Set in a suburban fantasy world, two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot go on a journey to discover if there is still a little magic left out there in order to spend one last day with their father, who died when they were too young to remember him.
On his 16th birthday, Ian (Tom Holland) is gifted a magical staff from his deceased father that will bring him back for a day. However, the spell goes wrong and only the bottom half of his dad appears. So, it is up to Ian and his brother, Barley (Chris Pratt), to go on a quest and fix the spell to bring back their father.
I must admit that I’m a huge fan of Pixar. I love their creativity, animation style, originality, and the deeper meanings behind their films. I grew up on their films, and while they are primarily targeted to children, as I have grown older, I still find that there’s always something I can connect with in a Pixar film. This movie is set in a fantasy world where magic once thrived before technology overtook it. And I really enjoyed the fantastical elements of the film, which led to a couple of clever jokes and gags.
“Onward” is not Pixar’s best film by any means, but it still quite enjoyable. I would put it on par with “Finding Dory,” which is not as memorable as “Finding Nemo,” but was still delightful and touching. And though this is an original story, there are plenty of tropes used that stop it from feeling fresh. Things that you’ve seen over again in Disney movies like having a dead parent, an awkward and outcasted protagonist, miscommunication that leads to conflict, etc. are all featured in this movie.
What makes this movie is the brotherly bonding between Ian and Barley. Tom Holland and Chris Pratt have great chemistry together. Holland voices an awkward teen who’s insecure and must find his confidence, while Pratt’s character is boisterous and exuberant, both of which play into the actors’ strengths. Octavia Spencer and Julia Louis-Dreyfus round out the rest of the voice cast, and while their side adventure was enjoyable, it ultimately didn’t amount to much.
Loss is another big theme in the film. And this is more of a nitpick than anything but, the father is legs for a majority of the movie, so we don’t really know what his personality is like. We hear small details about him from other characters, so while his legs mean a lot to our two protagonists, it doesn’t mean much to us since he doesn’t really do anything. I think if he was featured in flashbacks, we could’ve seen how he fit into the family dynamic and connect with him more.
Another minor gripe I have is that the animation didn’t stand out to me in this film. It felt like the usual Disney 3D animation, which isn’t bad by any means. Just compared to the last Pixar film, “Toy Story 4,” where you can see the texture of Bo Peep’s porcelain skin, “Onward” didn’t have that level of detail, which is okay but I do wish the animation could’ve been a bit more inventive, especially with the magic.
Overall, “Onward” is worth checking out, mostly due to its touching brotherly relationship that may or may not make you cry. Pixar delivers on another fun, family film that everyone in the family will enjoy. And it will make you appreciate your siblings a bit more.
In Theaters Friday, March 6th
