Early social media reactions have arrived for Pixar’s latest movie, Onward. The fantasy comedy-adventure marks the studio’s first original animated feature since Coco in November 2017, as well as the first of two such offerings in 2020. Co-written and directed by Dan Scanlon (Monsters University), the movie stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as a pair of elf brothers in an urbanized fantasy world who set out to find enough magic to complete a spell and spend one more day with their late father. The film was inspired by Scanlon’s real-life experiences, having lost his own dad when he was just a year old.
So far, Disney and Pixar have done a fine job with the marketing for Onward, playing up the movie’s wacky humor (most of which revolves around archetypical fantasy creatures existing in a suburban landscape) while also teasing the poignant narrative at its core. In spite of that, there’s not a ton of buzz around the film right now, with Onward currently projected for one of Pixar’s lowest box office openings. The early reactions may not change that either, considering they paint the movie as being good, but a step down by Pixar standards.
Although it doesn’t open in the U.S. for another two weeks, Onward is already being screened for select members of the press and critics. You can read a handful of the spoiler-free initial social media reactions to the film, below.
As mentioned, the Onward reactions are mostly good, but far from glowing as a whole. While many people agree the payoff to the main characters’ journey to reunite with their late dad is emotional and tender, they also indicate the movie’s overarching story and ideas are not as fully realized as they could have been. Tellingly, Scanlon’s Monsters, Inc. prequel was similarly criticized for having a thin plot and not fleshing out its otherwise-meaningful themes enough. Of course, Pixar has set the bar for storytelling pretty high after Oscar-winning films like Up, Inside Out, and even last year’s Toy Story 4. For that reason, a number of these reactions are keen to emphasize that Onward still has a lot of heart and humor to offer, even if it falls short of expectations.
All things considered, it’s probably for the better Onward is arriving over a less competitive frame (stateside, that is) like early March. Sonic the Hedgehog is the only other film geared towards families in U.S. theaters right now, and will have done the vast majority of its damage at the box office by the time Pixar’s new movie opens. As such, it should have an easier time drawing a crowd that knows going in not to expect the studio’s best work, but a fine animated feature on its own terms. That also paves the way for Peter Docter and Kemp Powers’ Soul to become Pixar’s best release this year, when it opens in late June.
Source: Various [See the above links]
- Onward Release Date: 2020-03-06
