Traditionally, a joint effort from Disney and Pixar means big bucks for ‘the house of mouse’ at the box office. 2020 has been anything but traditional for Hollywood unfortunately and due to the deadly outbreak of the Coronavirus, the latest Disney and Pixar film “Onward” ended up doing rather poorly at the box office before the theaters ultimately closed down. “Onward” seemed like a film doomed to fail due to circumstances beyond it’s control but it is fortunately found life again on Disney+.
The film tells the story of two brothers, Ian and Barley, who are very different from each other. The brothers live in a world that was once filled with magic and mythical creatures but that world, like our own, has been lost due to modern innovation. The only thing seemingly connecting the brothers is the fact that they both miss their father deeply. Upon Ian’s sixteenth birthday, the brothers are presented a magical staff that their father wanted them to have when they were old enough. In addition to the staff, their father also left them a powerful gem and a spell to bring him back for twenty-four hours. After Barley fails to be able to summon their father back, Ian is able to successfully make the spell work. Unfortunately for both of them, the gem powerful enough to bring their father back explodes halfway into the process and they only bring his bottom half back. After that, the group set off on an adventure to find another gem to finish the process before their twenty-four hour goes away forever.
It’s really a shame this film fell victim to the forced shutdown of theaters due to the Coronavirus. “Onward” just happened to be one of the last major studio films released before the theater chains were forced to shut down and studios scrambled to find new release dates for future releases. Fortunately, Disney was wise enough to offer the film for digital rental shortly after the pandemic and put the film on their Disney+ streaming service roughly a month after it was released in theaters. This has turned out to be a rather smart move for the company because their streaming service keeps getting more and more subscribers and “Onward” has been trending on social media since it’s digital release.
“Onward” is the kind of film that I feel really would have had legs at the box office. It’s unique and has the perfect amount of sentimentality to really get people spreading good word of mouth. It is also a film that is relatable to many people on very personal levels. Anyone who has had a sibling who turned out to be more of a parental figure to them or anyone who has lost a parent are going to have a hard time fighting back tears at certain parts of this film. As someone who has lost both their parents, I would do anything to see them once more.
A large part of the charm of this film comes from the vocal talent of the two main stars, Tom Holland and Chris Pratt. Both actors are veterans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and automatically have a natural chemistry with each other. Holland and Pratt are able to give very funny performances but also pull on the heart strings when an emotional scene comes up.
I love the feel of this film and the nods to other fantasy movies as well. “Onward” is basically what the world of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth would look like now with modern technology and it was incredibly entertaining! Can you imagine if games like ‘Magic the Gathering’ or ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ were based on historical events? Imagination like that is what gives Pixar movies their charm.
I was very impressed by “Onward” and it was nice to see a new movie with some passion put into it from home. During these troubled times, a sweet fantasy movie is just what we need.
Grade: B+
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