‘Onward,’ Pixar’s latest, is a step backward

BY Ron and Leigh

We love Pixar movies. In their 22nd feature over a period of 25 years, their family films consistently deliver imaginative, vibrant, quality animation with a heartfelt story and possibly a few life lessons. “Onward” is all that, which is worth the price of admission alone. It is fully adequate family fun and occasionally entertaining, but unlike so many other Pixar movies, it’s not an instant classic and you should not expect a sequel.

We blame Pixar for setting the bar so high. In some ways, they are victims of their own success. In fairness, we were blown away in the first several minutes soaring over a magical world of elves, fairies, wizards and unicorns. The meticulous detail of this enchanted world was breathtaking. Although we had no special glasses, it was as if we were watching in 3D. At times, it was as if we were actually pulled into the scenes.

However, the simplistic plot of two bickering brothers in search of their long-lost dad is not only thin but also tedious. We’ve seen most of the slapstick gags before and the recurring joke about a pair of meandering legs becomes a one-trick pony that isn’t funny the first time, even if dear old dad is only half the man he once was.

The story is set in a suburban fantasy world, where two teenage elf brothers, Ian Lightfoot (voice of Tom Holland) and Barley (Chris Pratt) realize that over the years, the days of magic and sorcery had been replaced by technology and science. When they receive a magical wizard staff as a gift from their deceased father, they embark on a journey to hopefully spend one last day with their dad, who they don’t really remember.

To do so, they must rediscover some of that magic from the old world. Fortunately, the boisterous Barley is geeked out on magic related games and seems to understand the wizardry lore. Ian is more introspective and cautious. The centaur cop explains, “One brother is afraid of everything and the other is afraid of nothing.”

Holland’s character is credible as the younger meeker brother, but Pratt’s character too often comes across as the obnoxious and detestable older brother from TV’s Wonder Years. Julia Louis-Dreyfus lends her voice to their mom without much distinction while Octavia Spencer voices the mythical Manticore with enough attitude to get our attention.

In many ways, this is a road trip movie with the requisite series of mishaps and close encounters of the weird kind. It is a good, not great movie whose story co-written by director Dan Scanlon (Monsters, Inc), just can’t live up to the Pixar brand. It’s too trite for teens and adults and possibly a little too slow and existential for junior. Either way, the intended tear-jerker ending seemed sappy and emotionally manipulative to us.

Mercifully, the magnificent Pixar animation is brightly rendered, creative and captivating enough to hold our attention and even marvel throughout the picture. We thought it was a very nice touch that during close-ups on the characters, the background’s depth of field would go slightly out of focus as if shot from a real camera.

The short cartoon, “Playdate with Destiny” (1989) featuring TV’s The Simpsons appears prior to the feature movie. The voice of John Ratzenberger (TV’s Cheers) appears as a minor character, and has now appeared in all 22 Pixar films.

“Onward” is one hour forty-two minutes and rated PG for action, peril and mild thematic elements. Director/co-writer Scanlon’s story was inspired by the loss of his own father at a young age, asking, “Who was my father?” He then imagined what it might be like to have one day with him while also asking why he isn’t more grateful for what he does have.

We enjoyed the colorful scenery, odd characters and sporadic humor, but couldn’t find many characters that were all that special or likeable. It was also somewhat interesting that a film about lost magic in today’s world fell short precisely because it was missing that old Pixar magic that somehow went poof.

Ron’s Rating: C
Leigh’s Rating: C