Onward is the newest Pixar film directed by Dan
Scanlon, written by Scanlon with Jason Headley and Keith Bunn. The film stars
Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer. Set in a
suburban fantasy world, the film follows two elf brothers who set out on a
quest to find a rare artifact that well bring back their deceased father for
one day. Released on March 6, 2020 in the US, the film received generally
positive reviews and grossed $104 million worldwide before the coronavirus
pandemic shut down theaters. It was released on Disney+ and other screaming
services on April 3.
In a world of mythical creatures, magic was once
commonplace. After technological advances over the years, magic became obsolete
and was largely discarded. It is now modern day, Ian Lightfoot (voiced by Tom
Holland), an elf socially awkward high schooler who lacks self-confidence. His
older brother, Barley (voiced by Chris Pratt), is a history and role-playing
game fanatic. They live with their widowed mother, Laurel (voiced by Julia
Louis-Dreyfus) in New Mushroomton. Their father, Wilden Lightfoot, died shortly
before Ian born. As the story opens, it is Ian’s 16th birthday and
Laurel gives the brothers a gift from Wilden: a magical staff, a rare gem, and
a letter describing a visitation spell so the boys can resurrect their father
for one day. When Ian accidently only resurrects their father’s lower half, the
brothers are now in a race against time to fully resurrect their father.
Onward is a funny and heartwarming adventure that
audiences have come to expect from Pixar. Although, a few reviewers have
pointed out that it has become a bit too cliched. For me, it was an emotional
as it deals with death, loss and trying to capture experiences one never had a
chance to have as Ian never had the memories of his father that Barley did. I
also liked the musical score. I especially liked the song that Barley played
plays in his van. It suggests Vikings and great battles. The end credit song,
“Carried Me With You,” performed by Brandi Carlile, is an emotionally charged song
about not taking love for granted and accepting love even when you don’t feel
its deserved. One of my favorite lyrics is “To the darkness of the blue/I was
just too blind to see/Like a lighthouse in a storm/You were always guiding me.”
I like the lesson Ian learns along way as he gains confidence in himself,
although it is a theme used quite often.
As no movie is without faults, there are a few things about
the film I did not like. While I did enjoy the film, it felt like a Frozen II
film for boys. A sibling adventure story for brothers rather than sisters. Also,
the use of mythical creatures didn’t really add to the story. The filmmakers
could have used human characters and the movie would have been just as good. It
is also a film that I wasn’t overly excited to watch for the story concept
didn’t grab my attention. I only watched it because my eight-year-old daughter
wanted to when it was released on Disney+. She thoroughly enjoyed it and
watched again the next day and watched it a third time with her dad. The
animation is as expected from Pixar; however, it does not have the stunning
beauty of Coco or the heart of Toy Story or Finding Nemo.
