By Managing Editor Blake Hodges
I love the energy in the air of a Pixar premier. I love how all of us are sitting there in anticipation thinking the same thing “this is going to be a special, heartwarming treat.” Movie people love to say just how impossible it is for the majority of movie franchises and sequels to sustain quality. Pixar is one of the rare few that can consistently deliver. In fact, I’d say Pixar has to be at least in the top three in terms of consistency for a movie franchise/brand. Honestly, I wouldn’t fight anyone who wanted to declare them in the top spot. Because of this, a new Pixar movie makes you head into the theater as excited as you are assured that this is going to be a great time. Because of this, they have a high bar to hit each time. There will be no “well I wasn’t expecting much so it was good enough” reviews out there in the universe. No one went into this with low expectations. So now the question becomes, was Onward able to hit our high expectations?
Characters
Chris Pratt has too many talents and it really isn’t fair. We all knew he could be funny and lovable from his Parks & Rec days but then he went on to be a bonafide leading man in Guardians and Jurassic World. Now he is lovable, sexy and a franchise maker? That should be enough for anyone but he was also sliding into the VO sphere with Lego movie and showing just how easily he could translate his likability into an animated character. I’d like to read the contract he signed with the devil because this amount of high level skills isn’t human. Because of this, I didn’t think I’d be surprised by his performance in Onward, but I was wrong. Pratt is just as lovable, charming and hilarious as you expected but he is also meaningful. His interactions with his brother and lengths he is willing to go for him are so enduring that I’m convinced no one else could have done this role. Try and play the recasting game. I dare you. No one else would have been able to do this character this splendidly. Pratt and Holland work really well together and prove everyone who speculated this was just going to be a “marvel buddy team up” wrong. (I must admit I had that same suspicion and I’m thrilled it didn’t come to pass.)
Comedy
This. Movie. Is. Funny. I’d be curious to see a list of the top three Pixar movies ranked by comedy before Onward released. Looking at the line up, Incredibles and Monsters Inc are the top two for me in terms of straight comedy but Onward had me laughing more than either of them. In fact, I would say the comedy here is the most noticeable strength even over the characters. Because these characters are so great, they have a firm foundation to riff off of and boy do they do it.
Emotional Punch
If I asked you to describe the Pixar brand, you would say something about them being “emotional” in the first two sentences. Because of this, I went into this ready to shed a tear if I must. However, this one didn’t hit me like it did most people. My wife shed a good deal of tears and was aghast I hadn’t. This isn’t too surprising. I can count on one hand the times a movie has made me cry. However, I thought the emotional punch of this would be more of a Mike Tyson and less of a fifth grader in Karate class. Again, this will probably work for you as I am a heartless creature but I was disappointed to have the emotional impact be less than anticipated. When I look back on movies like Monsters Inc, Up and Inside Out I marvel at how touching they can be. This was the main weakness for me with Onward. If this punch works for you though, I can’t imagine this being any less than an “A movie” for you.
2020 hasn’t started off very strong and thus I haven’t had any “go see this” declarations yet. I don’t want to start the “this is a weak movie year” narrative too early. It is expected to have a weak Jan-Feb, but with this being the case I’m excited to say this is my first “you should go see this” flick of the year.