Onward

I'm just gonna come out and say it. Onward is the best Pixar film in 10 years. Toy Story 3 in 2010 was the studio high mark for me and this one comes close. Very very close. What made the experience even better was seeing it in a cinema delightfully free of kids who's parents are afraid of the coronavirus. Yup, what a blisteringly selfish sentence that was.

Onward is set in a world where magic once existed but it was such hard work that the elves and manticores and other mythical creatures that practiced it chose to let technology take it's place. Electricity replaced spells and planes replaced fairy wings and the wonder just drained away from the world. Ian (Tom Holland), a teenage elf has just turned 16 and his elder brother Barley (Chris Pratt), a man obsessed with the magic world of the past is delighted to see his brother become an adult. Their mother Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) has been waiting 16 years for this day so she can present her sons with a gift left by their late father, who died before Ian was born. The gift is a magic one that sends the brothers off on a dangerous quest with Mammy on their tails to ensure their safety.

I loved this. Loved it. From the suburban comedy drama opening to it's soaring emotion filled climax it had me in it's grip every second of the way. It's the kind of movie that would make you feel like a child again. Full of those magical touches Pixar does so well and and totally devoid of the pop culture references and nods that mar and rapidly date a lot of other CGI animated flicks. It's a feast for the eyes of course but it's a very cleverly written story too, building towards an expected climax but then flooring you with a realisation late in the day. It's rare a film breaks me but this one did. On more than one occasion. I didn't cry though. The cinema was just dusty. I swear.....

It will make you laugh too, uproariously at times. Crazed biker pixies, a very floppy top half, clumsy centaurs, size spells gone terribly wrong and how they reverse at the worst possible time. While the boys are off on their mission quest Laurel has her own adventure too with a restaurant owning Manticore by the name of Corey and it's this part of the film that provides most of the laughs while the brothers provide the heart and soul. It gets the balance just right, touching without being mawkish, funny without being broad. Did I mention I loved this. Hell it even packs in a couple of pretty wicked action sequences too, one of them being properly full on Indian Jones style knuckle biting.

Superb visuals and a great story aside the only way this would truly work is if the voice talent nailed it and they do their jobs with aplomb. Chris Pratt hasn't been this likeable since the days of Parks And Recreation (let's face it, Starlord was a smug melt) and Tom Holland aces it with the patented blend of wide eyed wonder and self doubt that's making his turn as Peter Parker in the Marvel universe so enjoyable. Julia Louis-Dreyfus gets a smaller part as Mama Laurel but she has a whale of a time and let's us know the maternal instinct to protect children is just as prevalant in pointy ears elves. Her double act with Ocatavia Spencer as the Manticore Corey is a joy and I can't imagine there would be many complaints if they just happened to get their own spin off. Ever notice it's always the supporting roles in a Pixar production who have the real fun. Plus seeing an elf rocking a pair of mammy jeans will never fail to be amusing.

This one will stick with you for a while. Giant speeding cheese puffs, devilishly excited dragons, a beautifully bittersweet moment witnessed through rubble, Disney's first gay character, a lovely new take on topless dancing and a couple of new Pixar pairings that will fast becomes faves. Onward rocks. It's in cinemas everywhere now. Go. You'll leave with a smile.