Fantasy quest Onward left me in a puddle of Pixar tears

AIMED at a younger audience than, say, Toy Story or Up, this fantasy quest from Pixar might not have quite the same depth of it’s peers, but it sure has more than enough heart.

Ian and Barley Lightfoot (Tom Holland and Chris Pratt respectively) are elf brothers in a fantasy world where magic was once an everyday skill.

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On Ian’s 16th birthday, he receives a pre-organised gift from his father who died before he was born - a magic staff that carries with it the promise of bringing him back to life for 24 hours so they can finally meet.

The spell goes wrong, leaving only his father’s legs resurrected, so along with his RPG loving brother, they go on a quest against the clock to get the rest of him back too.

In terms of Pixar, this is more in line with it’s non-core offering (by which I mean it resembles films like Zootropolis a lot more than it does Monsters Inc) and it’s targeted audience is, I would say, the under 12s.

The pairing of Spiderman with Starlord as the two brothers is a savvy one and their chemistry really shines through.

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Cynics might argue that the plot is paper thin and they’d have a point; this is a pretty straightforward quest movie (find the thing that leads to the other thing that points to another thing) with the added weirdness of two kids walking around with their dead dad’s legs in the hope of a few hours with him before he dies again.

Despite all the strangeness that brings, it works - in a kind of Weekend at Bernies meets Ghost way.

I thought I’d be able to sit this one out emotionally - but then… right at the last hurdle… I dissolved into a puddle of Pixar tears once more! It got me!

Onward (U) 103mins

★★★★☆