MovieRob CoronaCamp (#3 of ???) – Onward (2020)

In these uncertain times, obviously all of our lives and scheduled have been interrupted in ways we never could have imagined. In order to take advantage of the precious time that this world wide crisis has given me with my 4 kids, I decided to choose some movies to watch with them in order to help expand their movie knowledge while also generating quality time with them which will hopefully give them some great memories during this very challenging time… Thus I decided to create a CoronaCamp featuring some fun films to watch with them.

“Long ago, the world was full of wonder. It was adventurous. It was exciting. And most of all, there was magic.” – Wilden Lightfoot (Dad)

Number of Times Seen – 1 (25 Mar 2020)

Brief Synopsis – Two Elf brothers go on a magical quest in order to find a way to speak to their long deceased father.

My Take on it – This was a film that I was looking forward to seeing with my family and all six of us ended up watching it together while eating BBQ – franks and burgers.

What I have always loved about PIXAR films is the way that they can be understood by various age levels in completely different ways.

My two young daughters (5 & 8) understood it one way, the teenage boys (13 & 16) in another way and me and my wife in yet another way.

As a fan of D&D and all kinds of fantasy stories as a kid, much of what happens on this quest reminded me of the days I would spend creating personalities and powers for my characters.

The premise of taking characters from a fantasy world setting and showing how they would act in our world where the magic of old is substitutd by technology actually works really well and is quite original.

This film’s plot weighs quite heavily on an emotional componant that despite it being “out in the open” still manages to help the story move along into some great places.

As with most PIXAR films, they have chosen great voice actors and Tom Holland and Chris Pratt are both perfect choices for the leads.

They do a wonderful job making us really believe that they are brothers who love one another besides the constant bickering.

Many aspects of this pair’s quest was very reminiscent of my teen days in D&D, an am probably among the few viewers who actually had heard of a gelatinous cube before seeing it here.

The story’s plot presents an age old question and I liked the way that they chose to answer it because it helps make thing feel even more poignant and powerful.

Can’t wait to see this again!

Bottom Line – Another great original story by PIXAR. Love the way that they developed a world populated with creatures from fantasy and mythology and showed how their lives would be lived in the modern world. The film has a very strong emotional component to it that works the entire time despite the fact that it all seems a bit too “in your face”. The voice actors are superbly chosen and Holland and Pratt are just perfect together while going on this “quest” because they really help make us believe that they are brothers. Highly Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – According to director Dan Scanlon, who lost his father at a very young age, the film is inspired by the question he’s always asked: “who was my father? The story is set in a world with no humans. Elves, trolls, sprites, and “anything that would be on the side of a van in the ’70s,” exist in this world, said the director. “In the film, we’re going to tell the story of two teenage elf brothers whose father died when they were too young to remember him. But thanks to the little magic still left in the world, the boys embark on a quest that will allow them a chance to spend one last magical day with their father.” (From IMDB)

Rating – Oscar Worthy (9/10)