‘Onward’ A Solid Animated Film That’s Classic Pixar

     With the decade just starting out, of course many are excited for what new exciting films Pixar animation will have to offer. Fortunately, their first major release of the 2020s has come early with the release of Onward. A fantasy adventure with modern day elements, Onward feels like a very traditional film from Pixar that may not go as above and beyond their other works, but has enough character and maturity to make it a great animated adventure.

Classic Pixar with an Excellent Third Act

     Onward’s story centers around a young Elf named Ian Lightfoot who has always wanted to meet his father who passed away shortly after he was born. Luckily, Ian ends up casting a spell to help bring him back, the only issue that the spell half works, literally as only half of his dad is there. With that in mind it’s up to him and his older brother Bartley to go on a quest to cast the spell in its entirety. This adventure serves a very classic premise for Pixar with two friends going on an adventure to achieve a particular goal that often deals with another third character in the mix, and for the most part, this film is very much in line with Pixar’s earlier works. It is an incredibly fun adventure that although feels oddly familiar is given a lot of personality to it that makes it feel a lot stronger than it actually is. It is filled with some really fun set pieces and does a great job with its world building by taking various aspects of fantastical mythical tales and creatures, and having them interact with modern day appliances in a more clever way than most films. The downside is, Onward, for the most part never goes the full on Pixar like many of their best films. The film does not quite have a huge emotional punch compared to something like Coco nor does it go fully ambitious with its storytelling in the same vein of Wall-E. That is however, until the third act which without spoiling too much, elevates the movie big time. The film ends very strongly with a very exciting climax that’s filled with some inventive ideas and a very mature conclusion that adds so much to the film’s themes about the importance of the type of people who raise you. The ending never goes fully cliché or ridiculous with its ending and instead gives audiences a fairly emotional end that feels satisfying and mature in all the right ways.

An Expressive Memorable Cast of Characters

     A Pixar movie is truly nothing without a great cast of characters the film has as their main focus and fortunately, this cast is quite a strong one. The films leads of Ian and Bartley Lightfoot are a great duo that is very much on the line of other great Pixar character dynamics. What makes their relationship strong in this movie is that the film emphasizes a lot on brotherly love in a very similar way films like Lilo and Stitch and Frozen focus on sister love. It is showcases the importance throughout the entire film thanks to some great performances by both Tom Holland and Chris Pratt respectively as both actors fit their characters very well and work off each other greatly. You truly believe in their brotherly bond and interaction with one another and as mentioned earlier the ending has this relationship pay off in a fantastic way. Of course they come across other different types of characters who are memorable in their own right thanks to some very expressive character animation that makes this movie pretty funny in a comedic sense. Characters like Corey the Manticore and even Ian and Bartley’s dad manage to be very expressive characters just through a lot of the great movement these characters having and great comedic timing as well. It’s not Pixar’s strongest from a comedic standpoint but has enough really good laughs to keep you entertained throughout thanks to a lot of personality done with the animation.

Visually Feast For the Eyes

     Being one of the most well recognized animation studios out there, it’s not surprise that Pixar always delivers with its animation in Onward as well. The film looks very much like an updated Pixar film with some great looking environments that look almost real in terms of textures. The film doesn’t quite have as many stunningly amazing looking shots compared to something like Toy Story 4, yet it is a great looking movie that also is enhanced by a unique world mixing the modern with the fantastical. Throughout the film you witness a lot of neat designs of the world they are in and it all makes for a visually engaging movie. What also helps the animation stand out is as mentioned earlier are the character animation, which is so expressive and full of energy that you would expect from a project from Pixar. If they can manage something as simple as legs being so expressive and have such a personality to them, then Pixar managed to bring their A game to creating an animated world like this.

An Enjoyable Quest That is Exclusively from Pixar

     Onward is feels like one of Pixar’s earlier films in the best way possible. It is a film filled with a ton of charm thanks to some great animation and characters that is made all the more worth it thanks to an incredible conclusion. Even despite being far from their very best, Onward still comes highly recommended giving animation lovers and audiences in general a very entertaining adventure that you can only find from a company as creative as Pixar.