The Disney animated film featuring “When You Wish Upon a Star” is Pinocchio.
The song appears in Disney’s 1940 animated film Pinocchio, where it is performed by Cliff Edwards as Jiminy Cricket. It is heard over the opening credits and returns at the film’s conclusion, framing Pinocchio’s journey from wooden puppet toward becoming a real boy.
Leigh Harline composed the music and Ned Washington wrote the lyrics. The song grew beyond the film to become one of the best-known themes associated with The Walt Disney Company. Its hopeful message reflects Geppetto’s wish that Pinocchio might become human and the film’s broader emphasis on courage, truthfulness, and selflessness.
A frequent mistake is associating the song with Snow White because both films are early Disney animated classics and both center on fairy-tale imagery. It is not from Dumbo or Bambi either. Pinocchio won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, while the film’s score also won for Best Original Score, making it the first Disney film to win in either category.