Friday, March 13, 2020

Onward (2020) review


Onward (2020)

What’s this? Two Pixar films in one year? And they’re both original stories? “Huzzah!”, the internet proclaimed. Yes, it’s safe to say that 2020 marks a new era for one of the most revered animation studios in the industry. For starters, it’s the first feature in the studio’s history to not involve one of its most prominent figures, John Lasseter, after he left the company in 2018 due to the various sexual misconduct allegations directed against him, with fellow Pixar mainstay Pete Docter now serving as the studio’s Chief Creative Officer. But the change that has excited the internet the most is that following the release of Toy Story 4 last year, Pixar announced that it would be their last ‘sequel’ film for the foreseeable future in favor of doing more original stories like the ones that made them famous in the first place. For fans of the studio, this was a very big deal given the arguably mixed run that Pixar has had over the past few years when it came to doing follow-ups to some of their most beloved works. Personally, though, I’ve loved most of the films that came out during that time, which means that the demand for Pixar to do more original stories wasn’t that big of a concern for me, especially given how the internet often has intense expectations for Pixar films either way. Nevertheless, here we are with the first Pixar film of 2020, Onward, which serves as the second feature-length directorial effort of Dan Scanlon. Since joining Pixar in 2001, Scanlon served as a storyboard artist for the first Cars and was the co-director of that film’s direct-to-DVD short, Mater and the Ghostlight. Scanlon would ultimately make his feature-length directorial debut with the company via Monsters University, the 2013 prequel to the studio’s 2001 masterpiece Monsters’ Inc. But as for Onward, Scanlon’s main source of inspiration for this suburban fantasy adventure was his own personal experiences of losing his father at a young age and the relationship that he formed with his older brother in the wake of that moment. And with that personal backstory in mind, it’s easy to see why Onward ends up being yet another classic (and devastatingly emotional) outing from Pixar. 

In the old days, the world was full of beings who could conjure powerful magic. However, these magical abilities proved to be incredibly difficult to learn, and in due time, this world of fantastical creatures began to rely more on technology instead, thus paving the way for a more modern lifestyle. In the present day in the town of New Mushroomton, a teenaged elf named Ian Lightfoot (voiced by Tom Holland) celebrates his 16th birthday. During this time, Ian begins to wonder about what his father Wilden was like since he unfortunately passed away before he was born. And as luck would have it, his widowed mother Laurel (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) gives him and his older brother Barley (voiced by Chris Pratt) a gift from their father, which turns out to be a mythical wizard’s staff. Almost immediately, Barley, who’s a massive fan of fantasy role-playing games, deduces that their dad had studied magic and the brothers discover that he had collected a rare Phoenix gem that would allow them to cast a Visitation spell that would bring him back to life for one day. Ian soon discovers that he possesses the rare ability to conjure such magic, but unfortunately, his attempt to use the spell isn’t a complete success, resulting in only the lower half of their father’s body materializing into existence. And since the powers of the Phoenix gem that their father found were used up during this attempt, Ian and Barley head out on a quest to find a new gem in the next 24 hours so that they can complete the spell and reunite with the father that they never got the chance to know.

Onward certainly crafts a fun fantasy world that combines its cast of mythical creatures with the visual aesthetic of modern-day suburbia. However, for those fearing that this means that Pixar has just made a film that relied entirely on modern references like several of its competitors tend to do, that’s not even remotely the case here. Sure, you do have some characters using cell-phones here and there and other bits of modern technology, but moments like these never overtake the key narrative points of the story while still resulting in plenty of fun visual gags that are brought to life by Pixar’s always-stellar animation. Admittedly, I wouldn’t call this the ‘best-looking’ Pixar film to date, but since this is still Pixar we’re talking about, the animation is top-notch regardless. And given the nature of the plot in which the main characters are guided by Barley’s extensive knowledge of role-playing games, this film is filled with tons of references to the genre. While I’m personally not too familiar with the likes of Dungeons and Dragons and other popular fantasy RPG’s, those who are will surely love all the nods that this film contains and how, from what I can tell, it perfectly captures the spirit of these adventures. But, of course, Pixar also knows how to deliver on the emotional depth of their stories, and Onward is no exception. After all, this is a story in which two brothers are trying to bring their father back to life (even if it’s just for one day) that’s based heavily on writer/director Dan Scanlon’s own life. Thus, it goes without saying that Onward hits hard when it comes to its emotional beats.

