Onward (2020) Poster

(I) (2020)

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8/10
Made me appreciate my brother
rodriguezarturo111 April 2020
This movie is pretty fast paced. The characters are always trying to get out of some kind of mess they created, so in other words you're never bored. I recommend you watch this film with your siblings. I'm a grown man and this film had me tearing up lol. Another great film by Pixar.
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8/10
Good fun with chance of misty eyes
thekarmicnomad22 March 2021
I didn't like the look of this, the animation, the content or the story. I am glad I decided to watch it.

The film is set in a world where magic is replaced by technology because it is easier. Two young men get the opportunity to use magic to spend a single day with their deceased father. It doesn't go according to plan so they go on an adventure.

The story is simple but lean, the jokes are obvious but funny, the characters are stock but fleshed out.

This movie is really enjoyable and tugs at the heart strings.

There is nothing ground-breaking about this movie but it has a very big heart and is very well executed.
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8/10
Magical and emotional
Alexander_Blanchett22 February 2020
Really beautiful and emotional movie. It won me primarily over by its absolutely fantastic and very detailed animations, look and use of colors. Truely magical. It had so much time to develope so many different characters even if its just little extras. I would actually watch a TV series based on the lives of those fantasy characters in the suburbans. A very creative idea to actually tell a very simple and common story. The film convinced me because it just touched the right buttons and activated them with the story structure and the relationship between the two leading characters. There is some great voice work, most noteable Tom Holland and Octavia Spencer but also Chris Pratt meets the right tone. One of the best Pixar movies that came out the last years and one of the most creative and magical ones (more in design than story) for a very long time. It got me close to tears at the end and that means something for a animated film. Kudos to Pixar, they know how to bring magic back t the cinema.
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7/10
Good movie but not a must see
maztergamer13 February 2021
In march 2020 pixar released a movie titled Onward. Let's see what I think about it.

So this movie is good. Not great but good. The animation is great (like every pixar movie except for the ones made in the 90's). They are continuing their approach of making everything pretty much photo realistic except for the characters. As usual the animation tells you what you need to know about the main characters and I don't know how Pixar does that even in their weaker films. There isn't much more to say about the animation. It's Pixar, you know it's going to be great, let's move on.

The voice acting is also good, probably because the characters in the film are close to the actors in real life. For example Ian is a quiet and shy character. Who does that remind you of? Exactly (Tom Holland). And Barley is an outgoing goofball. Who does that remind you of? You get the idea (if you didn't know it's Chris Pratt). The voice acting is good. It honestly wouldn't surprise me if pixar just told them to play themselves. Okay they didn't but they clearly based the characters around them. Or they made the characters and realized that Ian and Barley are pretty much Tom Holland and Chris Pratt respectively, I don't know.

The characters are pretty good. There are two brothers. I already talked about the characters when I talked about the voice acting. It is a pretty common set of two characters but I mean there is a reason it is done a lot. It does work. I mean they aren't Mike and Sully but it works well enough. There is not a lot to say about the characters, they are just good. So let's get to you could say my problem (?) with the film.

The plot is the biggest problem with the film. It isn't even bad, just very predictable. I don't think my expectations even got close to being subverted in the film. Since I have seen a movie before I can somewhat predict what will happen in a movie. I pretty much knew the plot by heart before I even watched the movie. It is very linear. The emotional moments happen where you expect them to, the conflict happens where you would expect it to. You already know this plot even if you haven't seen the movie.

Another thing I noticed is that it doesn't feel like a pixar film. Not because it is one of their weaker films but more the topic. The idea seems too complicated for pixar. In most of their movies they take a simple idea and expand on it to make it more interesting.In Onward they take a not so simple idea and expand on it to make it more interesting. Maybe simple isn't the right word. I guess a better word would be basic. Not in a bad way but just one idea. Onward is a fantasy story except people don't use magic anymore. What I am saying is it is kind of a loaded idea compared to some of the other Pixar films. It isn't a problem and doesn't mark it down in my head, just an observation.

