Hi everyone, and welcome to another entry of the Nightcrawler Experience!
Continuing my annual partnership with St. John's Untied Methodist Church for their Summer at the Movies series, we will now be looking at the third film in that series, another Disney- Pixar film from last year: The fantasy epic 'Onward.'
This film takes place in a very unique sort of fantasy world. It has elves and dragons and unicorns and magic and whatnot, but it's also very modernized; Magic is rare and also seen as rather obsolete as technology has made everything much easier and more convenient.
In this world, we meet two elven brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot. Ian (Voice of Tom Holland) is very intelligent but also quiet, timid and socially- awkward, and we soon see that he has a talent for magic. Barley (Voice of Chris Pratt), in contrast, is loud, outgoing, and has a love of fantasy and gaming, but is also a slacker who tends to unwittingly cause a lot of problems for others. Ian is deeply embarrassed of Barley as a result of this, further contributing to his shyness and difficulty making friends. While their mom (Voice of Julia Louis- Dreyfus) does her best to keep her family together, things are made harder by the fact that the boys' father died when Barley was a toddler and Ian was just a baby. As such, Barley has only a few vague memories of his dad, and Ian doesn't have any at all. Both would give anything to see him again.
In this world, we meet two elven brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot. Ian (Voice of Tom Holland) is very intelligent but also quiet, timid and socially- awkward, and we soon see that he has a talent for magic. Barley (Voice of Chris Pratt), in contrast, is loud, outgoing, and has a love of fantasy and gaming, but is also a slacker who tends to unwittingly cause a lot of problems for others. Ian is deeply embarrassed of Barley as a result of this, further contributing to his shyness and difficulty making friends. While their mom (Voice of Julia Louis- Dreyfus) does her best to keep her family together, things are made harder by the fact that the boys' father died when Barley was a toddler and Ian was just a baby. As such, Barley has only a few vague memories of his dad, and Ian doesn't have any at all. Both would give anything to see him again.
Things take a big change, though, when Ian turns sixteen, and is given a magical staff that their dad had apparently owned which was set aside until both brothers turned sixteen. As I said, we learn that Ian does have some magical talent, and they discover a spell he can cast that can restore their deceased father for one day. The spell goes wrong, though, as the rare Phoenix Gem that helps power it shatters, so it only brings the dad back from the waist down. Realizing that they need another Gem to complete the spell before the 24 hours runs out, the two brothers and their half- resurrected dad pile into Barley's beloved van Guinevere, and they set out on an adventure to find one in time.
I think I actually enjoyed 'Onward' even more than the previous Pixar film we looked at in this series, 'Soul.' While it's not as thought- provoking as 'Soul,' I'd say it's a good deal more fun and entertaining in general, and is just as poignant.
Over the course of the brothers' quest, they run into a number of perilous situations that provide for a lot of thrilling moments and action sequences, usually involving the brothers in Guinevere being chased by those who seek to stop them (First a hilarious gang of irate pixie bikers that Barley had unwittingly offended, then later by the cops). There's also a thrilling sequence in which they have to make their way through a dark tunnel to find the Gem, dodging arrow traps, a flooding room, and even a Gelatinous Cube (It's a LOT deadlier than it sounds, trust me)!
'Onward' also gains points for how cleverly it includes several different nods to various aspects of fantasy, from Dungeons and Dragons (i.e. the aforementioned Gelatinous Cube originates from that game), to JRR Tolkien's books (In a charming double- nod to 'Lord of the Rings,' there's a fast- food joint in the movie called "Burger Shire" whose sign boasts that it serves "Second Breakfast"), to many others. It's clear the writers of this film are major fantasy genre devotees who really did their homework on it.
Now, for the character run- down:
Ian makes for a decent enough main character. He's very easy to sympathize with, things like his desperately trying to fit in while having to deal with his embarrassing brother and his own personal anxieties, his initial fear of learning to drive, especially on the highway (I can certainly relate to that from back when I was first learning to drive), and how much he misses his dad and is so sad that he never really knew him. Seeing him shaking off his cautious nature as he and Barley pursue their goals is always deeply satisfying. Tom Holland (Best known for his work as the MCU's Spider- Man) brings the right amounts of emotion for each scene he's in.
Barley, as some of you regulars to this blog may recall, was one of my top 10 favorite movie characters of 2020, and with good reason. I LOVED THIS GUY! He's incredibly funny in nearly every scene he's in, and manages to have some deeply sympathetic moments too (i.e. a scene rather late in the film when he reveals to Ian that he has another memory of their dad which he had never told him about, because it wasn't a good one). His adventurous spirit, exuberance, kindness to everyone, and just general good nature make him a character you'll quickly love. Even when he's screwing up, it's clear he's really got his heart in the right place and he still remains quite likable. Chris Pratt's awesome voice acting makes an already cool character even better! As a matter of fact, I'd say Barley Lightfoot is one of my favorite Pixar characters in general.
The boys' mom, Laurel, is an alright character. She starts the movie as just the typical "Animated movie mom" character, and it's a little sad that, while we clearly see how much the boys miss their father, we don't see much at all of her missing her husband. She may have moved on since his passing and found someone else (More on that in a second), but losing her spouse had to have still left her with a lot of pain to work through. Laurel REALLY starts to shine, though, around the second half of the movie, when she learns that the boys' quest could put all their lives in mortal danger and sets out to try and stop them. There, while we can still see how scared and worried she is for her boys, we see her developing incredible courage in all that she faces along the way.
