Onward

Everyone’s waiting for the fall.

Pixar, like Apple, like Marvel Studios, is an unfortunate victim of its own success. Their unprecedented string of early hits, the six almost perfect movies that were Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, and The Incredibles, set the bar so high that audiences and critics alike now expect every film they release to be an unqualified masterpiece.

It also means that everyone is waiting for the fall. Critics have been forecasting Pixar’s creative bankruptcy since the first Cars movie. Yes, Cars wasn’t great, and its sequel, Cars 2, even less so. But even at their worst, Pixar still possesses an aesthetic that surpasses almost everything else out there. (The only other animation house with a track record that comes close is the incredible Laika Studios.)

In fact, Pixar’s movies seem to fall firmly into three distinct tiers. The first being reserved for the truly inspired. Where each movie is revolutionary in their own right. Flawless in their execution and utterly original. Sequel or not. The second tier is home to all of those movies that aren’t quite as visionary but still rank among the best that animation has to offer. The third, and final tier, features movies that are perfectly proficient, but don’t quite clear the bar that Pixar set for themselves. (There’s also Cars 2, or as I like to call it: Lasseter’s Folly, but the less said about that the better.)

Here. I made a picture.

So where then does Onward fit in?

This is very much a “Tier 2” Pixar movie. Absolutely pristine in its execution, with stunning animation, masterful pacing, and pitch perfect voice acting from Tom Holland, Chris Pratt (it’s great to see him return to Andy Dwyer and once again channel his inner fatty), Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer. But all of that feels like it should be a given. And while it doesn’t have the grand vision of something like Wall-E, it nevertheless makes up for it with heart.

The conceit of Onward is similar to that of The Good Dinosaur. In that movie, Pixar presumed a future in which the asteroid that causes the extinction of the dinosaurs whooshes safely past the earth, allowing the massive reptilian beasts to evolve well past their sell-by date. Here, their once-upon-a-time is a sly subversion of the very notion of once-upon-a-time. Why are elves, and centaurs, and trolls, and manticores forever stuck in leafy fairy-tale kingdoms? What if the magic of their world was usurped by technological innovation? It is an ingenious notion made laugh-out-loud funny by the sight of rabid stray unicorns scrounging for scraps. Think Dungeons & Dragons but with cellphones.

It is in this world that we meet the brothers Lightfoot. Ian is a graceless teenager in a red flannel shirt and his older brother, Barley, is an RPG enthusiast on a permanent gap year. On Ian’s 16th birthday, both brothers receive a gift prepared for them by their father before he died of an unspecified illness. The wizard’s staff and Phoenix gem that he leaves them, when properly used, can cast a spell that will bring their dad back to life for just 24 hours. It is perfect for Ian, whose goal in life is to “be like dad”, a man he’s never met, but whose shadow looms large.

Nothing goes as planned of course and both brothers find themselves racing against the clock on a quest towards a mysterious mountain, in search of another MacGuffin, that will let them see their dad one last time.

But don’t let the wispy plot detract you. Director Dan Scanlon has constructed around it a world that is well thought out and lived-in. Populated by charming and relatable characters, all of whom are trying they hardest to be the best version of themselves. It is this earnestness that makes Onward work. That, and a screenplay so crisp, so full of “show don’t tell”, that every word feels necessary and every moment feels earned.

The climax, once you eventually get there, is this beautifully crafted set piece that deftly balances action and quietude. Where the resolution to their adventure, while predictable, is nevertheless executed in an inventive manner. Onward may not be fresh, but it isn’t clichéd. It is sentimental, but never mawkish.

This is the kind of live-action movie Steven Spielberg, or Robert Zemeckis, or Richard Donner would have made in the 1980s. It is a throwback, but a welcome one. God knows it’s been a long time since we’ve seen something that reminds us of our human need for fantasy and adventure and the role it plays in helping us discover who we truly are. (It is also littered with some of the shrewdest references to tabletop gaming, which, if you’re a D&D fan, will make you giddy.)

Onward doesn’t feature anything quite like that heartbreaking marriage montage in Up, in which the highs and lows of a life are distilled into just four and a half minutes of picture perfect screen time. Or Anton Ego’s monologue from Ratatouille in which he provides that most astute critique on criticism. Or the sheer ingenuity of Inside Out and how it gets everything right about childhood mental health.

But it doesn’t matter, because Onward is so good natured and gabby that it will be some of the most joy you’ll experience at the movies.

Onward
103 minutes
Director: Dan Scanlon
Writers: Dan Scanlon, Jason Headley, and Keith Bunin
Cast: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Ali Wong, and Lena Waithe