ONWARD MOVIE REVIEW CLICK TO RATE THE MOVIE

Ian Lightfoot (voiced by Tom Holland) is a socially awkward teen elf, who has a pestering brother Barley (voiced by a fun Chris Pratt), and his father passed away way before he was born. Ian is every Pixar hero ever, yet, the predictability doesn't stop the film from being a mindless, yet fun fantasy.

Directed by Dan Scanlon, who had also co-written the screenplay with Jason Headley and Keith Bunin, Onward is set in a world filled with stray unicorns and veteran folk heroes who are forced to be ordinary (there is a half-lion, half-scorpion Manticore warrior who owns a restaurant). In a city where magic is a thing of the past, Ian and Barley receive a staff, and a Phoenix Gem as a gift from their mother.

These gifts (along with a magical spell) will enable them to meet and spend time with their father Wilden Lightfoot for a day. A misstep leads to the gem getting shattered into pieces. As a result, Wilden's temporary resurrection gets halted with just his legs being formed.

The quest to find another Phoenix gem leads to an adventure. Through the journey, we come across several moments of self-discovery, as Ian and Barley get to know each other. The film takes no time to establish the conceit, due to which we know less about Ian's character. The film could've used more scenes to introduce Ian and his familial situations.

But the film achieves what it aims to, as the adventure part is engrossing. The film becomes more focused as Ian and Barley set to find the gem. The screenplay consistently throws one amusing scene and another. There is a hilarious chase between Ian and little, angel-like creatures with a surprising twist at the end.

The film is not just focused on the adventure as we see Ian overcoming his fears and Barley coming of age. The film doesn't go overboard with its fantasy elements. For instance, a fountain that gets introduced through a gag reappears at a crucial moment of the film.

Another commendable aspect of Onward is that the film is grounded, as the story, at its heart, deals with human emotions. The moment where Ian realises that he has already had a fatherly figure in his life.

But the biggest issue of Onward is the way the antagonist (which happens to be a curse) is written. The way the curse is written comes across as a bit inadequate and less menacing. Onward doesn't aim to go deeper like other Pixar creations such as Inside Out or Wall.E, but the film ends up as an effective, fun-filled adventure.

ONWARD VIDEO REVIEW