Onward is the new Disney-Pixar movie that came out March 6, 2020. It takes place in a magical world where people rely on electricity, out of convenience, instead of magic. Why perform a spell for fire when you can flick a switch and turn on a light? The movie follows two blue elven brothers named Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland) and Barley Lightfoot (Chris Pratt).

Barley and Ian are portrayed as opposites in that Ian is the good younger brother who gets good grades and does well in school, whereas Barley is a screw up who believes in magic. On Ian’s 16 birthday, his mother gave him a present from his father, who passed away when he was just a baby. The present was a large staff and some rare gems to go along with it, and a spell to bring back someone who died for 24 hours. Both brothers try the spell, but the only brother who succeeded was Ian later that night by accident. However, Ian only made half of his father reappear before the gem disintegrated. These two brothers go on a quest to find another gem to finish “making” their father. 

Overall, Onward was well done. It had moments of non-stop laughter, such as the moments between Barley and his beloved Guenivere (his painted van), or the times we see centaur Colt Bronco, Mom’s boyfriend. It focused on the power of family and how every family is different. Onward addresses how not every family has two parental roles in them and that’s ok. 

While that message is very good, we have seen Pixar dabble in it before. From The Incredibles to Up, we see what family is all about. Such classic movies are hard to top and I believe that Onward missed the mark. It felt like a movie I had already seen, but it wasn’t as well constructed. I love Disney-Pixar movies because they always have fresh, new concepts that I adore. When I realized this was another, lesser version of a previous Pixar movie, I was disappointed. Overall this movie will give you a smile at the end and give your kids a laugh! 

Rating: 3/5