Director: Dan Scanlon
Date: 5 April 2020
jamesintexas Rating: ***
"Long ago, the world was full of wonder. It was adventurous. It was exciting. And most of all, there was magic." We looked forward to some magic for probably two weeks when Disney+ announced that Onward would be on their channel streaming on April 3rd. I made some homemade pizzas; we set up on the couch with popcorn and M&M's, with an eager Gus (6) and Noli (4). Since we won't be going to the movies in the near future, Friday Movie Night was a big deal. And Pixar, always dependable, delivered Onward, a very sweet, clever, solid family film that we have watched four more times since Friday night.
Set in a magical world where the magic has somewhat faded and tarnished, a place where unicorns are more apt to hiss at each other and fight over grazing out of trash cans than majestically soar the skies, young elves Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley (Chris Pratt) are brothers who live with mom Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and miss their dad Wilden, who passed away before Ian was ever able to meet him. Ian wakes up to his sixteenth birthday, pulls his dad's college sweatshirt on, and takes tentative steps towards friendship and independence while being thwarted by his own emotions (and sometimes, Barley). Barley, the older more gregarious brother, drives a van named Guinevere and is obsessed with magic lore and minutia; he serves as Ian's foil, but both receive a special gift from their dad that Laurel had stashed away in the attic until both boys were sixteen: a wooden staff with a spell promising a way for the dad to return. Something goes awry, and the magic brings back only half of the dad, the bottom half. The brothers (and half-dad) embark upon a quest to locate a magical stone that can finish the spell because it only lasts for 24 hours, meaning dad will totally disappear in that amount of time. Laurel takes off after them, engaging in her own quest that leads her to join forces with the Manticore (Olivia Spencer), a once lauded warrior now the owner of a Medieval Times-ish Chuck E. Cheese restaurant. There are biker fairies, a centaur police stepdad, many magical spells, homages to Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, and a journey faced with traps and gauntlets as they work together to complete the quest.
Onward presents a fun world, one steeped in nods to The Lord of The Rings and Dungeons & Dragons. There is no real antagonist, which is refreshing, and the dad only being able to communicate with his feet ends up being really charming. It is funny, not hilarious. This is minor Pixar, and Scanlon directed Monsters University, a film that I would also include under that banner. It is enjoyable with its focus on brotherhood, as well as two strong female co-leads in Laurel and The Manticore who prove very much up to the tasks of the quest. The idea of speaking with your heart's fire is a fun conceit that rings true, and in general, Onward is such a warm, family-friendly film. Gus said, "I like that it was not too scary," which I agree with, though I loved a surprise monstrous creation at the film's end, complete with a wonderful brick body, smiling face, and school bell ringing as part of its roar. Blazey, Ian's pet dragon, seems like a relative of Randall from Monsters, Inc. and needs his own film. Onward handles Ian's epiphany with a quick montage of memories from the film and earlier, with a dawning realization about his older brother which I found quite moving. Maybe I was not as blown away by this world as I was by Nemo's or Sully and Mike's. But I left with real admiration for the work of such caring, thoughtful storytellers.
My favorite film critic Roger Ebert said, "It's not what a movie is about; it is how it is about it." Onward has a sweet, straightforward grace to it that makes it avoid meanness and cynicism. It shows brothers who love each other, a mom willing to battle to let her kids get their chance to fulfill the quest, with everyone knowing that it won't totally dissolve pain. Its characters cannot reverse the death of a loved one. Instead, they just want to hold onto them for one day more, to give one more hug, to share one more lame joke. There are many people that I wish I had one more day with: my grandparents, Mrs. K., Mr. Newton, Doc Caso, Phil Church, Roy Wortman.
Last, Gus says, "I love it so much because there was a dragon. It made me think of my family. It made me feel happy and a little scared." Noli says, "I liked it very, very, very much. So many. Only the legs of their dad!" Like so many, we are looking forward to when we can go back to watching movies in theaters as well. Until then, this family will speak with our heart's fire, stay inside, and watch Onward.
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