Onward: The Latest Family Friendly Hit!

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Onward is an amazing fantasy adventure film with the right balance of action and emotion that I really enjoyed seeing as a standalone film. Join me on this quest to uncover what I think about one of Disney-Pixar’s latest movies!

Brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot quarrel and bond during a quest to bring their late dad back by sunset. Tom Holland lends his voice to Ian, the younger brother to Chris Pratt’s Barley. Ian’s timid nature, along with his wimpy stature, deeply contrast Barley’s intense personality and imposing form, differences that are brought out all too clear in the later half of the movie.

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That aside, I must say that I like the way the world is set up as a civilization that abandoned the hard-to-learn magic in favor of the ease of technology. Through this, the different creatures have lost touch with their ancestors and what made them unique. Unicorns aren’t majestic as you might think, but instead they act like the fluffy trash pandas you find staring through your window at night.

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Everything is a lot more domesticated in the modern society of the film, but that doesn’t stop Barley, who loves ancient magical history. Through Barley's fascination with fantasy, we get a motive to go on a quest filled with fantastical elements and emotional moments between the two brothers that I still think are as amazing as when I viewed it for the first time.

I also have to add on that I love Onward showing two co-storylines - the brothers’ quest and another (which I won’t name for spoiler reasons.) The storylines both coalesce into a final action scene followed by a sentimental scene at the end of one long, long day.

But aside from the story and characters, let’s talk about design - the animation, music, and atmosphere. Like many others, I adored the animation in this movie. This is not a first for Pixar, as their other recent films have had high quality animation. It feels smooth, finished, and the facial expressions on the characters really sell the whole atmosphere of certain scenes. Along with that, the character designs are unique, original, and are just nice to look at. The sound design is great, and although it really isn’t as soundtrack heavy as other Disney films, I don’t see that as a downside. The music helps build up crucial moments, and it’s just there in scenes where there isn’t anything major happening. Overall, the soundtrack is nothing to marvel over, but the music does its job well nonetheless.

It’s honestly a shame that after so much hard work putting a great story together, Onward was a bomb in the box office thanks to its conventionalism as a fantasy film being confirmed by the spoilery trailers revealing core plot details of the movie. That, along with Covid-19 and other factors, made not as many people willing to come to the theaters, as they could just see it on Disney+ months later. However, just because the movie did not do too hot in theaters does not mean that it’s not worth a watch in the comfort of your own home as the movie had generally positive reviews by both regular movie-goers and critics alike. With the right balance of action and emotion, what’s not to like?

So with that being said, get your magic staff ready, put a spark in your fireplace with a fire spell, float some hot chocolate over to you on your comfy chair, and dive into Onward on Disney+.

Image via www.imdb.com

Aric

Teen Blog Writer