Onward cleverly comments on the disappearance of faith and superstition in our society on the favour of technology and development. The combination of futuristic fantasy and colourful magic is just as inventive as many other Pixar-created worlds. The RPG-style adventure is well fitted within the technologically driven fantasy world.
The set-up is very typical Disney/Pixar, down to the underdog protagonist Ian and his dreams to become something bigger and better. Nevertheless, what transpires from this set-up is a magical road-movie with inventive story elements entertaining young and old viewer alike.
Somehow, I find it easy to picture fellow MCU stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as brothers based on how well they play together in this film. Their chapter is easy to like as well. The bind they build up throughout the film is beautiful and touching particularly by the end of their adventure.
The Bad:
Rather than trying to break with the genre stereotypes and overcome the clichés of fantasy RPG adventures, Onward embraces them shamelessly, which makes many story elements predictable. Pixar is at their best when they think outside the box, like with Inside Out.
The script handles family ties, a search for oneself and the overcoming of personal issues well, but these are typical subjects in these kinds of films and subsequently feels like a rehash from so many other family films. The plot is predictable and lacks many subtleties found in other Pixar film script.
The mother's journey to find the boys feels mostly superfluous as it barely moves forward throughout the film. Her scenes and those with the centaur police add to the runtime but not to the story itself.
Sadly, Onward features surprisingly little magic and fantasy until it's final 30 minutes or so. Everything leading up to that is like urban fantasy with some magical elements thrown in, and that's not quite as interesting.
A magical curse dragon creature is introduced in the final 20 minutes, but since the film doesn't build up the threat at all aside from a quick mention of the curse earlier on, the film could have done without this unnecessary addition. This is then followed by the quiet sensation of relief as the credit roll and David realizes together with the audience, that he just survived all that.
The Ugly:
I was kind of hoping for a Topless Dad spin-off if you know what I mean ;)
Review by Theo KallströmVIP 6BlockedParentSpoilers2020-10-23T05:28:08Z
THE CAWPINE OF ‘ONWARD’
WRITING: 6
ATMOSPHERE: 6
CHARACTERS: 7
PRODUCTION: 9
INTRIGUE: 6
NOVELTY: 5
ENJOYMENT: 6
The Good:
Onward cleverly comments on the disappearance of faith and superstition in our society on the favour of technology and development. The combination of futuristic fantasy and colourful magic is just as inventive as many other Pixar-created worlds. The RPG-style adventure is well fitted within the technologically driven fantasy world.
The set-up is very typical Disney/Pixar, down to the underdog protagonist Ian and his dreams to become something bigger and better. Nevertheless, what transpires from this set-up is a magical road-movie with inventive story elements entertaining young and old viewer alike.
Somehow, I find it easy to picture fellow MCU stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as brothers based on how well they play together in this film. Their chapter is easy to like as well. The bind they build up throughout the film is beautiful and touching particularly by the end of their adventure.
The Bad:
Rather than trying to break with the genre stereotypes and overcome the clichés of fantasy RPG adventures, Onward embraces them shamelessly, which makes many story elements predictable. Pixar is at their best when they think outside the box, like with Inside Out.
The script handles family ties, a search for oneself and the overcoming of personal issues well, but these are typical subjects in these kinds of films and subsequently feels like a rehash from so many other family films. The plot is predictable and lacks many subtleties found in other Pixar film script.
The mother's journey to find the boys feels mostly superfluous as it barely moves forward throughout the film. Her scenes and those with the centaur police add to the runtime but not to the story itself.
Sadly, Onward features surprisingly little magic and fantasy until it's final 30 minutes or so. Everything leading up to that is like urban fantasy with some magical elements thrown in, and that's not quite as interesting.
A magical curse dragon creature is introduced in the final 20 minutes, but since the film doesn't build up the threat at all aside from a quick mention of the curse earlier on, the film could have done without this unnecessary addition. This is then followed by the quiet sensation of relief as the credit roll and David realizes together with the audience, that he just survived all that.
The Ugly:
I was kind of hoping for a Topless Dad spin-off if you know what I mean ;)
CAWPINE RATING: 6.43 = 3 stars