Onward

Tonight, I saw the new Pixar movie, “Onward,” which came out three weeks ago, and I will let everyone know what I thought about it.

Two teenage elf brothers go out to find out if there’s any magic left in the world in this latest film by Pixar. The filmmakers work hard to create some of the magic, but it’s a laborious task.

“Onward” is a suburban fairytale where the supernatural been out of date by labor-saving machines and addictive digital devices.

Unicorns search in dumpsters and growl at anyone who tries to approach them. Dragons have been domesticated.

The fearsome Manticore, voiced by Octavia Spencer, has remodeled her ancient, Gothic castle as a family restaurant. She now restricts her firebreathing abilities to lighting the candles on children’s birthday cakes.

On the night of Ian Lightfoot’s (Tom Holland) 16^th birthday, he receives a strange gift from his late father – an ancient staff, an enchanted stone, and a spell. Everybody, including his wife, Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), thought Wilden Lightfood (Kyle Bornheimer) was an accountant, but it turns out he was a secret wizard.

With the help of his annoying older brother, Barley, a Dungeons and Dragons fan, voiced by Chris Pratt, Ian manages to bring half the dad he has never met from the otherworld before he loses control of his new magical abilities.

The two siblings have exactly one day to complete the spell before their dad is gone for good. To complete the spell, they must find a rare gem.

Vicky Roach said in his review, “And so they embark upon a perilous quest in Barley’s barely roadworthy Kombi van to locate said item before the clock runs out.”

Roach continued, “If malicious sprites don’t get them, a booby-trapped maze surely will. But each challenge reveals hitherto unexpected emotional resources in Onward’s timid, self-doubting hero.”

Ian’s livid fight with Manticore surprises everyone, including himself.

Roach mentioned, “And there’s an extremely tense scene in which he traverses a yawning chasm solely by maintaining his faith in his own capabilities.”

Ian’s brother, Braley, does not have an emotional part, but he’s just a comic relief.

Roach commented, “Pratt conveys the aching vulnerability beneath his character’s blustering bravado. Holland is just as relatable as the cripplingly shy introvert.”

It’s the vibrant between the two brothers, both who are struggling to grieve over the loss of their father, that is the main focus of this film.

Also, if the demon released from the magical gem’s curse is a little underwhelming, it’s great to see two middle-aged women release their inner fighters.

Roach ended his review by saying, “Onward isn’t as fully realised as the best Pixar films but because the animation studio has set the bar so very high, even its second-tier product is strong.”

Don’t worry, this is another Pixar movie that everyone can go watch when it gets released on Disney+ early April. You will love it, I promise. Definitely another one that I think the whole family can watch. Just not on the same level as some of Pixar’s best work. Still, this is a nice, heartwarming, relatable film that everyone can sit and watch.

Thank you for joining in on tonight’s review, stay tuned next Friday for the continuation of “Jackie Chan Month.”