Now that Pixar's latest film is officially in US theaters, we are resurfacing our review, which was originally published on February 21st.
Pixar's latest feature-length film, Onward, doesn't reach US theaters until March 6, and it's rare for us at Ars Technica to review a film so far in advance of its launch. When we do, it's usually for good reason.
In Onward's case, that's because we haven't seen a film so easy to recommend to Ars Technica readers in years. We know our average demographic: parents and older readers who are deeply fluent in decades of nerd culture and who appreciate films that offer genuine laughs, likable characters, and tightly sewn logic in family-friendly fashion without compromising the dialogue, plot, or heart—or beating an original, previously beloved franchise into the ground. Pixar has come out screaming with a film that feels focus-tested for that exact audience, and I'm already eager to attend the film again in two weeks.
“Historically based adventure simulator”
Warning: the further you go in this gallery, the more spoilers you'll find. (I've chosen not to post the most spoiler-y things from existing trailers, at least.) The brothers pause at an underpass on their way to Raven's Point, and Ian tries to use magic to save the day. Pixar Tom Holland does a solid job of selling his character Ian's anxiety without becoming overbearing or obnoxious about it. For a coming-of-age story, that's no small feat for a voice actor. Chris Pratt's performance as Barley is one of his most likeable yet, especially once we learn more about why he's such a fearless teenager. In Onward's universe, TV aerobics are a thing… …but they have a different kind of host. The family's rambunctious pet dragon gets the squirt gun again. As a domesticated dragon, Blazey's spark is not worse than his bite. You people can have your Baby Yoda. I'd prefer a Blazey doll, please. Ian and his mom Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfuss) make plans for his 16th birthday. Laurel's facial animations are among the most heartfelt in the film. "I'm going to clomp to the count of three." In the years since magic ruled the land, things have changed for the town's manticore. The brothers were expecting a different kind of manticore encounter. I for one never tire of gags that revolve around the Sorcerer's Apprentice outfit. Laurel and the manticore eventually team up. I'm not going to say much about the film's fairies, other than to say how much I love them.
We've seen our fair share of fantasy genre satires and comedies, but Onward delivers the most fully fledged, top-to-bottom homage to the fantasy genre since Monty Python and the Holy Grail sent up all things King Arthur. To be clear, Pixar's newest universe of characters draws more from the Dungeons & Dragons well of magical, class-based adventuring with its own twist.
The rest of this review contains minor plot spoilers to connect the dots about why I like Pixar's twists on conventional fantasy wisdom. I have made an effort to otherwise leave certain plot points and jokes unspoiled, but if you'd like to go into the film completely blind, consider this a warning.
Onward presupposes that Earth's history is rich with dragons, wizards, elves, fairies, unicorns, centaurs, and the like. Though Onward's world has magical powers, they're a pain in the butt to cast. That led to innovation. Roughly 100 years ago, someone figured out how electricity worked. The industrial revolution followed, and a world full of fantasy creatures came to rely upon fossil fuels, cars, planes, smartphones, and so on.
The film's resulting fusion of modern American life and fantasy-worthy history feels more grounded than the secret world of creatures lurking on the other side of Monsters, Inc. Dangerous adventuring lore becomes the foundation for a cheesy, kid-friendly restaurant. Centaurs are lazy cops who can't be bothered to gallop. The hottest rhythm arcade game requires at least four legs and is called Prance Prance Revolution. The steed of choice for an aspiring adventurer isn't a horse but rather an Econoline van with a sick unicorn painted on its sides. And jean jackets are covered in… honestly, the band names and references worn by older metalhead brother Barley (Chris Pratt) are close to what you'd find in real life.
Barley and his anxious younger brother Ian (Tom Holland) face off early in the film as dissimilar siblings. Barley's a sloppy ne'er-do-well with a heart of gold; he drives like a maniac, racks up parking tickets, and has a bad reputation with the local police, but that's because of well-meaning civil disobedience. (In this world, that means chaining himself to ancient, magical relics that developers want to bulldoze in favor of condos.) Ian, meanwhile, is an awkward pushover, and when he's not struggling to fit in at school, he's embarrassed by his wild, showy brother.
The brothers are compelled to join forces once Ian receives a 16th birthday gift from his father… who's been dead since a few months before Ian was born. Because the gift revolves around the fading art of magic, it doesn't go exactly as planned, and the brothers must race against time to solve their new problem. Turns out, Ian had secret magical abilities all along, and in order to understand and master them, he needs Barley's help, which mostly comes from his encyclopedic knowledge of the tabletop game Quests of Yore. Even though the game looks just like D&D, complete with 20-sided die and elaborate miniatures, Barley points out its relevance in Onward's world: "It's an historically based adventure simulator!"
Now serving second breakfast
The film starts strong with a wealth of rapid-fire visual gags—and I'm doing my darndest not to spoil them, I promise. Yet at first glance, the resulting brothers-on-an-adventure story might seem rote in comparison. Haven't we seen this before?
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