This movie is good. The animation is good, the acting is good. But the movie somewhat falters with a predictable plot.
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9/10
Hate it but not cause it is bad.
z-knipp5 April 2020
I hated this movie because it hit me so hard. Lost my dad a while back and never dealt with all the things from that but this movie kinda drop kicked my feelings into the focus. Hard to watch a film with tears streaming down your face
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7/10
Good...not great.
planktonrules6 April 2020
"Onward" is a beautiful film to watch, and so as usual a Pixar film is among the best looking CGI movies you can find. I especially love the look of the twilight scenes. This being said, the story itself is only okay...and the big finale is a bit of a letdown.

In this story, magical folk like sprites, trolls, elves and goblins are real but have somehow lost their magical powers over the centuries...mostly because modern technology replaced many of the spells of yesterday. The plot focuses on two brothers who have an odd task...to bring their dead father back to life for one day. Through this process, they naturally come to learn about themselves and each other.

There are some touching moments in this film. But there also is a strong feeling that the story itself wasn't especially logical or polished. The characters, their motivations and the like all seem a bit confusing and slight....and the ending seemed more action-packed than being true to the characters and story. In fact, many will likely see the ending as a letdown...and the entire reason for the brothers' quest seemed amazingly unimportant and irrelevant. Not a terrible story by any stretch...but certainly not among the studios better films. And, it's a clear case of a film being rushed to market before the story was adequately polished and ready to be filmed.
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9/10
Great film that doesn't have issues of other films
brigid1344 March 2020
The dead parent trope might be overused for Disney movies but Onward doesn't make the mistakes of those movies. The siblings fight like siblings though out, not just at plot critical moments. Their single mom has a boyfriend who is not an evil stepparent trope, and their mom is actually proactive during the events of the film, but the adventure still belongs to the boys. I've been tired of plots that have parents oblivious to what their kids are doing. I came for the DnD references but I cried for the well-rounded characters.
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6/10
Entertaining but Forced
warren-8723513 August 2020
Warning: Spoilers
I'm seeing a pattern with PIXAR movies now. Increasingly, the movies feel less about thinking up an interesting story, and more about picking some tear-jerking moment and then attempting to build a story around them.

I'm all for a good tear-jerking moment or two, but those moments have to be earnt and come naturally. Whilst watching Onward, you can almost feel the script writers and director standing around you, begging for a single tear, or a sniffle. Unfortunately, they feel far less concerned about writing the story and the characters that get you there.

That's not to say Onward is bad. It's entertaining enough, and there is the odd chuckle, but it never really comes to life. One of the other problems is the 'world' they have created. The idea of a fantasy world, full of fantasy creatures that have advanced to modern levels of technology, is a great concept but they do very little with it. For the most part, the story could have happened in our world with a small dash of magic.

Zootopia is a prime example of doing this alternate universe well. It takes the concept of a world full of animals, but using contemporary levels of technology, then alters that world with logical extensions of 'what if?'. This makes for plenty of enjoyable 'skewed reality' jokes and metaphors. Onward pretty much misses most of those opportunities.

For example, Onward's equivalent of Dungeons and Dragons... In our world, it is a fun way to imagine being in a fantasy realm. It should be the equivalent to their characters, flipped for a fantasy world. What would that be? Perhaps it would entirely lack magic, and be all about technology? Unfortunately, knowledge of magic from the game is a core feature required to move the plot along, which also lessens the need for us to actually BE in a fantasy world, rather than simply being in the normal world and enjoying the discovery that magic is real.

Then there are simple touches... One humourous moment shows that unicorns have actually become more akin to vermin and wild dogs. This is one of the few genuinely funny moments. However, the brother's van is painted with a magical unicorn on the side, in the same way that an equivalent character in our world would have. It makes no sense. It would be like having a few scruffy rats or wild dogs painted on it, rather than something magical.

