Monday, May 17, 2021

Onward (2020)

IMDb plot summary: Two elven brothers embark on a quest to bring their father back for one day.
Directed by Dan Scanlon. Starring Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer.

Pixar is at its best when tapping into the human stories beneath the fancy trappings, and this does an incredible job with that. The fantasy quest here is the method of telling the story of two brothers growing up without a dad, and the method works well, but the reason the film succeeds is that the story underneath is strong. The world itself is one I would have dismissed as "lazy" if it weren't handled as intelligently as it is, but it works and helps support the primary story without ever overwhelming it. The characters are likable and relatable, and I definitely teared up at the end (though not the full-on sobbing Pixar films have occasionally reduced me to). A pretty solid entry for the studio!

How it entered my Flickchart:
Onward > A Chorus of Disapproval
Onward > Safe
Onward < Big Hero 6
Onward < Knights of Badassdom
Onward > Hidden Figures
Onward > The Butler
Onward > A Single Man
Onward < True Lies
Onward < Synecdoche, New York
Onward > The Farewell
Onward < Booksmart
Final spot: #653 out of 3370, or 81%.

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