Pixar releasing two movies in one year, count me in. The first of these is the release of Onward, an adventure of two brothers set in a fantasy world with a bit of a twist. Going into this, the marketing and trailers didn't really build any excitement for this movie, something is very surprising when coming from the animation masters, Pixar. We've come to expect the highest of standards, especially as a fan of this studio, this didn't quite meet those heights.
Written by Elliot Lines
This movie provides us with such an interesting world to explore. You have this fantasy land with history of magic, set in a more recognisable modern world, using these fantasy creatures that are so recognisable but seem to fit in to this world perfectly. The world building throughout this film is perfect, but also so interesting, something that you want to see more of.
Due to really only following two characters mostly, it allows this movie to develop the characters well. From the start you know what kind of character Barley is, but Ian is a little more mysterious, throughout you start to learn more about his characteristics which then in turn elevates Barley, with Ian having this eventual realisation which has such a big emotional pay off, it will tug at your heart strings.
Parts of this story line felt repetitive, especially the learning of the magic. Personally this could of done better with a bit more depth leading up to the eventual mastery of this magic, it didn't need to be dropped in every 15 minutes. Overall the structure was pretty good, although it felt like it took a little while to get going, but once it does it's definitely an entertaining viewing.
Feeling a little more Disney than Pixar, Onward seemed to be missing that little bit of Pixar magic that makes their movies so perfect. In saying that, this was definitely still enjoyable and the emotional ending really does hit the right notes.