Ultimately, the events unfold in a contrived way in order to 'force' the tear-jerking emotional moments and all-important 'life lessons'. As a result, rather than being an emotional road trip it's more of a bus ride with a few pleasant views, that gets you from A to B.
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10/10
Amazing
tyreejones8 May 2020
A great film about siblings and the incredible bond they can share. I enjoyed every second, don't listen to the haters.
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7/10
Great fun, but not the magic of other Pixar films!
pritol19 March 2021
This is a great film by any stretch! Really fun magical world of elves, centaurs, mermaids and all that jazz, but with a modern suburban setting. The film has some laugh out loud moments and the animation is as always spectacular.

The story has some strong emotional punch, as it follows two brothers on a quest to complete a spell and bring their father back for a single day, learning more about each other and their relationship in the process.

It has all the familiar components that have made Pixar's movies fantastic, and it touches on some very contemporary themes in a really nice way; coping with lose of a parent and the importance of siblings, dealing with your remaining parents new partners etc.

However, if you compare it to their other film this year, Soul, it just doesn't have the same level of emotional connection. Still incredibly enjoyable, and would be more than happy to watch this film again anytime!
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9/10
Age doesn't matter, watch this movie!
loginibisheart4 May 2020
It's a fantastic movie! It might fall into cliches but that's what the movie is all about. It brings the sense of epic to the viewer and engage with their feelings. It's well balanced, as the movie emphasizes in the adventure aspect of it but without forgetting comic times as well as really touchy moments were you'll for sure be moved. It's a great movies that will introduce you to some aspects of role playing in a way you probably haven't thought before. Great for both kids and adults.
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7/10
Onward is decent
MorrisBuck8821 February 2020
I like the originality in this movie, nothing special imo, i definitly didn't mind watching the movie. Voice acting was really great though, the movie definitly got some laughs out of me. Go watch it if you have younger children, nothing special for adults and teens though.
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5/10
Disappointing and cliche
wasaybaggins13 January 2021
Onward is Pixar most uninspired and weakest written film to date. Animation is great , voice performances were awesome too. But the script ? Character development ? Man ! They are just terribly weird to be honest. Yes movie has an intigruing premise but it was hard for me to connect with characters like I was used to be with Pixar Gems. I couldn't feel much for Tom Holland's character due to weak character writing.

Movie is not bad but it is among those movies which have lots of potential things to explore but filmmakers just focused on cliche themes with poor writing !
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7/10
So good.
masoncheek15 May 2020
I dont get all, the hate. What an underrated movie. Great animation and a climax that will have yoy in tears. I love it, give it a watch.
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10/10
Movie for boys where the price is love - bravo Pixar
alffastar-261-2887157 March 2020
Doing a fulfilling movie for boys where the price of the quest is emotional wholeness and found love is a rare sight and not an easy task. Pixar succeeded by providing rich brotherly relationship, adventure, magic and finally love. It is much more a common message in movies for girls like Frozen, but I think that the magical combination of all the ingredients achieved by Pixar is important and entertaining at the same time. Wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone :)
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6/10
An enjoyable romp with some fun ideas and some touching moments, but it's no Toy Story.
timleesongs8 April 2021
Warning: Spoilers
A magical land has 'moved on,' to become a modern metropolis that relies on technology and has forgotten its mythical heritage.

When a shy teenage elf and his magic obsessed, overbearing older brother find an old staff and spell, they must go on a road trip to find a gem which will grant them one more day with their late father.

An enjoyable romp with some fun ideas and some touching moments. It didn't quite have the timelessness of other Pixar films like Toy Story or Inside Out, but it's well worth a watch.
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10/10
Extremely underrated emotional road trip - Onward
snow-lover-biblio-07112 December 2020
This movie will give you laughs as well as leave you in sobs. Fun, action-packed and emotional, it's a great watch.

Elven brothers Ian and Barley lost their father when they were too young to remember him. But on Ian's 16th birthday, they receive a special gift - something that can help revive their father for one day. But as expected, they mess up the spell and their father is left only with legs.

