Review of Onward (2020) by Jordanlayton — 27 Apr 2020

I think Bright may have burned out my interest in modern worlds filled with fantasy creatures, but despite that I still enjoyed this brothers adventure movie from Pixar.

I don't know why the aesthetic of this just doesn't quite rub me the right way. Maybe it just feels like an indication that Pixar is out of ideas in terms of crazy new worlds to show us? Regardless of that gripe, this was still a good film.

Tom Holland and Chris Pratt voiced the two brothers in the film and they fully melted into their characters. You would think these two MCU and Parks and Rec stars would be extremely recognizable, but I only noticed it was them for the first couple of scenes. From them on I was nicely immersed in the adventurous plot this movie has. What was particularly nice about said plot is that nearly every problem the main characters face throughout it related to their relationship as brothers in some way or another. Whether it was the elder teaching the younger something, the elder learning to not underestimate the younger, or the two of them coming to fully trust one another, the core of almost every obstacle they encountered on their grand journey tied back into a different aspect of their brotherhood. It shouldn't come as any surprise that Pixar nailed all the feels in this one. One aspect of the film that felt a little half-baked was the mother's b-plot of chasing after her children. It didn't service the story at all and had one equally half-baked payoff. It makes sense that a mother would go after her children like she does, but I just wish her story was given another beat or two. The way it is just makes it seem like an obvious, weak, insert character for any parents watching with their kids. Onward feels like a film that had a lot of hands on it throughout its writing process. Several side characters come off completely unnecessary and a few plot points just don't feel fully developed. It doesn't help that the films aesthetic isn't quite for me. That said, Pixar nailed what it almost always does in terms of beautiful animation and main character beats that result in many not-so-dry eyes. Definitely worth watch if you already have Disney+.