Onward (2020)

By: Mike Ward on Wednesday, April 01

PG Running Time: 102 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

Onward may be a step below typical Pixar fare, but this is a really enjoyable and thoughtful family-oriented story.
Well performed, with amusing humor, a nostalgic nod to pop culture from the 1980s and 1990s, Onward will stand up to multiple repeat viewings.
Sticks the landing on an ending that will have you appreciative of the message, as well as finding a way to bring the fantastical world it creates into a very real one most viewers can instantly relate to.

NO

Lacks a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and feels very controlled. Surprising that it doesn’t impact more from a comedic standpoint with a hyped Tom Holland and goofy Chris Pratt leading the way.
Some have mentioned to me they found Onward boring. I think that speaks to the more subdued nature of the story and may truly be your experience in watching it.
There’s a lot of “movie” in Onward, which is a bit frustrating since one of the things Pixar has done as well as anyone is find memorable ways to tell rather simple, distinctive stories. Elements of the film feel like filler., which is rare for Pixar movies.

OUR REVIEW

Even if Pixar falls short of lofty expectations, the groundbreaking animation studio delivers a good movie almost every time it drops something new on audiences. And while Onward may not make any Top 10 Greatest Pixar Movies list any time soon, this endearing, heartfelt story of loss, and the creating of space to allow for it, does strike a nerve.

Onward, Pixar’s 22nd feature-length film, exists in a fantasy world, largely parallel to our own, where Ian (voiced by Tom Holland) has just turned 16. An elf, he lives with his widowed mother Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), and immature older brother Barley (Chris Pratt). The boys’ father died of cancer, just prior to Ian’s birth, and Laurel has presented the boys with a present, left for them by him, to be opened when Ian achieves his milestone birthday.

Here, the film infuses lots of elements from fantasy filmmaking. Onward becomes a story where the brothers must go on a quest, with inclusion of a “Phoenix Gem”, a wizard’s staff, and a reanimation spell which can bring back their father for 24 hours.

The gem becomes destroyed, the spell only works halfway (their father is regenerated from the waist down), and a map forces the boys to find a second gem to try and complete the reanimation properly.

Distilled down to its basic structure, Ian’s quest to spend one more moment with his late father is moving, providing a gateway into a story anyone who has lost a loved one can relate to. When focused on the human elements of the story, Onward speaks volumes, and the script, by director Don Scanlon (Monsters University) and co-writers Jason Headley and Keith Bunin, captures many of those personal nuances beautifully.

Pratt’s over-the-top performance takes some getting used to, but serves as a counterbalance to Holland’s awkward, “awe, schucks” demeanor. Where Ian gets the emotional beats of the story, Barley is largely played as a pop culture repository. He loves metal music, digs medieval folklore, is engrossed in a roleplaying game, and drives a 1970’s-style van. Barley is kind of a lumbering oaf of a guy, and though Pratt and Holland voice their roles exceedingly well, their chemistry struggles to find symmetry in the film’s more emotional moments.

A blue-tinged haze coats many of the scenes in Onward, giving the film an otherworldly, almost supernatural-style and appearance. Scanlon’s film also looks a bit more cartoonish then other recent Pixar films. Still, the humor remains amusing throughout. Though less immersive a viewing experience than some of the signature films of the brand, Onward glides along easily until it pays off with an emotional ending that might catch you and your tear ducts completely off guard.

And yet, the elements of fantasy and adventure which round out the rest of the film hold it back a bit from greatness. With beasts and sprites, and unicorns and centaur love interests popping up along the way, Onward may seem wildly ambitious, but shares a rather simple story. The quest Scanlon and his team seek for all of us is how we come to accept and forgive those sometimes-unpleasant absolutes in life we cannot control.

With Onward, for a simple, thoughtful, tender story like this one, we must endure a lot of extraneous amusement to get to a universal message many will appreciate, if not downright embrace.

CAST & CREW

Starring the Voices of: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimer, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong, Grey Griffin, Tracey Ullman, Wilmer Valderrama, George Psarras, John Ratzenberger.

Director: Dan Scanlon
Written by: Dan Scanlon, Keith Bunin, Jason Headley (original story and screenplay)
Release Date: March 6, 2020
Walt Disney Pictures

Onward may be a step below typical Pixar fare, but this is a really enjoyable and thoughtful family-oriented story.

Well performed, with amusing humor, a nostalgic nod to pop culture from the 1980s and 1990s, Onward will stand up to multiple repeat viewings.

Sticks the landing on an ending that will have you appreciative of the message, as well as finding a way to bring the fantastical world it creates into a very real one most viewers can instantly relate to.

Lacks a lot of laugh-out-loud moments, and feels very controlled. Surprising that it doesn’t impact more from a comedic standpoint with a hyped Tom Holland and goofy Chris Pratt leading the way.

Some have mentioned to me they found Onward boring. I think that speaks to the more subdued nature of the story and may truly be your experience in watching it.

There’s a lot of “movie” in Onward, which is a bit frustrating since one of the things Pixar has done as well as anyone is find memorable ways to tell rather simple, distinctive stories. Elements of the film feel like filler., which is rare for Pixar movies.