Onward

Director - Dan Scanlon (Monster University, Tracy)

Starring - Tom Holland (Spies in Disguise, Spider-Man: Homecoming), Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World), and Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Seinfeld, The Fairly Odd Parents)

Release Date - 2020

Genre - Adventure/Comedy/Fantasy

Tagline - "Cometh soon"
Format - Streaming (Disney+)

Rating (out of 5):

     I'm not a Disney fan in the traditional sense.  I am a fan of Marvel and Star Wars but I typically don't watch most of the animated Disney movies unless my kids are.  My wife is home now because of this whole pandemic.  She's a teacher and with schools closed for the year she's been home with our little ones while I've been at work.  One evening last week the kids wanted to have a movie night and my daughter wanted to watch something from Disney+.  When we were searching for something to watch Onward caught my eye.  It was one of the films I was interested in checking out back before the outbreak.  It looked like your typical Disney flick but the characters looked way more interesting.  I'm glad I checked it out because I enjoyed it way more than my kids did.

     The film follows two elvish brothers, Barley (Pratt) and his little brother Ian (Holland), who live in modern day world that was once a magical kingdom.  Their father died when they were both very little and on Ian's 16th birthday he is gifted a magical staff from their mother that was meant for them. Ian works with the staff for sometime and eventually is able to resurrect the bottom half of his father.  In order to completely bring him back for a limited time they must go on an adventure together before 24 hours is up.

      I wasn't expecting a bad movie but I wasn't expecting to like this movie as much as I did.  The story really had me thinking about it days later and I couldn't wait to give it another spin.  Since my first viewing I've seen the movie 3 times now while my kids show no more interest in it.  The voice acting I this one is absolutely perfect.  Tom Holland is fantastic as the film's lead.  His character is very grounded and brings some much needed stability to the film.  A much different role than the wise cracking Spider-Man we typically see him as.  Chris Pratt delivers an awesome performance as well.  His metal loving, D n' D playing, van driving character is what made me so interested in the film.  He delivers and that character is one I will not be forgetting any time soon.  The supporting cast is fun as well.  Some of the characters do stand out more than others but they are all very consistent.  The story for this one hits pretty hard as a father.  I couldn't imagine a doctor telling my family and I that I would only have so much time to spend with my family before I pass.  That aspect of the film really hit hard for me.  Not seeing my children grow up would be the worst part of it all.  We then get the highly entertaining characters, and the fantasy inspired adventure added to it really brought the film home for me.  The humor does fall flat at times but it did get a few chuckles out of my little ones.  Finally, the animation for this one looks great.  If you have seen any Pixar films in the last few years then you know what to expect with this film.  I really enjoyed how the creatures and characters looked and the action sequences were extremely fun to watch.  Overall, Onward is the animated movie that parents can enjoy with their kids.  The story is heartbreaking at times but ends, as to be expected, with a heartwarming moment.  The adventure is fun and the cast is damn near perfect.  Check this one out when you get the chance.  Make it a movie night with your family because you will not be disappointed.