Whimsical and Magical: Pixar’s
Onward Delights
By Austin Shobe
Disney Pixar’s Onward should be applauded as yet another distinct addition to the Pixar catalogue. Directed by Monsters University’s Dan Scanlon, Onward tells an emotional tale of family and loss. This animated adventure film features the voice talents of Marvel stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt with other big names like Octavia Spencer and Julia Louis-Dreyfus joining them. When I saw the trailer for this movie, it didn’t do a whole lot for me. I honestly thought that Pixar might have another flop like The Good Dinosaur back in 2015 (McClintock). Various factors including the pandemic tanked Onward’s opening back in March making it the weakest Pixar opening in terms of tickets sold (Mendelson). However, if you give Onward a chance, its lovable characters and story might win you over.
Onward introduces the audience to a modernized fantasy world that was once full of magic. Wizards no longer cast spells and centaurs aren’t prancing around since the automobile has been invented. Enter our protagonist Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland), a birthday boy who has just turned 16. His older brother, Barley (Chris Pratt), is a screw-up teenager who loves role-playing magic games. The boys lost their father when Barley was very young to an illness that is never fully described. Dan Scanlon created this story because he went through the same thing with his brother. Scanlon says he doesn’t remember his father, but a recent voice recording of him did wonders on putting a voice to someone Scanlon never knew (Ramos). This event was so important to Scanlon that he included a similar tear-jerking scene in Onward.
On Ian’s birthday, he learns more about how amazing his late father was from his mother, Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). Inspired by his father’s confidence, Ian ventures off to school to try and emulate what his father was like with a checklist of goals. This is where the film did a lot of things I liked. One can easily grow tired of how the ‘shy kid’ is represented in movies; that character is normally picked on and rejected. However, Ian is genuinely liked at school and nobody bullies him. He even attempts to invite some people to his birthday party and they say yes. Everything goes well until Barley drives up, shouting about quests and his mighty chariot of a van named Guinevere (side note: Guinevere is one of the best parts of the film).
As a part of Ian’s 16th birthday, the boys are gifted a wizard staff and a coveted Phoenix gem that gives them the power to bring their father back for one day. However, they only end up bringing the lower half of their father back before the gem blows up. Yes, the lower half of their father. The boys spend the rest of the film with a pair of self-aware khakis, socks, and shoes. This was one of the original reasons the trailer did nothing for me. Why would I want to see a movie with elf brothers and some khakis? Thankfully, my doubts were unjustified.
Ian and Barley are what make this movie great. Tom Holland and Chris Pratt are friends in real life which creates a tangible connection between their characters. In addition, the brothers have plenty of humorous moments that aren’t just played for laughs but have some actual emotion behind them. Barley’s extensive knowledge of the old magical lore goes perfectly with Ian’s natural gift at using the wizard staff. What is also great about this dynamic is that Barley isn’t jealous of Ian’s magic sensitivity. Scanlon could have easily focused on this as a conflict for the brothers. Instead, Scanlon made Barley happy for Ian’s newfound talent. It doesn’t matter if some other elements of the film don’t feel coherent, when Pixar focuses on relationships they are unstoppable.
Onward is not a perfect film, however. Although Octavia Spencer’s Manticore is a highlight of the film, she does not get as much screen time as she deserves. This is a criminal under-usage of someone as talented as Octavia Spencer. Laurel is similar to the Manticore in that she is also not utilized as much as she could be. I also found myself distracted by Tom Holland at some points because all I could hear was Spider-Man. He plays both Ian Lightfoot and Peter Parker with the same bumbling-about nature.
The musical scoring is not as inspired as previous Pixar soundtracks. A brother duo consisting of Mychael and Jeff Danna composed the soundtrack. Poetically, the Danna brothers lost their father at a young age too (Burlingame). It seems that they were meant to score this movie. The brother’s did a great job of creating a sense of wonder with glorious strings and choirs. However, I swear that some of the musical pieces for this film sound like “Married Life” from the Up soundtrack. If you were to ask me to hum an Onward song from memory, I wouldn’t be able to.
Being under the Pixar umbrella puts a lot of expectations and pressure upon Onward. The audience expects lovable characters, funny jokes, a compelling story, a memorable soundtrack, and an ending that makes you cry. Onward checks several of these boxes (especially the crying one). It has its fair share of flaws, but those are far overshadowed by its heart and ending. Dan Scanlon’s influence shines bright like the Phoenix Gem.
Onward can be purchased digitally or streamed on Disney+.
