Onward

And so, everyone, we've arrived at the first Pixar movie of the 2020's, Onward. From the trailers at least, I wasn't getting insanely excited for this film. I obviously was as a Disney and Pixar fan, but not  as excited as I was for other Pixar movies. And the trailers were making me think that this was gonna be a pretty good, but not amazing Pixar film. And in the end, yeah, that's exactly what I thought. I definetly thought this film was good and likeable, but there were some things I wasn't a fan of. But, let's get into the story first and then I'll get into my thoughts afterwards. And, like always, I'll be doing a non spoiler section part first and then I'll get into all the spoilers. So, what's the story? In a world with magical creatures and a whole bunch of fantasy elements, there's an elf family with the youngest being Ian, who's now's 16 and is trying to open up more to life and get more popular. But this is also a world like our own where it had an older way of doing things before and now it's relying a lot on technology and things like that. His older brother though, Barley, is trying to still have a bit of the past left around but constantly gets into trouble for it. That is until their mom shows them a staff belonging to their dad who passed away. This, along with a spell with it, shows that there might be a way to bring him back for one day. And Ian is the only one who can do it. But the gem they use for it breaks before they can finish it. This leaves only his legs and nothing else. So, Barley suggests going on a quest to find another Phoenix Gem to finish the spell but they only have 24 hours to do it or else he'll vanish completely. And that's where I'm gonna stop there. So, from that setup, you might think that this sound kinda familiar. And it does. The first two acts of the movie I thought were very formulaic. It's basically watching Ian and Barley going on this journey and while that's not bad, I wanted more. Because from how the movie starts and shows you that setup, you basically know where it's gonna go and, yeah, it does follow a formula and especially one that Pixar's done before. And, aside from the last third, that does add some genuine heart to it, the first two thirds are just going through a story that we've seen a ton of times. But that's not to say this is a bad movie, it's not. The animation is obviously spectacular and the characters, while not all that interesting, are still likeable. I would say my favourite character was probably Corey. This manticore who has this tavern and is kinda losing it after she meets up with Ian and Barley. She was really funny and the voice cast all around is fantastic. And there are some emotional parts that I thought were really well done. Some of the emotional moments didn't really hit for me and it was kinda weird when some moments happened. But the emotional moments that hit do hit pretty well. And, again, like I said, the last third of the film was definetly the best part of the film for me. With the eventual resolution and what the characters choose to do. That stuff was really well done and really emotional.  But again, the whole leading up to that was stuff we've seen before and there's not as much jokes as I would have liked. Some jokes don't really land and the pacing is kinda too slow. And the actual characters themselves aren't the most interesting and so it wasn't all that fun following them around on this journey. Which isn't something I like to say about Disney and Pixar films, but this just isn't anything special by their standards, which is a shame because their last film, Toy Story 4, was absolutely amazing and so I was hoping this would subvert my expectations because I wasn't all that impressed by the trailers. I was still excited, but, from watching it, it's definetly good and it has some true stand out moments, but it's far from the top 10 Pixar movies ever. I'm probably sounding a bit too harsh on it, 'cause it's still enjoyable, but I was expecting more from this. But, while it does have a slow pace, the stuff that works in this does still work pretty well and overall, like I said, I'm glad I saw it. And I'm sure a lot of people will really like it. And I'm sure the ending will have people liking it more like it did for me, but, even though I'm glad I saw it this one time, I'm sure I'll see it again at some point, but it's not really gonna be something I'll want to see immediately. So, yeah. I know that was kinda vague and I was mostly talking about how it wasn't that special, but I don't think I can truly talk about this movie properly until the spoiler part. And so, I'll just finish up this part. Overall, the film is definetly very formulaic and some of the emotion the film is trying to convey doesn't exactly land, but I would say it's still a good film that at least made me happy to see it and I'd totally buy it on DVD to add to my collection. So I would recommend it, just don't expect it to be one of the best Pixar movies ever. And so, everyone, thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.
Spoilers:
Okay, so first off, that whole board game thing that Barley had, I liked how they were setting it in the past and I liked how it was still something that someone his age would have and so it helped him figure out about the Phoenix Gem. And then once the spell that Ian is casting gets interrupted, he and Barley decide to get I by using some book about the game to help them and help Ian practice new spells. That was pretty cool idea although kinda weird that it was from a board game. Also, that whole opening with Ian talking to those kids and trying to invite them over reminded me a little bit of Peter Parker, which is kinda fitting considering that's who Tom Holland is playing in the M.C.U and so it felt like he could really pull off. But through the entirety of the opening, I was sorta having a hard time feeling connected with them. They show that they try, but I just wasn't feeling it. But then we also see that they're using a dog leash to move their dad's legs around after the spell fails. And then we just get the journey going and it's basically just different antics happening like trying to fool some police with magic, some trouble at a store, meeting Corey and running from the police. I did enjoy the scene with Ian and Barely's mom and Corey in the store trying to get the sword. That was pretty funny. And then, when Ian and Barley begin to go down that river with them on that big Cheese Puff, we get that emotional scene when Barley reveals he didn't go in to see their dad as he was dying, and, yeah that was pretty emotional and I did feel for him there. But then we kinda get a clichéd moment when it's revealed the end of the trail leads them back to their town and Ian yells at Barley. That was honestly just kinda clichéd and unnecessary. But then he then realises that Barley was sorta the one in his life that always sorta acted like he one he needed. That's one of the emotional moments that I feel didn't work. The fact that it's kinda random is weird and I didn't really feel much of anything when it happened. And then Barley realises that the Gem was in that old fountain that he was always protecting. Again, that was something I saw coming, but then it unleashes some dragon thing made out of rubble from around them. That was kinda strange, but I still thought it was cool. And then Ian begins to stall the dragon because he feels Barley should be the one to speak to their dad so he can say goodbye for real, and, yeah, that was really effective. I liked that part a lot. With Ian being trapped and seeing Barley talking to their dad and then he vanishes. That was really well done and I really liked it. Barley then even tells him what he said and that was really touching. And then the movie end with that policeman their mom likes being like old centaurs and Ian making friends with the kids at his school, along with doing magic more regularly. And so, yeah, that just kinda ended on a note that I sorta saw coming. And, for the film overall with that, yeah, I liked it fine, it just didn't hit me in a resonance that other Pixar movies have and I'm not sure if it's one I'll want to check out regularly. But it still had me entertained enough and there were some moments here and there that were nice to watch. So, I would recommend seeing it as a Pixar fan. And so, that's the spoiler section of Onward. And so, everyone, thank you all for reading, I hope you all liked this and please comment down below to tell me what you think.