I do not know why this film is so underrated, considering it's full of that Pixar magic. Fantasy world? Ok, that's pretty common. Suburban fantasy world? You don't see that every day. It's a burst of imagination, really.

Unlike most films that shy away from deep themes and stay on the 'clear path', Onward shows how hard it is to lose someone. If you haven't seen it, watch today!
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6/10
Watchable but nothing special
kikiboo_810 October 2021
It's an extremely common theme anyway. Road trip, bonding, adventure, predictable plot twists. Except they're elves who look more like troll-elf mix than just elves. Very basic storyline too, once you get the magic out of the whole thing. It's ok, but nothing special.
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10/10
Honestly, Pixar is making better movies than Disney
danielcosimona25 April 2020
I can't believe it. The best animated movie of the year was not by Disney. And it's not a surprise because most of the movies Disney did in 2019 were sequels and remakes (and Star Wars, and Avengers Endgame, which wasn't as good as Avengers: Infinity Wars). This is one of the most creative movies I've ever watched! Sure, it's cliche, however it's got a good moral, a good story, good character development, its humor isn't just in one character (contrary to Frozen II), and it is visually beautiful. This is the best animated movie of the year, and I really hope Disney makes more movies like this.
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6/10
Not Pixar's best, but the bar is really high.
garethcrook31 December 2020
So the final film of the year is another Pixar outing. I don't think there's any that I've missed now, but this one slipped by at the beginning of the year. Time was when this wouldn't have happened, I'd be dragged to the cinema with the kids on opening weekend. The kids are growing up though and the cinemas are closed. We're in a world of mythical creatures including Ian (Tom Holland) who's a elf (not the Christmas kind). He's turning 16, missing his dad who's passed away. Generally dealing with the stresses of being a teenager, being awkward, be embarrassed by his older brother Barley (Chris Pratt). Barley believes in a magic that over time has been forgotten. Their dad believed though and now both kids are 16, left a way for him to return for a single day. Things get off to a bad start when they only manage to bring back his legs and have to set off on a quest for another gemstone to finish the job. I don't really do fairytale stuff, but this works... just about. It's pretty straight up adventure stuff with plenty of laughs and the usual journey of self discovery. It looks great, the lighting is lovely and it makes full use of the fantasy theme by dialling the colours all the way up. I'm not sure I'd want to watch it again, but it had me laughing and blubbering in all the right places.
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10/10
Pixar is amazing
seaverchen30 April 2020
Warning: Spoilers
The ending was enchanting. Just the fact that he gave up his only chance to see his father to give it to his brother! WOW. That hit hard.
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6/10
Mediocre Pixar movie
ol-112 March 2020
After seeing "Onward", I do hope this movie is no indicator for the quality of Pixar's productions after the departure of John Lasseter. In my opinion, "Onward" is the least inventive and entertaining Pixar movie since "The good dinosaur".

Yet, the basic idea has potential: Once there was magic, but by and by it was replaced by civilization. This civilized world looks a lot like some random US provincial town - except that it is populated by magical, mythical creatures like Elves, Fairies, Centaurs, Dwarfs, Trolls and so on. No humans! This has the potential for a lot of gags, e.g., a Centaur (named "Bronco"!) as police officer - in a car. On the other hand: This is no new idea; similar parodies on Smalltown America has been seen in "Chicken Little", "Planet 51", "Antz" or "Bee movie", to name only a few CGI movies. There is nothing really new and inventive here as, e.g., the land of the Dead in "Coco".

Most obvious would be a comparison with "Shrek", which features also a world of magical, mythical creatures. Yet while "Shrek" has a satirical, cheeky approach to its world and its 'people', "Onward" shows a more sentimental, sometimes even corny approach. The 'magical' times are introduced as some kind of lost, yet golden age - which is strange somehow, since all the ingredients of this magic age are still there.

Another problem of "Onward" are its main characters, the brothers Lightfoot: Elves with blue skin and pointy ears, yet otherwise completely just like some average teenagers of 16 (Ian) and 18 (?, Barley). Great, two more moody teenagers! And there is another stereotype: They are half-orphans, since their father has died even before Ian's birth; since then, Ian seems to long for his lost father. His brother, on the other hand, is shown as a screw-up, role-playing and driving an ancient bus. The most likable person in the family is their hands-on mother.

