PIXAR Goes "Onward"

I was not looking forward to this one. "Onward,"without a doubt, is the least appealing looking PIXAR movie by a wide margin. The characters are very visually derivative. I've seen a lot of chatter about "Onward" looking like a Dreamworks film, and that's not off the mark. Half the cast could be mistaken for extras from "Shrek" or "Trolls." The designs look clunky, garish, with many clashing elements. To be fair, this is part of the film's premise. The world of "Onward," we are told, began as a typical "Dungeons & Dragons" fantasy land full of magical creatures, but magic was eventually abandoned in favor of easier and more reliable scientific advancement. This resulted in their world essentially becoming contemporary America - full of chain restaurants, construction crews, and minivans - except populated with brightly colored elves, ogres, trolls, and pixies.

A lot of cinephiles have also drawn comparisons between the "Onward" and "Bright," the Will Smith fantasy film that also puts elves and trolls into contemporary urban settings. I think that "Onward" has more in common with "Futurama" and its sister show "Disenchanted," specifically in how its humor works. Most of the traditional fantasy elements in "Onwards" are used as visual gags. Unicorns are varmints, to be chased away from garbage cans. Dragons are lovable but destructive family pets. There are lots of puns and references to be found in the signage and naming schemes, and laughs are often mined from contrasting the mundane world with the fantastical. But as result, the worldbuilding feels slapdash, more often going for the obvious joke than really thinking through how centaurs might have designed their cars, or how classrooms would accommodate all the different creatures. And, frankly, that's not the approach we usually see from PIXAR and Disney, which have given us the gorgeously rendered worlds of "Zootopia," "Wreck-it-Ralph," "Coco," and "Inside Out" over the past few years.

So, I was surprised to discover that the core story and characters of "Onward" are absolutely solid. In fact, this is easily the strongest PIXAR film since "Coco," and had the potential to be something even better. Our protagonists are a pair of elf brothers, Ian (Tom Holland), who has just turned sixteen, and his older brother Barley (Chris Pratt), who is in the middle of the "longest gap year ever." Their father died before Ian was born, but left behind a magic staff and a spell that allows the boys to resurrect him for a single day. Of course, the spell goes wrong, sending the brothers on an old fashioned adventure quest together in Barley's beloved van, Guinevere. Other characters include a Manticore (Olivia Spencer), the boys' mother Laurel (Julia Louis Dreyfuss), her centaur boyfriend Officer Bronco (Mel Rodriguez), and assorted other elves, cyclopses, fauns, and pixies.

It took a while for "Onward" to win me over, but then it took a while for the movie to find its groove. There's a lot of place setting and exposition before Ian and Barley are properly on their way, bonding and adventuring together. And once they are, the PIXAR magic finally kicks in - not the business with Ian learning magic spells, but the touching portrayal of family bonds being tested, and the boys both facing their fears and growing up a bit. "Onward" is a great movie for anyone who has siblings, and especially for anyone who has experienced the loss of a family member. It never fails to impress me how well PIXAR's filmmakers handle these difficult themes and emotions. They deftly avoid the obvious answers, opting for more meaningful resolutions and character growth.

So, it frustrates me to no end that all the fantasy trappings and aesthetic choices for "Onward" are so half-baked. Sure, the animators get some good laughs out of dependably strong character animation and I love everything about the Manticore character. Fantasy enthusiasts should have fun picking out the "Lord of the Rings" and "Dungeons & Dragons" references throughout. However, I realized that "Onward" really didn't get much out of having the story set in an urbanized fantasy world. Ian and Barley could have been human beings who learn their Dad was a wizard, and little about the story would have changed. I doubt most viewers will care, and many will find the offbeat fantasy world charming. I, however, found its deficiencies distracting to the point that it took away from the film.

There's still a very good film here with some strong messages and plenty of heart - but good grief, it's an ugly mutt of a movie.
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