Onward (2020)

It's been since 2017's Coco that Pixar made a film that wasn't a sequel to an already established film of theirs. Before that it was the Good Dinosaur in 2015. Lately Pixar has been in the business (like most American animation studios) of just recycling their ideas from old movies. This is especially disappointing since Pixar made its brand on coming up with truly original films that were nothing like what we had seen before. From Inside Out to Monsters Inc. to Ratatouille to Up Pixar films were wholly original... or used to be.

Well we have finally returned to Pixar's gold.

Onward is not only a completely original idea with a story that doesn't fall into cliches. It is also the sort of story that is best told through animation. The fantasy world morphed into a modern suburban life is something that likely wouldn't have felt as real in live action or in a heavily CGI'd film. And, like the best Pixar films, it is a story about our most personal qualities. Onward reaches into a truly beautiful place in our hearts and creates a wonderful adventure from it.

Onward is one of those films that is best to go into without knowing much of the story. But I will say that it explores what family means and gets us to rethink that in a beautiful, more inclusive way. Like the best genre films Onward takes something fantastic to get us to look at our real world and our real lives, and see something remarkable there, something fantastic and magical.

Onward reminded me what made me a fan of Pixar in the first place and why I hope they keep coming up with original stories.

Also kudos to Pixar for casually including LGBTQ content much to the chagrin of the million moms out there. 

Onward
Starring: Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimer, Lena Waithe, Ali Wong, Grey Griffin, Tracey Ullman, Wilmer Valderrama, John Ratzenberger, Dave Foley
Director: Dan Scanion
Writers: Jason Headley, Keith Bunin, Dan Scanion