Onward - My Thoughts

I was fortunate enough to see an advance screening of Disney Pixar's new movie Onward. I brought my friend Brian along to a sponsored PGA (Producer's Guild of America) screening. I've been looking forward to seeing this movie ever since I saw the trailer a few months back. It comes two things I love Fantasy and D&D, so I was going into this ready to love it and I have to say I LOVED IT!!!!

Here's a quick synopsis: Set in a fantastical world, where the populace once had magic, two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, receive a wizard's staff as a prearranged gift from their father, who died before Ian was born and when Barley was too young to remember him. The staff came with a spell that will bring him back for only 24 hours, so his sons can meet him. Prompted by Barley, Ian uses the spell, only to end up with just his father's legs. This causes the brothers to go on a quest for a way to bring back the rest of their father before the time is up.

This going to be a non-spoiler quick review since it's a prescreening and not many of you have seen it it.

I think for me personally this is one of my top five Pixar movies. I cried minutes in and I continued to cry through out. The idea of bringing back your father for one day hit me hard, I would do anything to see and talk to my dad again for one more day. And then the other theme of family and being brothers was also close to my heart. I of course loved the fantasy theme, imagining a world of fantasy but within modern times. I love the idea that magic is hard to do and others developed technology to take it's place, technology that anyone could use causing magic to die out. I liked the brothers relationship, though I am the older brother in my situation I felt connected to both brothers, the younger brothers shyness and awkwardness and the older brothers love of D&D and caring about his younger brother.

There were several moments where my heart actually ached. One involved a tape recorder and the second was towards the end. Tom Holland is fantastic as the younger brother Ian and of course Chris Pratt is hilarious as the older brother Barley but also has some very sweet moments. Octavia is one of my all time favorite actresses and she killed it as the once ferocious Manticore and Julia Louis-Dreyfus was perfect as the mom.

I will be seeing this movie again in the theaters for sure and will be a must buy when it comes to blu-ray.

Onward gets a solid A from me.