
Finally, there are Abby’s parents, Bob and Sue. They seem like nice parents, making Abby a birthday cake and a special birthday breakfast, however, all their actions are thrown back in their faces when Abby orders them out of her room on that morning. Later on, we see Bob and Sue in a different light, after Abby accidentally makes herself 22-years-old. They suddenly seem to be quite harsh on her, moving her into her own apartment without talking to her about it first and telling her to “be independent”. It’s apparently because they don’t have enough room for her in the RV that they’re forced to live in because of the wasp infestation. Really, though, it seems like something must have gone on between Abby and her parents that even Abby doesn’t know about because she’s skipped six years of her life. Maybe Abby was sat around watching TV all day, not bothered about getting a job. Although when they pick her up from the school, it seems like a regular annoyance they have to deal with so maybe this Abby never gave up wanting to be sixteen – I can understand how that could be draining for her parents! Anyway, none of that matters because Abby does get back to her real life and has a new appreciation for her parents and her brother.
Bob Jensen was played by Patrick Gilmore. At the time of 16 Wishes, Gilmore was appearing in the recurring role of Dale Volker in Stargate Universe (2009-11). He went on to be cast as David Mailer in the series Travelers (2016-18) and as Mr. Anderson in the Paramount+ series School Spirits (2023-present). Kendall Cross was cast as Sue Jensen. She went on to appear in the recurring role of Major Byrne in The 100 (2014-20).
MUSIC
16 Wishes features eleven songs. All tracks are on the 16 Wishes soundtrack, released on 15th June 2010, just over a week before the movie’s premiere on Disney Channel.
Usually, if a Disney Channel movie’s lead actor can sing, then they will get to sing one or two songs in that movie, if it’s not a musical. In this case, Debby Ryan gets to perform two such songs. One of them is the song’s opening number, “A Wish Comes True Every Day”, written by Ali Theodore, Jason Gleed, and Alana da Fonseca. This is probably my favourite song in the movie; it’s an upbeat pop song, which is the perfect song for Abby to wake up to on her sixteenth birthday. This song then features again as the finale of the movie, just before the End Credits, with a special video showing the cast and crew dancing on set, as well as a few bloopers. The music video for this song was also uploaded to Disney Channel’s YouTube Channel on 18th June 2010, a week prior to its premiere date.
The other song Debby Ryan performs, alongside her brother Chase, is “Open Eyes”, another song in 16 Wishes that I like. It is played as Abby sadly heads back to her apartment after Krista’s party, resigned to her fate of remaining 22 forever. This song was written by Chase Ryan, Debby Ryan, and Matt Beckley. Chase also contributed to another song on the soundtrack, “Saying Goodbye”, which he wrote and performed alongside Michael Popp and Aaron Harvey. I believe this song is played in the dress shop; however, it is so quiet, being used as background noise, that it is hard to tell. Another song that may have been playing in this shop is “The Way It Used To Be”, performed by punk rock band Not By Choice, and written by M. Bilcox. I didn’t specifically hear this song, but given that the 16 Wishes soundtrack track list appears to be in order of appearance in the film, it must have been played at this time, but I didn’t specifically hear it.
There are a few other songs in 16 Wishes that are only played briefly in the movie. One of these is “No One’s Fool”, performed by Keith and Renee and written by Keith Macpherson, Renee Lamoureux, and Creighton Doane. It plays as Abby gets ready in the morning. Following on from that, “Princess Girl”, performed by Minnutes, is used for the moment that Abby meets Joey Lockhart at her bus stop. Then, there is “Picture Perfect”, performed by Jennifer Cathcart, and written by David Isaac Feldstein, which plays as Abby leaves the dress store in her new “age appropriate” clothes. There is also “Bad Momma”, written by Marc Ferrari, Josh Kessier, and Chad Gendason, performed by Gendason, which can be heard as Abby reveals her new clothes that she wished for at school.
Then there is music that plays at the different birthday parties. Krista’s solo party has two songs, the first being “Vertigo” performed by the band Willknots. It was written by Douglas Deibel and Shawn Richardson. It is followed by “Overreaction”, another song performed by Chad Gendason, and written by Ferrari, Kessier, Gendason, and Andrew Robert Hayes. I can’t say I really noticed either of these songs, however, at Krista and Abby’s joint party at the end of 16 Wishes, the song “Don’t Wanna Grow Up” by Willknots is played, written by Deibel and Richardson. This song might sound familiar to DCOM fans, as it appears towards the end of Cow Belles (2006). It’s a great song, and you get to hear more of it in 16 Wishes, as it is also used for the End Credits.
