2020 | Dir. Dan Scanlon | 103 Minutes
"On a quest, the clear path is never the right one."
While Pixar's Onward organically and entertainingly utilizes creatures and magic either inspired by or outright borrowed from the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Dungeons and Dragons, the picture never quite develops these elements in innovative or meaningful ways. The magic staves, mystical gems, dragons, and gelatinous cubes only serve as simple plot devices or throwaway sight gags. The narrative cleverly establishes specific quirks and limitations behind the casting of each magic spell to teach its young protagonist the value of honesty and having faith in oneself, but the core idea of bringing magic back into a world that's been rendered mundane by contemporary technological advances is strictly, disappointingly surface-level only. In a quasi-metatextual way, the film is consistently visually lovely but there isn't a single moment that is technically breathtaking or particularly iconic, though it's nothing short of brilliant how much character Pixar's animators can imbue upon a set of disembodied legs with a floppy makeshift hoody-and-sunglasses torso clearly inspired by Weekend at Bernie's.
At its core, and at its best, Onward is a road movie about two comically mismatched brothers strengthening their bond through a series of increasingly dangerous trials with a bizarre companion in toll. There are plenty of laughs to be had along the way and, for better or worse, the peril they encounter never feels too threatening save for one set piece featuring a bottomless chasm, but the best moments of the film are the quieter more contemplative moments. Ian listening to an audio recording of his father and attempting to carry a conversation with it is heartbreaking, as is the revelation of the one memory of their father that Barley hesitates to share. The secondary plot involving the boys' mother and a fearsome-warrior-turned-family-restaurant-owner racing to save them from certain doom, while amusing in its own right, is decidedly less engaging.
Tom Holland and Chris Pratt share excellent chemistry as Ian and Barley, playing to their respective strengths as timid teenager and as lovable loser. Julia Louis-Dreyfus is believable as the boys' loving and courageous mother Laurel. As the manic manticore restaurant owner Corey, Octavia Spencer is a lot of fun but slightly inconsistent due to how the part was written. Mel Rodriguez is a great fit for the domineering, slightly obnoxious mother dating centaur cop Colt Bronco. The film also features Lena Waithe and Ali Wong cyclops and faun cops Specter and Gore, Grey Griffin as pixie biker gang leader Dewdrop, and Tracey Ullman as reptilian pawn shop owner Grecklin.
Onward is a standard Pixar movie, which is to say it's a clever, charming, and serviceably heartwarming experience. The picture plays with tropes of the fantasy genre in a fun way without leaning too heavily on them, but it doesn't do anything groundbreaking with them either. Considering how the studio's best works tend to push the envelope for animated films in terms of technical achievement or high-concept storytelling, this one comes off as a bit of an underachiever.
JOHN RATZENBERGER AS...
- Construction Worker Felix
PIXAR INTERCONNECTIVITY
- Packs of TripleDent Gum can be seen in Ian's room and at the gas station where the brothers encounter the Pixie Dusters
- A Pizza Planet truck makes an appearance when the brothers stop at a highway toll booth staffed by a troll
- The road map the brothers use show the locations Brave Wilderness and Lock Lake referencing Brave and the Pixar short The Ballad of Nessie
FRAGMENTS
- Onward premiered in theaters with a Simpsons short film Maggie Simpson in Play Date with Destiny playing before it instead of a Pixar short film as 20th Century Fox was purchased by Pixar parent company Disney months prior to Onward's release
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus previously played Princess Atta in Pixar's second feature A Bug's Life
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Chris Pratt (Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3)
- Tom Holland (Peter Parker in Captain America: Civil War, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Spider-Man: No Way Home)
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Contessa Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in Black Widow and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
