Onward (2020)

Directed by: Dan Scanlon | 103 minutes | animation, comedy | Original voice cast: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimer, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong, Gray Griffin, Tracey Ullman, Wilmer Valderrama, George Psarras, John Ratzenberger | Dutch voice cast: Mattie Valk, Caroline Dijkhuizen, Inge Ipenburg

An adorable little robot, a rat with a nose for haute cuisine, talking toys and human emotions brought to life – Pixar’s creative minds manage to come up with the most original characters every time and lead them in adventures that hit us right in the heart. In doing so, Pixar sets the bar high, not only for competing studios, but also for itself. In order to give itself more time to come up with a new, brilliant ‘original’, the animation superpower has also released many sequels in recent years (which are not infrequently as brilliant as the original films). In Pixar’s anniversary year 2020 – which marks the 25th anniversary of the studio’s debut with ‘Toy Story’ (1995) – enthusiasts will be treated to not one, but two brand new films: Dan Scanlon’s ‘Onward’ and Pete Docter’s ‘Soul’. . It has to wait until June for the latter in the Netherlands, but ‘Onward’ is now playing in the halls. It is a very personal film for director Scanlon. “When I was one year old and my brother three, our father passed away. So we grew up without knowing him, except from pictures and the stories our mother told us. We have always wondered who he was and if we resemble him. And that’s exactly what became the basis for the film ‘Onward’: the quest to discover who you will become as you get older and how this relates to your family.”

The world in which ‘Onward’ takes place is an ancient magical universe inhabited by creatures from fairy tales, fables and sagas. But the magic has since been eclipsed by technology, convenience and the 24-hour economy, with neglected unicorns eating trash cans, elves forgotten how to fly and now moving on Harley Davidsons, and the mythological Manticore (half lion, half scorpion, with wings) now runs a pancake house. Young elf Ian celebrates his sixteenth birthday but is too insecure to invite his classmates. Fortunately, the gift his mother Laurel has for him and his brother Barley makes up for it. With this magic staff containing a rare phoenix stone and the right spell – which fantasy freak Barley always has ready – they can bring their deceased father back for 24 hours. Since they both barely knew him, and they have a lot to discuss with him, the boys are eager. But something goes wrong in the execution: their father only appears half way (the bottom one, so talking to him is not included) and the precious phoenix stone is destroyed during the magic process. Barley knows where they can find another stone like that, but for that they have to make an adventurous trip to the mountains. In doing so, of course, they encounter quite a bit of resistance along the way. Meanwhile, their mother worries about her boys and decides to go after them. She is accompanied by the Manticore, who seems to have regained her old spirit.

As we’ve come to expect from Pixar, ‘Onward’ is packed with imaginative visual jokes; nothing that we get in the picture just passes by. So yes, that bag of chips Barley gets from a vending machine turns out to be of great importance later on, as well as that orange light he takes as a souvenir and that mural that adorns Ian’s high school. Also the meeting with the fairies at the gas station is not just stopped in the film. What Pixar’s animation geniuses are also known for is how cleverly they manage to work sincere emotions into their animated films. The characters never live their adventures without reason; they experience personal growth, learn to deal with certain feelings and discover who they are and how they can accept themselves. Important life lessons, for children but certainly also for adults. Family ties and friendships are often central to these life lessons, also in ‘Onward’. Of course there is the loss of the father, but their joint quest for that missing link in their lives brings Ian and Barley closer together. Not so much father love, but brother love in particular is celebrated here. Don’t be surprised if you have to wipe a tear at the emotional peak.

But no matter how well put together ‘Onward’ – we haven’t even mentioned the excellent voice cast – the film hits less hard than, for example, ‘Wall-E’ (2008), ‘Up’ (2009) and the complete ‘Toy Story’. ‘ series. Perhaps that’s because the world of ‘Onward’ is populated by fantasy creatures that are further away from us, despite the fact that they have been assigned quite a few human qualities. Or could it be that Dan Scanlon is a less gifted director than Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter? Despite the lesser impact, ‘Onward’ with its fun visual finds, infectious adventure and warm message is still more than worth it. Pixar has only set that bar so high that the studio itself sometimes breaks down.