First Take: Onward- the film that closed, and reopened UK cinemas

SYNOPSIS: Two elven brothers embark on a quest to bring their father back for one day.

On March 16th 2020, this film was crowned the UK box office number 1 for its second week. Little did we know what would happen at the Downing Street daily press briefing that evening. 16 weeks later, it reclaimed that throne as the first cinemas reopened- but does Pixar still have the same pulling power as they did in their glory days? With their next new property following on from 2017′s Coco… the charm just isn’t there anymore.

Dan Scanlon is the director on this 1 hour 42 minute movie, and while he does a good job, there is a sense of a ‘written by committee’ feel- as he co-wrote the script with Jason Leadley and Keith Bunin, there are moments where the influences are clear, especially with the clear links to Dungeons and Dragons, but there are also moments that are so archetypical of a Pixar movie that they’ve almost become boring. However, it is animated incredibly well, as is tradition, and the score from Jeff and Mychael Danna does the job.

As for the cast, this is arguably the saving grace- as you have a proven duo leading the gang. MCU stalwarts Chris Pratt and Tom Holland are able to continue their great run of work together on this one, using their dynamic to make the characters feel fleshed out and believable. Supporting them is a group of talents which include Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Tracey Ullman, the obligatory part for John Ratzenberger, and many others, but unfortunately compared to over ‘franchise-opening’ Pixar movies, this one feels a little bit flat- and that’s a shame. They have some good ideas on show, but their execution needs to be worked on a little bit more.

THE VERDICT

Yes, Onward is good. But it’s not Pixar’s finest work. We’re in an interesting age for the studio in Emeryville, as they wind down beloved franchises to focus on new ideas. Sure, this could either hit them hard, or make them the industry greats that they once were, but this really feels like a rehash of Monsters Inc with a little extra D&D thrown in.

RATING: 3.5/5