By TREVIN BRANDT
Staff Writer
For the first time since 2017, Pixar has released an original film: Onward. Set in a fantasy world where magic no longer needs to exist due to the convenience of technology, Ian and Barley Lightfoot (Tom Holland and Chris Pratt) embark on a quest to find an ancient magic crystal within 24 hours to resurrect their father for one day. Many reviews praised the film before its release as one of Pixar’s most emotional journeys, while others claimed it was mediocre for Pixar standards. While Onward may not be as hard-hitting as Pixar’s classics, it is an absolutely delightful and emotional quest.
I was quite shocked at how well this film was written. Every line of dialogue seems to serve some greater purpose by the end of the movie. For example, many of the magic spells Ian is able to perform are not just brought up once for plot convenience, they come back for the final battle where Ian must fight a disfigured dragon. The entire complex world this movie takes place in is quickly explained and understood within only a couple minutes of the film’s runtime. The writers of the script clearly had the ending in the back of their mind, which helped them craft a complete package of a story.
While the emotion of this film does not come close to some of Pixar’s gut-punching 2000s movies, it definitely has a lot of heart throughout the whole journey. Right at the beginning of the film, we see Ian listening to a cassette tape of his father’s voice, pushing tears back as he desperately wants to meet the father he never got to meet. And when he gets the opportunity to resurrect him with magic for one day, he starts a checklist of things he wants to do with him which includes: play catch, have a driving lesson, share his life story, have a heart to heart, and go on an adventure. As their time runs out, Ian realizes that most of the things on his checklist have already been checked off by his brother Barley. This theme of brotherly love is what holds this entire quest together. It makes way for the emotional realization that Ian should let Barley spend the last remaining moments with their dad because Ian already had a father figure throughout his life. I understand how this could be forgettable for people without brothers, but I happen to have two older brothers and can confirm that this film perfectly captures brotherhood.
Sure there are a few things that I have problems with, like how there seems to be a strange lack of funny jokes in the film. The two lead roles are a perfect match for some great comedy, yet I found myself laughing at only one or two jokes. I also found some of the parts where Ian has to take initiative in order to learn a lesson a little bit forced. But other than that there is not much to complain about. This is just a heartwarming fun adventure. 8/10.