James Jandrisch is credited with composing the score for 16 Wishes. He would go on to compose the music for another Debby Ryan DCOM, Radio Rebel (2012), as well as for the DCOM Zapped (2014). Jandrisch is also the composer for some television film series including Signed, Sealed, Delivered (2014-present), and Gourmet Detective (2015-20). More recently, Jandrisch composed the music for the Netflix series’ Tiny Pretty Things (2020) and Sweet Magnolias (2020-present). He also composed the music for one of my favourite Christmas television movies, Call Me Mrs. Miracle (2010).
PRODUCTION
16 Wishes focuses on the whole obsession with the idea of the “Sweet 16”, whether that is by having a great birthday or an amazing party.
Having a movie or a series based on the importance of sixteenth birthdays is nothing new. One of the most popular shows about Sweet 16 parties is the MTV reality series My Super Sweet 16 (2005-17), which followed kids as they planned huge parties for their sixteenth birthdays, complete with the usual tantrums and meltdowns you’d expect to see from spoilt kids that don’t get their own way[1]! Sometimes other milestone birthdays, such as 18th or 21st birthday parties, were also featured. Even some celebrities got in on the action, including Aly and AJ Michalka, who held a joint party for their 18th and 16th birthdays, respectively, in 2007. Their episode may have been a promotional technique for the girls’ own movie, Super Sweet 16: The Movie, which was released in 2007. It saw two girls make plans to throw a huge, joint Sweet 16 party. When the girls have a falling out, they start trying to outdo each other with their own parties.
MTV even made a spin-off three-part horror film series, created for television, based on their reality series entitled My Super Psycho Sweet 16 (2009-12).
Let’s also not forget the 1980s John Hughes movie Sixteen Candles (1984). It might not feature a huge Sweet 16 party, but it is a coming-of-age movie about a girl’s sixteenth birthday, which her family have forgotten about because her older sister is getting married the next day. The plot of the movie is not similar to 16 Wishes; however, the title does link to it as Abby gets sixteen wish candles; the titles can potentially be mistaken for each other.
I’m sure Sixteen Candles must have been some sort of loose inspiration for 16 Wishes, however, the obvious 2000s obsession with huge sixteenth birthday parties must also have been. Although Abby does not end up having a grand party, it is alluded to the fact that she was hoping to have one. Just before Abby and Jay head off to the store to buy her a dress, she mentions to Jay that two girls in their year have taken on the planning of Abby’s party, which they want to hold in a hotel in Las Vegas, potential trying to make the party similar to the elaborate affairs that exist within My Super Sweet 16.
16 Wishes also takes some plot points from the Jennifer Garner movie 13 Going on 30 (2004), something that some reviews mentioned. In 13 Going on 30, the main character, Jenna, wishes to be thirty on her thirteenth birthday, believing that being an adult will fix all her issues, as she feels like a loser as a teenager. This is much like Abby in 16 Wishes, who hates being treated like a child. Her wish instead makes her 22 and therefore an adult. Obviously, 16 Wishes is a more family-friendly version of 13 Going on 30 and does not involve too many real-life problems since it only takes place over a day, with Abby’s biggest issue being that she was forced to move out of her parents’ house. 13 Going on 30 not only looks at relationship and family problems, but also work issues too. Big (1988) also features a teenage boy wishing to be “big”, with his wish going wrong and turning him into an adult, but again, it deals with this issue in a more mature way. But neither Big nor 13 Going on 30 were aimed at younger children, or set to be aired on Disney Channel, so they didn’t have to conform to certain expectations.
With all that being said, 16 Wishes is not a particularly unique story, clearly expanding on ideas from other movies, however, that does not make it any lesser of a movie. Many movies borrow ideas from others to create their storylines. It meant that 16 Wishes felt like familiar territory, but in one way, it might be slightly more relatable, and that is by not changing the actress playing Abby. To the audience, it doesn’t look like much has changed when Abby “grows up” from 16 to 22, so we are able to fully understand her confusion at why she’s being treated differently. In 13 Going on 30 and Big, we are introduced to a young actor first, and then asked to relate to a different one. In some ways, they feel like two separate journeys or a dream, but with 16 Wishes, it is solely Abby’s story.
16 Wishes was directed by Peter DeLuise. Peter DeLuise went on to direct the DCOM Zapped (2014), which starred Zendaya, but prior to 16 Wishes, he had also directed some episodes of Kyle XY (2006-09); Stargate Atlantis (2004-09); Stargate SG-1 (1997-2007); and Stargate Universe (2009-11). Previously, DeLuise had starred as Officer Doug Penhall in the series 21 Jump Street (1987-91). DeLuise also has some famous family with links to Disney. His brother David DeLuise was cast as Jerry Russo in the Disney Channel series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007-12) and its 2009 movie. They are sons of comedian Dom DeLuise, who voicing the character of Fagin in Oliver & Company (1998).
The screenplay for 16 Wishes was written by Annie DeYoung, who had previously worked on Princess Protection Program (2009), Return to Halloweentown (2006), and Girl vs. Monster (2012) for Disney Channel.
