Right now, it seems like the troubles of two elf brothers trying to connect with their lost dad doesn’t mean a hill of beans in this crazy world
But even so, it’s nice to know there are some things you can count on—like Pixar.
The premise of their newest film “Onward” is that once upon a time, there was a land of myths and magic. Then somebody invented the light bulb and discovered science.
As a result, the world that developed is a mixture of fantasy and suburbia. Centaurs go to work for the police; unicorns have become feral pests, poking around garbage cans; and a young man’s test of courage can involve—learning how to merge into freeway traffic.
The two heroes are brothers raised by a single mom—Ian Lightfoot, a shrimpy, awkward youngster occupied with the usual high-school dilemmas; and his brother Barley, a boisterous kid who’s into magic lore, and his SUV, dubbed Guinevere.
The brothers are voiced by actors from the Marvel Universe. Ian is Tom “Spiderman” Holland and Barley is Chris Pratt from “Guardians of the Galaxy.” They’ve got kind of a Spade-and-Farley dynamic going on.
With Ian coming of age, they’re told that their late father bequeathed a magic staff that might bring him back to life for one day. Complications arise because, as it turns out, Ian has more of a knack for spell-casting; and by accident, they only bring back Dad’s lower half.
One of the inventive tropes in the story from Keith Bunin, Jason Headley, and director Dan Scanlan, is how the brothers develop a relationship with a lower torso and legs.
Still, they want to bring back Dad’s upper half. The rest involves an adventure to mythic mountains, raging rivers, a dangerous cave that would be familiar to Indiana Jones, and one episode that is both a cliff-hanger and a lesson in self-confidence.
Pixar has always been at its best when it mixes fantasy grounded in basic, heartfelt emotions. The film is about the importance of fathers, the bond between brothers and the importance of cherishing your history. And it also shows that Mom (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) can be a hero too. The voice cast also includes a funny turn from Oscar-winner Octavia Spencer as a Manticore, a mythical creature who runs a tavern that is—maybe not enough Tolkien, and a little too much Chuckie Cheese.
The plot turns may be a bit too familiar, but they’re likable. The title “Onward’ is also the message of the film—and maybe not a bad sentiment for us all to remember these days.
I give the film four “bippity-boppity boos” out of five. For the Friday Film Review, I’m Rick Brough.
