Onward isn't perfect - but it's hard to dislike

Monday evening, feeling worn out and irritable, I nevertheless went to the cinema to see the latest Pixar film Onward. I left it in a far better frame of mind, moved and more kindly disposed towards my fellow men. For me, then, the film was a success. And yet... I understand the general feeling I'm getting from reviews, that Onward is better than one would have expected from the trailers but not quite as good as we all hoped a Pixar film with original content (as opposed to "just another sequel") would be.

I had a lot of time for the central relationship between two brothers, and loved the scene towards the end where Ian - the younger brother who's grown up without his father - realises just how much his older brother Barley has meant to him throughout his life. That was the part that made me tear up, and the reviewers I've seen (mostly on Youtube, to be honest - my daily didn't deign to review the film) liked it too. However, while some of them thought that this strong emotional core of the film was enough to make it good, others didn't. And I can see where they're coming from, which is why it's so hard to come to a clear-cut conclusion about the film. Has Pixar chosen the right path in their quest for a solid future as one of the star brands of animated film, or have they strayed a too far down the Path of Peril - or rather a little too far along the safe, unadventurous freeway?

One problem with the film is that the world it's set in doesn't feel as fresh and original as was perhaps intended. Basically, it's a land full of creatures from folklore and fantasy where technology has replaced magic, so they live lives practically identical to us humans in the modern-day world. Cue the gags from the trailer where mermaids lounge in paddling pools, garden gnomes do actual gardening - including using a lawn-mower - unicorns are down-at-heel critters fighting like raccoons over people's trash and trolls collect the toll for the freeway going over the bridge. Though I did like that last joke, the main conceit is not very engaging. Most humorous use of fantasy tropes relies on contrasting the inherent pomposity of the genre with everyday life, and it has been done in funnier ways than here. That's another of the film's problems - few of its jokes actually land. Though it's light-hearted, it's not one of the funnier Pixar films.

The main story goes as follows: the two elf brothers Ian and Barley grow up with their mother, the father having died early, when Barley was still small and before Ian was born. Ian is the insecure, brainy but slightly whiny high-school kid who wants to fit in but doesn't know how etc. Big brother Barley is obsessed with the old days of magic and with a roleplay game that purports to be based on "historical facts" (those in the know identify it as very similar indeed to Dungeons and Dragons). He is cheerfully chaotic and embarrasses his little brother with his fantasies and gung-ho attitude. On Ian's 16th birthday, it's revealed that their dad left a magic staff and a spell that would bring him back to life for 24 hours. Though Barley is the magic enthusiast, it's Ian who has the magic talent, but he only manages to bring back the dad's legs before the staff breaks. The brothers have to repair it with "the Phoenix stone" before the 24 hours are done so they can meet their dad. The legs have to go along on the ride. As Barley put it in the trailer, "totally a quest".

I can nit-pick other things in the film that didn't quite work for me, along with the fantasy-figures-in-modern-day set-up and the lack of good jokes. The build-up feels too long - I was reminded of Moana/Vaiana, which I've watched three times now, each time drumming my fingers until finally Maui turns up. Also, though having the dad's legs tag along makes for a touching moment or two, one joke where I actually laughed and a way to get out of a trap, for the most part they just feel superfluous and weird. Nevertheless, I was charmed, mostly because I really liked Barley. As a fellow fantasist, I sympathised with him, and what clinched it for me was his unfeigned joy over the fact that his little brother has the magic gift. This lack of envy makes up for a lot, including a few moments where you feel he's not taking their quest quite seriously enough.

Another thing in the film's favour, for my part, was that it didn't ride its messages too hard. I've had problems with Pixar's messages in the past, not least the ones in the Toy Story franchise. Here, the film came perilously close to the "technology is bad" agenda Pixar's been hinting at a few times before. It's funny to see magic, often depicted in fiction as the solution which appears easy but can come with unforeseen costs, hailed as a craft which requires skill and dedication and leads to greater self-knowledge, whereas technology is the quick fix. Nevertheless, in the end, the fantasy creatures don't go back to roving in the wild and relying blindly on mages. They continue their comfortable modern lives - they're just a little bit more true to their pixie/centaur/manticore selves and view magic as a welcome bonus. Which is fair enough.
 
To sum up, Onward may not be a classic, but as one who has always admired rather than loved Pixar's films, I'm fine with that. It's sweet, extremely family-friendly and, contrary to some rumours, really not excessively "woke" at all. If I'm half as pleased with Pixar's next offering Soul, I'll consider myself lucky. Still no villain, though.