Onward also happens to be quite special in the fact that it serves as an unexpected crossover between Spider-Man and Peter Quill AKA Star-Lord… all joking aside, it’s kind of funny how Tom Holland and Chris Pratt’s characters in this film end up mirroring their respective superhero roles in the MCU to a tee. Ian’s the socially awkward teenager with something to prove while Barley’s the boisterous rogue who, despite his goofy nature, has experienced quite a bit on an emotional level. With that in mind, Holland and Pratt do phenomenal jobs in their respective roles. The brotherly camaraderie between them is superb and just like they’ve done for years now over in the MCU, these two brilliantly handle all the film’s big emotional moments. Holland and Pratt are then backed nicely by the duo of Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Ian and Barley’s mother Laurel and Octavia Spencer as Corey, a manticore who the brothers seek out given the significant role that her species often plays in fantasy RPG’s. And while the fact that the film focuses primarily on Ian and Barley means that Laurel and Corey admittedly don’t get that involved in the action until the climax, they also form a fun partner dynamic once the two of them meet up. Julia Louis-Dreyfus brings just as much heart to her role as Tom Holland and Chris Pratt do to theirs as a mom who’s fully dedicated to keeping her boys out of trouble while Octavia Spencer has a lot of fun with Corey’s arc of rediscovering her adventurous spirit after several years of being in an unfulfilling job as the owner of a local family restaurant.

As I’ve pointed out several times over the years, I’m not exactly part of the crowd who continues to have incredibly high expectations for Pixar films to the point where any Pixar film that isn’t an outright masterpiece ends up getting ignored. It’s a tragic fate that has, unfortunately, affected quite a few of the studio’s films over the years such as Brave, Monsters University and The Good Dinosaur. And while Onward technically hasn’t been a flop with critics and audiences (although that pesky coronavirus will certainly do a number on it at the box-office), I also wouldn’t be surprised if it ends up getting completely overshadowed by Soul, Pixar’s other 2020 release that will be coming out in June. It’d be quite the sad scenario if that did happen, though, since I would argue that Onward is another masterpiece from the legendary animation studio. Like many of Pixar’s classic outings, Onward is a delightful fantasy adventure that delivers an excellently written story full of highly endearing characters. The fantastical world that it creates is a lot of fun to explore and the main adventure that its heroes go on is so well-handled that you don’t need to be an expert in the lore of Dungeons and Dragons to appreciate it (although it would make the journey even more satisfying). But, of course, the best Pixar tradition that Onward dutifully maintains is its impeccable ability to tug at the heartstrings with a story that’s just as much about brotherhood as it is about two brothers hoping to get the chance to have a connection with the father that they never knew. Because of all this, it’s easy to see real growth in Dan Scanlon’s talents as a director and how he’s shaping up to be a major standout amongst Pixar’s next generation of filmmakers. And while I again recognize the fact that this film will undoubtedly be impacted by the global pandemic that we’re all dealing with right now, I also hope that it’s ultimately the main reason why since that’d be a much easier pill to swallow than the fact that this is another Pixar film that isn’t being regarded as a ‘15/10 masterpiece’.

Rating: 5/5!

Pixar films have almost always been accompanied by one of the studio’s shorts that precede the main feature… however, while I’ve been reviewing Pixar films on this site for the past 8 years now, I’ve realized that I don’t usually talk about the shorts that they’re paired with. The only instance where I have addressed one of them was in my review of Coco when I also reviewed Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, and that was just due to the unique situation of it being a Frozen short instead of something that came directly from Pixar. Thus, I’ve decided that starting now, every Pixar review that I do from this point on will conclude with a brief discussion about the short that accompanies it (if there is one). This new tradition begins with, of all things, a Simpsons short.

PLAYDATE WITH DESTINY

Playdate with Destiny (2020)

The most famous animated family in pop culture recently joined the Disney universe following Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox (now 20th Century Studios) last year. This fact is well-reflected in this short, as it opens with a shot of Mickey Mouse’s iconic silhouette… before being revealed to be an image of Homer Simpson holding two donuts and then cutting to a title card proclaiming that ‘Disney welcomes The Simpsons’. And at the end of the short, Mickey can be seen in the production logo for producer James L. Brooks’ company Gracie Films as one of the theater patrons. Anyway, Playdate with Destiny is the second theatrical short to come from The Simpsons; the first was The Longest Daycare, which ran with 2012’s Ice Age: Continental Drift. Both shorts revolve around the youngest member of the Simpsons family, Maggie, with this new short consisting of her meeting a boy named Hudson, the adventures that they go on together, and her efforts to see him again the next time she’s taken to the park, which becomes rather complicated when Homer’s the one taking her instead of Marge. Keeping in line with the fact that Maggie usually never speaks on the show, this short is almost entirely dialogue-free and instead opts for visual humor. And while there’s been plenty of debate over the years regarding the quality of a show that’s been on the air for three decades now, this is a genuinely cute little short that develops a whirlwind romance out of an innocuous playdate between two babies. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that this is one of the best things to come out of The Simpsons (which, admittedly, I can’t say much about anyway since I haven’t watched a lot of it), but it’s still a pleasant watch nevertheless. And if that wasn’t enough, the events of this short will be addressed in an upcoming episode of the show that’s set to air on April 19th.

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