Onward - Review

[James]

Our review of Pixar's latest film, Onward, is online!
https://animatedviews.com/2020/onward-film/

Previous discussion of the film can be located here:
viewtopic.php?f=3&t=7996

[Randall]

Okay, so what was the disappointing Pixar film? Good Dino? Brave?

Good to hear your positive thoughts on Onward. I had a good feeling about it after the D23 preview. And with Soul coming out later this year, I think Pixar may have two real gems to offer this year.

[Daniel]

Cars 2, Inside Out?

[EricJ]

Okay, so what was the disappointing Pixar film? Good Dino? Brave?

Finding Dory? Incredibles 2?

(Although if it's "the" disappointing Pixar, everyone assumes Cars 2, which is unfair to Good Dino.)

[Randall]

He was referring to non-sequels, so Cars 2 and Incredibles 2 don't count.

[Ben]

Probably MU...

[Dacey]

Didn't read the review (I'm sure there probably aren't spoilers, but I can't be too careful). Simply posting this as a test.

Pretty sure an "8" is the highest rating James has given since the first Lego Movie.

[James]

Randall's right -- it was The (Not So) Good Dinosaur!

This is probably the most I've ever written about a film without actually saying anything about the film! So just about a completely spoiler free review. If you've seen any trailer, you're probably fine reading this!

Dacey's right, this is my first review higher than a "7" in six years. Keep in mind though that different factors make it hard to really compare movies. Frozen I probably would have normally given a "6", but the music was so good. Kubo could have easily been an "8" with a few fixes. Both are "7"s but I'd probably consider one better than the other.

Hey, just realized my last two "8"s are both Chris Pratt films!

[EricJ]

Just saw it over the weekend--It's a good GENERIC Pixar, and deals with the "Timid character learns bravery" a lot more sympathetically than the pathetic wimp we saw in Good Dino.
(Giving him a crazy gonzo partner in this one provides a lot more needed impetus to be afraid...)

Although think the writers sensed the story was thin, since just about everything in it is concocted to be Useful somehow--

When one of the characters tries using the magic staff and gets a splinter, you temporarily don't see the big "PLOT POINT" flashing on the screen.

Also, a few alternate-scenes from the trailer were missing--We only get a brief shot of unicorns raiding the garbage cans, but no scene of gnomes out working on the front lawn.

(Favorite don't-blink Easter-egg: A fast-food restaurant's sign saying "Burger Shire: Now serving 2nd Breakfast" )

[James]

Hey E, I spoiler-ed a part of your post. This is opening weekend still so just being safe!

That was the one joke I was pointing out to my family after we saw it too! There's also a frozen yogurt place called Master Froyo!

[danieltruchsess]

I agree with you, James. We saw it on the advance screenings that were offered on Leap Day, and I loved the movie. It been a while since I've liked a movie as much as I liked Onward.

[Ben]

I can see this coming to D+ fairly quickly too, like Frozen II. With everyone stuck at home, it would be the smart thing to issue this for streaming day and date with the video release, as some people won’t want to go out to a physical store, and it would boost, or keep interest in, growing D+ with big titles. Onward's box office hasn’t been shattering, so it’s not like they’d be losing too much that they wouldn’t be making up for in goodwill and D+ sales. Frozen has hit around a month after home vid, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see this on D+ in a month or two.

[EricJ]

I can see this coming to D+ fairly quickly too, like Frozen II. With everyone stuck at home, it would be the smart thing to issue this for streaming day and date with the video release,

Oh, they didn't miss a TRICK immediately trying to tie this to trendy global pandemic in the hopes we wouldn't spot the ploy--
If it'd been Warner, we'd have spotted the baldfaced attempt to use the in-house streaming service to undercut the Blu/DVD physical sales ahead of time, and shamed it right back down their throats in public.
Yes, we are going to see a lot of Disney/Pixar films hit Disney+ streaming before disc, that was rather the idea going into the business. No matter what they use as tasteless smokescreen excuse.

On another subject, even with the Brazilian Pixar-knockoff company out of business, the usual suspects have not been idle:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrpXpzxNvik

[Ben]

[James]

Technically they’ve been releasing the streaming version before physical media for years — the digital copy is always available to buy two weeks before the Blu-ray on iTunes (and other platforms).

I used to want to start a website documenting all those Disney knockoff videos. Which I had got around to that...