Onward (2020) Disney/Fantasy-Adventure-Comedy RT: 102 minutes Rated PG (action/peril, some mild thematic elements) Director: Dan Scanlon Screenplay: Dan Scanlon, Jason Headley and Keith Bunin Music: Mychael and Jeff Danna Cinematography: Sharon Calahan and Adam Habib Release date: March 6, 2020 (US) Cast: 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. Box Office: $61.6M (US)/$142M (World)
Rating: **
Well, it took 25 years but Pixar has finally disappointed with Onward, a thoroughly disenchanting adventure-comedy set in a world inhabited by mythical creatures- e.g. elves, centaurs, sprites, unicorns, etc. Its heart is in the right place with its story of two boys who want to spend just one more day with their father who died when they were too young to remember him clearly. HOWEVER, when you consider that the dead parent angle was basically invented by Disney, it feels like that heart is one of those artificial jobs. It’s more machine than living matter. For all its noise and clatter, Onward never comes to life in a way that’s meaningful.
In the days of olde, there was a lot of magic in the world. But with emerging technology like light bulbs and cars, there was less need for it and magic almost completely disappeared. Cut to modern day where we meet two teenage elven brothers, Ian (Holland, the latest Spider-Man) and Barley (Pratt, Guardians of the Galaxy), living with their widowed mother (Dreyfus, Veep) in the suburban town of New Mushroomton. It’s Ian’s 16th birthday and all he wants is the confidence to invite classmates to his party. Older brother Barley is one of those slacker types who still lives at home, drives around in an old van with a unicorn painted on the side and enjoys D&D-type role-playing games. They may be as different as night and day, but Barley will always have his little bro’s back even if it causes Ian great embarrassment.
Ian gets the surprise of his life when Mom presents him with a gift from his father, one that she held onto until he turned 16 as per her husband’s wish. It’s a magical staff with a rare phoenix gem and a spell that will bring him back to the land of the living for 24 hours. It can only be used once. After Barley fails in his attempts, Ian sort of succeeds. Something goes wrong (of course it does) and he only manages to resurrect Dad’s lower half (everything below the waist). The only way to complete the spell before time runs out is to acquire another stone. Since they can’t just run to the mall and buy one, the brothers have to go on a quest to find one, a prospect that excites Barley and worries Ian. Of course, when their mother finds them gone, she goes on a quest of her own to find her boys.
I’m sure there are lots of people who will find the premise of Onward clever, but it’s really not all that different from Zootopia only instead of anthropomorphic animals, it has beings you might find in a Tolkien novel. There are a few good ideas buzzing around- I like the idea of little dragons as dog-like house pets- but the whole affair gets tedious after a while. It’s basically variations on the same themes that Disney has explored in their animated movies for years. The best Pixar movies are invested with emotional depth uncommon to entertainment aimed at kids. They take familiar themes- e.g. loss, friendship, growing up- and make them feel fresh. Onward feels like the same old thing in shiny new packaging. It’s like one of those generic non-Disney animated movies that come and go unnoticed at the box office throughout the year. I was actually bored by it.
To be fair, Onward isn’t without its good points. The voice talents do a good job. Holland and Pratt, already connected by way of the MCU, have an easy, likable chemistry with each other. Their playful ribbing is amusing at times. Dreyfus is good as the mother, so good that you wish her character had a bit more screen time. Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) is a standout as a once-mighty manticore whose tavern used to be the hub of all sorts of olde time-y adventure activity. It’s now one of those family-friendly medieval-themed joints with placemats and crayons for the kids. She gets some good lines. They seem to be having fun, a feeling that is not shared by me. The animation is standard Pixar stuff. It’s colorful and energetic, but it feels like it was done on autopilot. Incidentally, there is no need to see Onward in 3D. It adds nothing to the experience. I watched it in 3D only for the sake of convenience.
For the life of me, I just could not get into Onward. I wanted to like it, but I didn’t. It’s not particularly funny (only occasionally amusing). It didn’t thrill or excite me. It certainly didn’t pull at my heartstrings like any given Toy Story installment. It makes a lot of noise for 102 minutes and ends on the usual happy note. It’s a letdown which is an epic fail for Pixar.
