“Onward” Review by Josh Davis
March 29, 2020 2:45 pm |
Disney Pixar’s latest offering suffered big at the box office because of its release just before COVID-19 shuttered movie theaters across the U.S. and globally, forcing an early home release on digital platforms.
“Onward” made just over $100 million at the box office, a poor showing in an age when many similar film approach or top $1 billion. Still, the movie maintains Disney’s trend of quality animated feature film releases.
The movie reunites Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as two brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, and is set in a world once ruled by magic, but more recently overtaken by modern technology.
As a result, there are unicorns rooting through garbage cans like raccoons, pet dragons taking the place of dogs, and races of elves, goblins and faeries replacing humans.
On Ian’s 16th birthday, he receives a mysterious gift from his father, Wilden (Kyle Bornheimer), who died before he was born. It’s a magic staff and phoenix crystal, along with a magic spell, said to be able to bring dad back to life for a single day.
Ian, reserved and skeptical, watches as Barley, a true believer and magic fanboy, tries and fails to produce any magic using the staff.
Later, Ian barely touches the staff but instantly sparks magic, revealing he’s gifted in wizardry.
He tries the spell but is only able to bring his father halfway back, shattering the phoenix crystal in the process and sending the boys off on a quest to find another one.
Along the way, they meet a colorful cast of characters including a tamed Manticore (a hilarious Octavia Spencer), a gang of fearsome pixies, and a final boss in an enormous rock dragon.
“Onward” is a colorful romp that doesn’t quite live up to the lofty standards of Pixar’s best, but still manages to tell an old story in a fresh and entertaining way.
Pratt has a blast channeling his Andy Dwyer character from “Parks and Recreation,” here playing an excitable metalhead who lives for mystical legends and his beat up van , Guinevere. And Holland does well as the straight man little brother.
During a time when many of us are stuck at home, “Onward” provides a welcome distraction that’s full of plenty of warm and fuzzy reminders of why family is so important to all of us.
PCL Rating: High Taste It
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: FRESH
Tags: Josh Davis, Movie, Onward Disney Pixar 2020, pop culture leftovers
Categorised in: Movie Reviews
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