As in "Coco", "Onward" tackles the contact to the hereafter. But while in "Coco" Mexican traditions and myths are used, in "Onward" it just feels creepy: In the beginning, Ian summons (more or less by accident) his father - but only up to the waistline! Does that mean that the rest of him is still somewhere in the afterworld?

Anyway: Barley and Ian have to hit the road to summon also the rest of their father, since for some reason they have only 24 h for that. This way, we also get a road trip, and while this is probably the most entertaining part of the movie, it is also no new, inventive idea; far from it.

Don't get me wrong: "Onward" is not a bad movie; is has a lot of funny moments, and the visuals are great. But in my view, it is not very memorable.
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5/10
Onward
haydenluz5 January 2021
Onward, directed & written by Dan Scanlon, who also directed & wrote Monsters University, was an entertaining fairytale, embracing the importance of familyhood. Onward had an original concept coming in, but the direction from Scanlon didn't flow the greatest, having a few forceful filler scenes. Though the story didn't flow the best with a few imbalances, Scanlon managed to hit a few emotional notes that hit home, to get you more invested in the adventure & characters.

With a very talented voice over cast of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt & Octavia Spencer, I expected something a little more hard hitting. They all had their own enjoyable personalities, but the characterization could've been a little better. Tom Holland's character was real easy to invest in. Right off the bat, you feel his pain, and see the hardships he deals with. I personally connected with his character due to his aspirations involving his father. As far as Chris Pratt, I didn't really care his character all that much. I liked that he is a polar opposite of Holland's character, and that creates the strong bond, but he's pretty annoying throughout the first hour of the film. His final act character development is what saved him from being just flat out stupid, and nothing more than a plot device. The realistic expectations each brother had, displaying a genuine brotherly bond was the best part about their characters.

The screenplay by Dan Scanlon, Keith Bunin & Jason Headley had a few decent laughs, but they also had a few forceful jokes that didn't quite hit. Even though the script captured some real life events, it didn't pack the weight it could have, leaving the script a little thin.

The cinematography and animation was of course, gorgeouse, utilizing some great bright, and dark colors to enhance the tone throughout the film.

Overall, with all this pandemic going around, Onward didn't get to reach it's full potential in theaters, but I would say it's a solid watch on Disney+, especially if you have a brother.
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I was surprised. Its great
iamkeysersoze-1322829 February 2020
Warning: Spoilers
So Pixar have always been hit or miss, so I was unsure if this film would be great since Pixar has an unpredictable track record. Onward is a surprisingly great film with some really touching and heartfelt. moments

As per usual, the visuals are absolutely stunning. It's a gorgeous looking film with terrifc voice work as well. Pixar can't do any wrong when it comes to that.

Tom Holland and Chris Pratt are really great here. Their characters are really likeable and there chemistry as brothers is great.

The story maybe slightly generic in terms of the quest aspect but the writing is so strong that the bond between them and trying to get their father back is really awesome.

That being said it's still a lot of fun and consistently entertaining and a beautiful film. It's their best film in quite sometime.
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7/10
Liked it a lot
bastos16 January 2021
This is a bit of a divisive movie. I'm on the liked it a lot camp. I think people have unreasonably high expectations when it comes to Pixar movies. I guess it's Pixar's fault because they have been releasing classic after classic for more than twenty years now, so I can understand where some of those expectations come from, but to dismiss a movie because it doesn't meet some of the high standards is a bit too much also. This is a very good adventure movie with some great world building, great animation, good characters and an amazing third act, you can't demand much more than that. Granted, I can understand some of the issues people have, like pacing problems in the second act, a bit of a predictable plot and what is becoming a cliched Pixar family. Those are the reasons I don't rate this any higher, but it was still an emotional and entertaining ride that I highly recommend.
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