A Simple Wish

***A Simple Wish*** is a 1997 children's fantasy comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie, and starring Martin Short, Mara Wilson, and Kathleen Turner. The film is about a bumbling male fairy godmother named Murray (Short), who tries to help Annabel (Wilson) fulfill her wish that her father, a carriage driver, wins the leading role in a Broadway musical.

It was the last film from director Michael Ritchie before his death in 2001.

## Storyline

### Plot

Male fairy godmother Murray tries to help 8-year-old Annabel fulfill her "simple wish" that her cab-driver father Oliver wins the leading role in a Broadway musical. Unfortunately, Murray's magic wand is broken, and the fairies' convention is threatened by evil witches Claudia and Boots.

### Genres

* Comedy
* Family
* Fantasy

### Motion Picture Rating

* **G** (Australia)
* **Livre** (Brazil)
* **Tous publics** (France)
* **6** (Germany)
* **L** (Iceland)
* **G** (Japan)
* **7** (Norway)
* **All** (South Korea)
* **U** (UK)
* **PG** (USA)

## Images

UK VHS cover (1998)USA VHS cover (1998)USA DVD cover (1998)UK VHS cover (2001)UK DVD cover (2005)UK Blu-Ray coverUSA Blu-Ray cover (2014)UK DVD cover (2016)USA DVD cover (2017)USA Blu-Ray cover (2019)
## Cast and Crew

### Cast

* Martin Short - Murray
* Mara Wilson - Annabel
* Robert Pastorelli - Oliver
* Francis Capra - Charlie
* Kathleen Turner - Claudia
* Amanda Plummer - Boots
* Ruby Dee - Hortence
* Teri Garr - Rena
* Jonathan Hadary - Lord Richard
* Deborah Odell - Jeri
* Alan Campbell - Tony Sable
* Jack McGee - Officer York

### Producers

* Michael S. Glick (co-producer)
* Jeff Rothberg (co-producer)
* Bill Sheinberg (producer)
* Jonathan Sheinberg (producer) (as Jon Sheinberg)
* Sid Sheinberg (producer)

## Details

### Release Dates

* July 11, 1997 (USA)
* September 25, 1997 (Australia)
* October 17, 1997 (UK)
* October 17, 1997 (Ireland)
* October 24, 1997 (Brazil)
* December 18, 1997 (New Zealand)
* December 18, 1997 (Singapore)
* December 19, 1997 (Mexico)
* July 3, 1998 (Spain)
* July 8, 1998 (France)

### Home Media Release Dates

* 1998 (UK) (VHS)
* June 9, 1998 (USA) (VHS)
* June 9, 1998 (USA) (DVD)
* May 30, 2000 (USA) (VHS re-release)
* August 6, 2001 (UK) (VHS re-release)
* May 2, 2005 (UK) (DVD)
* September 7, 2010 (USA) (DVD re-release)
* July 4, 2011 (UK) (Blu-Ray)
* March 4, 2014 (USA) (Blu-Ray)
* August 29, 2016 (UK) (DVD re-release)
* January 21, 2017 (USA) (DVD re-release)
* June 4, 2019 (USA) (Blu-Ray re-release)

## Reception

### Box office

*A Simple Wish* grossed $8,345,056 worldwide on a $28 million budget.

### Critical response

The film has a 5.4 rating on IMDb and a 25% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

## Company Credits

### Production Companies

* Universal Pictures (presents)
* The Bubble Factory (presents)
* Sheinberg Productions (as Sheinberg)

### Distributors

* Universal Pictures (1997) (USA) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (1997) (UK) (theatrical)
* United International Pictures (1998) (France) (theatrical)
* CIC Video (1998) (UK) (VHS)
* Universal Studios Home Video (1998) (USA) (VHS)
* Universal Studios Home Video (1998) (USA) (DVD)
* Universal Studios Home Video (2000) (USA) (VHS)
* Universal Studios Home Video (2001) (UK) (VHS)
* Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2005) (UK) (DVD)
* Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD)
* Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2011) (UK) (Blu-Ray)
* Universal Studios Home Entertainment (2014) (USA) (Blu-Ray)
* Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2016) (UK) (DVD)
* Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2017) (USA) (DVD)
* Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (2019) (USA) (Blu-Ray)

### Special Effects

* Blue Sky Studios (computer generated visual effects)
* Matte World Digital (special visual effects)
* Pacific Data Images (visual effects produced by)
* Cannom Creations (animatronics)
* VisionArt (additional digital effects)
* Blue Sky/VIFX (uncredited)

## Trivia

* In an interview with the Nostalgia Critic, Mara Wilson stated that the production of the film was a very hard time for her because of the recent death of her mother. She claims to have some regrets over her behavior on the set, describing her mind set as "being in a bad place". To this day, she has little recollection of making this film due to the depression she faced following the loss of her mother. She even says that she should not have been making a film at that time.
* This is the only film where Mara Wilson appeared with Martin Short.