Pixar’s ‘Onward’ Pushes All the Right Emotional Buttons

(Photo Credit: Disney)

By Melissa Tejada

Released on March 6 and directed by Dan Scanlon of “Monsters University,” Pixar’s “Onward” brings a touching and refreshing new perspective in a world consumed by technology. With a foundation built on the game “Dungeons and Dragons,” it is a heartwarming adventure from beginning to end.

The film follows the story of two elves, Ian Lightfoot (Holland) and Barley Lightfoot (Pratt), on a quest to find a gem that will bring back the other half of their deceased father for one day, starring Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer.

Ian is a shy, painfully self-conscious high schooler, and Barley is an enthusiastic fantasy-game fanatic, obsessed with “Dungeons and Dragons.” Ian and Barley live in New Mushroomtown, where their father, Wilden, died of an illness shortly before Ian’s birth. Meanwhile, their mother, Laurel (Louis-Dreyfus), is in a new relationship with a centaur named Colt Bronco (Mel Rodriguez), whom they both dislike.

(Photo Credit: Disney)

On Ian’s 16th birthday, Laurel gives him a gift Wilden left behind before his death. Ian and Barley unwrap a magical staff with a rare gem and a letter with a “visitation spell” which requires a rare gem to make it come to fruition. Ian, who inherited his father’s mage abilities, is only able to summon his lower half because, as the spell is put into action, the gem breaks. He is also in a novice position because magic has not been practiced anywhere for hundreds of years.

Barley uses his knowledge of his game in order to find a replacement and summon the other half of their father before sunset when then spell wears off.

One of the movie’s highlights is the inclusion of an LGBTQ+ character, a purple cyclops named Specter (voiced by Lena Waithe). This inclusion caused an uproar in multiple Middle East markets that eventually banned the film.

Motherhood is also a central theme of the movie, and Laurel exemplifies the struggles and sacrifices inherent to being a mom. She protects her children at all costs, putting her life in danger to make sure they have their hearts’ desires and accomplish their goal of seeing their father. While most mothers do not fly around with a legendary warrior to save their sons from certain death, “Onward” makes it clear that moms are superheroes.

What is most impactful is the movie’s approach to death and how the absence of a parent can shape a child’s perspective. Neither of the brothers lack love, though to fill the hole after his father’s loss, Ian crossed boundaries that made him become a better version of himself.

Despite being a children’s movie, “Onward” creates a space for an open conversation about death. Since the movie aired just before the national response began to the COVID-19 pandemic, it wasn’t given its fair chance to shine. As theaters closed amid the COVID-19 crisis, the much-anticipated film ultimately failed at the box office. Disney+ was forced to bend its streaming after released policy and make it available weeks after release, as opposed to months.

But in today’s context, watching the characters cope with grief is particularly comforting and meaningful as viewers might be dealing with death amid the current pandemic. While it may lack the creativity that ancestral Pixar movies have possessed, “Onward” is absolutely worth watching because of its resonating message and uplifting scenes.