‘I am a mighty warrior…’
I’ve long held the opinion that the output of Pixar Animation Studios is one of cinemas finest ever achievements. While their light has dimmed a little lately, mainly due to a glut of uninspired sequels, their originals retain their ability to bring forth great joy. Onward is the first Pixar original feature since 2017’s well received Coco, but not since 2015’s Inside Out has the Disney owned animation studio really hit the heights. Onward rises to the challenge and then some…
In a land where magic and mystery has been replaced by commerce and drudgery, two elven brothers set out on a quest to bring their father back to life for one day only.
As covered here, Pixar have always been adept at dealing with death and loss. This is a consequence of their insistence upon never talking down to their audience. Kids don’t want to be spoken to as if they are idiots, and many children will have to face the spectre of grief at a young age whether they are ready for it or not. Pixar knows this and deals with it accordingly. The result is a series of films that genuinely appeal to an audience of all ages, rather than most Disney films that are beloved by children, but merely tolerated by parents.
Onward adds to this proud tradition with a genuinely beautiful story that has more to say about grief than any ‘grown up’ film you could care to mention. It acts as a comfort to those dealing with loss without ever trivialising what they are going through, and it does so through a lens of incredible visual innovation and top notch voice acting. Tom Holland and Chris Pratt make for a genuinely lovely double act, and this adds gravitas to the more poignant scenes (of which there are many).
It would be churlish to suggest that Pixar films had ever declined, but there is also no doubting that they needed a film like Onward to fix their crown. Soul has a lot to live up to…