16 Wishes was filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with one of the most obvious filming locations being Walnut Grove Secondary School. Much of the movie’s scenes are either filmed at the school or at the street where Abby and Krista live, so nothing too exciting to report on there.
I’ve mentioned a lot of Disney links in the cast and crew credits; however, 16 Wishes is not a Disney Channel Original Movie, in a similar way to Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars, which is also not technically a Disney Channel Original Movie, despite being promoted as such, or in slightly different terminology, prior to its Disney Channel air date. 16 Wishes was a co-production between Disney Channel and MarVista Entertainment[2]. Unity Pictures is also listed on the Opening Credits. Because of this small technicality, this is potentially why 16 Wishes is not available to stream on Disney+. Instead, if you want to watch 16 Wishes, you’ll have to hope it appears on another streaming service – I found Harriet the Spy: Blog Wars on Amazon Prime in the UK when I reviewed that movie – or go the old-fashioned route and watch it on DVD, which is what I did with 16 Wishes[3].
RECEPTION
16 Wishes first premiered in the US on Disney Channel on 25th June 2010.
A trailer was released on Disney Channel’s official YouTube channel on 9th June, which referenced 16 Wishes as a Disney Channel Movie, but not a Disney Channel Original Movie[4]. This is a subtle distinction but one I guess they had to make somewhat obvious with this being a co-production.
On its US premiere, 16 Wishes apparently got 5.6 million viewers, and became the most watched cable program of the day. 16 Wishes later premiered in Canada on Family Channel on 16th July 2010.
In terms of reviews, these are mixed, as some say that it is the best DCOM of all time, and that the ones to debut afterwards were nowhere near as good – I’ve read this quite a lot around other DCOMs released in 2010 or 2011 – whereas others call it the worst. For me, I liked 16 Wishes when it first came out, and rewatched it quite a few times. Looking at it now, though, I wouldn’t call it the best or the worst; it’s just average.
Those who like 16 Wishes say it was quite deep for Disney Channel, as it taught an important lesson about not growing up too fast, and made kids re-examine their lives in some ways. I’m not sure 16 Wishes ever affected me to the point where I made changes to my life, and I was a similar age to the characters, so I’m not sure I agree with this point. 16 Wishes was also called cute, although typical and predictable.
Others who don’t like the film say it is cringey and they dislike the main character of Abby Jensen, calling her “awful”. I think awful is a bit harsh, and she does eventually change her ways, but I wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with her at school. She’s not a bad person, but she does strike me as the type to constantly moan about how unfair her life is, which would get draining after a while…
LEGACY
Luckily, the story of 16 Wishes did not allow for a sequel, or a series of movies.
I mean, Disney Channel could have done it, obviously. They could’ve brought Abby back to do 17 Wishes, maybe even 18 Wishes, where she makes new wishes based on her current situation but they would’ve been samey and boring; sometimes one movie is enough.
So, 16 Wishes has not spanned its own franchise, however, 16 Wishes did boost Debby Ryan’s Disney Channel career. She was already known for her role on The Suite Life on Deck, so 16 Wishes allowed her to star in her own project. This led to her role as Jessie in the series, and then to star in Radio Rebel in 2012.
Outside of that, I did discover that there is a website selling the set of sixteen candles, the Lucky Duck matches, and a recreation of Abby’s wish list, so if you’re a huge fan of this film, this could be the perfect gift for you.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Sixteenth birthdays are meant to be a big milestone moment for teenagers, where they start to feel more mature and become more independent.
In 16 Wishes, Abby can’t wait to turn sixteen because she seems to think that on that one day, she’ll wake up and feel differently about herself. She also believes that everyone around her will finally notice that she’s not a child anymore. That is not the case, and Abby becomes disappointed that her sixteenth birthday hasn’t been everything she hoped it would be. The wishing candles seem to be making it the best day ever until it goes badly wrong.
I think too many teenagers put pressure on themselves to grow up quickly. Once you do grow up, many realise that being an adult is not all that wonderful, and that they should’ve spent more time being a kid.
If 16 Wishes teaches people anything – and it’s a Disney movie so generally they try to teach you something – it’s don’t be in such a hurry to grow up. Adulthood probably won’t be everything you imagined.
REFERENCES
[1] Credit: MTV, ‘My Super Sweet 16’s Biggest Meltdowns I MTV Ranked’, MTV Vault YouTube Channel, 12th May 2019.
[2] Credit: Disney, ’16 Wishes (television), D23.com, date unknown.
[3] Credit: Daniel Furn and Cole Luke, ‘How to watch 16 Wishes: Is it available to stream on Disney+?’, RadioTimes.com, 18th September 2023.
[4] Credit: Disney, ’16 Wishes Trailer – Disney Channel Official’, Disney Channel YouTube Channel, 9th June 2010.
The Disney Purist 