By Alyse Kiara Deatherage
Disney, Pixar, and Tom Holland fans everywhere were disappointed as theatres everywhere shut down in compliance with guidelines put in place by the COVID-19 pandemic. These shut downs in Riverside county took place on March 13, just one week after the movie’s initial release.
However, Disney surprised it’s audiences by releasing the film online via their own streaming platform Disney+. Now audiences who pay for a monthly or yearly subscription can watch the movie for themselves and see if their excitement was worth it.
Onward revolves around brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot, played by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt. On the day of Ian’s 16th birthday, he is given a magic wand, and a spell to bring the brothers’ father back for one day.
However, things don’t go as planned and these two end up with only half of the father they remember, the lower-half to boot. Now, they must set off on a quest to fix this mess and get the rest of their father while they still can.
Warning, this is where the spoilers and my own opinion begin to come in.
The brothers’ journey starts out as one for their father, but we soon find that the journey is actually for these two brothers, and the bond that they have.
Barley is the elder of the two brothers, and he is the only one who has actually met their father. Though Ian hopes to meet his father through this quest, he slowly begins to grow closer to his older brother and he realizes that he’s always had a guardian who was there to raise him in lieu of his father.
His brother Barley, however, was not able to say goodbye to his father when he died of an illness, before Ian was born. So, Ian ends up giving up his chance to meet his father so that his brother Barley could say goodbye.
When I originally started watching this movie, I had a feeling it would be more about the brothers bonding and developing together on their own, rather than with their father. Still, the story captivated me and kept me watching, and crying, as the story unfolded.
One of the best things done with this story is the way that Ian gives up his chance to see his father. All this time, he’s been so set on this one task that he didn’t even recognize his brother, who was there encouraging him and supporting him throughout every hardship of the journey.
Each character in this movie was quite fun, as was the take on this magical, mystical world that ended up finding a simpler route through life with technology.
This movie was enjoyable, but if there had to be a downside I would say that it would be the length. Though time was definitely needed to show the background of the story and the characters development, I did find myself looking at the time and feeling surprised by how much more I still had left.
However, length seems to be ever increasing as movies get better, so I feel this is something that couldn’t have been avoided.
Other than the characters and story, the movie had beautiful art and design. The colors and the style fit perfectly to the tone of the movie and were completely Pixar’s style.
The music was also good, but I have to admit that there were a few times where I thought they were going to start singing and the movie would turn out to be a musical. I’m pretty happy that it didn’t.
The voice actors, also, were a good choice for this movie. Pratt and Holland both fit their characters, and seemed to have great chemistry throughout the movie.
Overall, I’d say this movie is well worth the watch, regardless of the length. It’s perks well outshine that factor.
