Onward
Michael's Movie Grade: B
While this may not be one of Pixar's best films, it is darn good by any another standard.
Like many Pixar movies, the best thing about Onward is the relationship between the main characters. Barley and Ian feel so believable and real as bothers. They may not completely get along and can easily get on one-another's nerves, yet beneath all this is a sweet and loving relationship. This is heightened by Chris Pratt and Tom Holland's voice work. The two had not had much screen time together in the MCU, but this movie shows they have perfect chemistry together. You have the feeling from simply listening to their voices that these two actors had a brotherly relationship themselves. Though the film's story may be about the boys trying to bring their dad back, in the end the brotherly relationship is the true heart of Onward. When I say heart, when discussing a Pixar film, all of you know what I am talking about. There are some tearjerker moments here and they are just as great as anything else Pixar has done. One tearjerker moment towards the end is absolutely perfect and everything we should expect from Pixar. The story itself is rather conventional, but an intriguing and original premise, as well as some very effective emotional moments completely put the storytelling clichés over.
On the down the humor here didn't have me laughing the way I felt it should have and for a movie that takes place in a fantasy world, the world around the characters didn't impress me as I felt it should either.
All in all, this may not be a Pixar masterpiece, but it is a really good movie.
Playdate With Destiny
Michael's Movie Grade: B+
It seemed odd to me that the short film before Onward would be a Simpsons short but how can I complain about this fun little movie.
This short is pretty much a current silent film. This may seem odd as well since The Simpsons is such a dialogue heavy show, but after the previous similar Simpsons short film, The Longest Daycare, I had no would be a fun cartoon. There is plenty of the good old fashioned Simpsons satire (in fact more than there has been in many recent episodes of the show), showing that the crew doesn't need dialogue to be funny. Maggie's sleepless night certainly made me laugh out loud. It may not be as funny as the best episodes of the show but those episodes are so good that is hardly an insult. This is also a very well animated short that takes advantage of being a theatrical release rather than a TV episode.
With this and The Longest Daycare, I feel The Simpsons should continue making short films, they are some of the strongest things The Simpsons has done in recent years. Regardless of whether or not this trend continues, this is a delightful little film.
-Michael J. Ruhland
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