A supporting character whose portrayal I liked a lot was Laurel's boyfriend, Officer Colt Bronco, a centaur police officer. It would have been so easy to make him just a dime- a- dozen "Mom's jerk boyfriend" character and/ or a dime- a- dozen "Mean, bullying cop" character, yet they dodged both of those with Colt; He seems to be a genuinely decent, well- meaning guy, and while he can get rather strict and does at one point present an obstacle to the brothers and attempt to stop them from completing their mission, he's just doing his job as an officer of the law and trying to help keep his girlfriend's sons out of trouble. Seeing him by the end of the movie lighten up some more and get along better with the boys makes him even more likable. Plus, he gets some more points in my book because I just think centaurs are cool in general.
One last character I'd like to talk about is another character from this movie who made my "Top 10 Favorite Movie Characters of 2020" list: Corey the Manticore. See, early in the film, the boys discover that the best way to gain assistance in finding the gem is by seeking out the "Manticore's Tavern." They go there, expecting it to be a cool, rough place, but find instead a goofy family eatery. As for Corey the Manticore herself, she was once a great adventurer, but is now reduced to running her restaurant and keeping her customers happy. Still, a pep talk from Ian helps her to regain her spirit of adventure. She eventually befriends Laurel, and helps her a lot in finding and at one point saving the boys. She has loads of funny moments, and Oscar- winner Octavia Spencer does a wonderful job voicing her.
There are quite a few Scriptural messages in 'Onward' that I can think of. The first, which I included in the devotional that I wrote and Pastor Danny circulated, concerned how Barley's flawed but genuine love for his family makes for a great summation of what Christian love as seen in 13:4-7 can look like. May we all love our families as deeply as Barley loves his. Even when we mess up at times like he does, we can still allow love to define all we do.
A second Scriptural message to be taken from the film is on courage and learning to take risks. As I pointed out when talking about Corey in my "Top 10 Movie Characters of 2020" list, what really helps inspire Corey to ditch the timid restaurateur she had become and regain the adventurous personality she once had is when Ian reminds her of a wonderful quote she herself had said while in her prime: "You have to take risks in life to have an adventure." She's not the only one who learns this, as Ian is in a way reminded of this great truth later in the movie; He, his brother and their half- restored dad are in Guinevere, trying to get away from a gang of extremely ticked- off pixie bikers (Every scene with these little guys is pure gold). Barley is still suffering the effects of a temporary shrinking spell and thus can't drive, so Ian (Who, again, is very nervous about driving) has to take the wheel. To escape the pixies and get back on their quest, they need to get on the highway, but merging onto highways is one aspect of driving that terrifies Ian. That, then, leads to this frantic exchange with highway traffic pouring in from the side, and the pixies hot on their heels:
Barley: "Okay, you're gonna have to merge. Speed up..."
Ian: "I can't do this!"
Barley: "Yes, you can!"
Ian: "I'm not ready!"
Barley: "You'll never be 'ready'! MERGE!"
Ian then hits the gas, and terrified though he is, successfully merges onto the highway and eventually helps them get away from the pixies.
As both Corey and Ian learn in the movie, taking risks and doing things that seem scary are the only ways to really get anywhere enjoyable in life. The Bible teaches this, too. So many people in the Bible took huge, scary risks in the name of serving the Lord, particularly the disciples of Jesus. In 1 Chronicles 28:20, King David tells his son Solomon, who was at the time trying to build an enormous temple to God, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord thy God is with you." There are Christians today in various nations who take immense risks by accepting and standing up for Jesus. We, too, may be called by God to do scary or risky things for Him, but He will get us through them and will never leave us or forsake us.
A second Scriptural message to be taken from the film is on courage and learning to take risks. As I pointed out when talking about Corey in my "Top 10 Movie Characters of 2020" list, what really helps inspire Corey to ditch the timid restaurateur she had become and regain the adventurous personality she once had is when Ian reminds her of a wonderful quote she herself had said while in her prime: "You have to take risks in life to have an adventure." She's not the only one who learns this, as Ian is in a way reminded of this great truth later in the movie; He, his brother and their half- restored dad are in Guinevere, trying to get away from a gang of extremely ticked- off pixie bikers (Every scene with these little guys is pure gold). Barley is still suffering the effects of a temporary shrinking spell and thus can't drive, so Ian (Who, again, is very nervous about driving) has to take the wheel. To escape the pixies and get back on their quest, they need to get on the highway, but merging onto highways is one aspect of driving that terrifies Ian. That, then, leads to this frantic exchange with highway traffic pouring in from the side, and the pixies hot on their heels:
Barley: "Okay, you're gonna have to merge. Speed up..."
Ian: "I can't do this!"
Barley: "Yes, you can!"
Ian: "I'm not ready!"
Barley: "You'll never be 'ready'! MERGE!"
Ian then hits the gas, and terrified though he is, successfully merges onto the highway and eventually helps them get away from the pixies.
As both Corey and Ian learn in the movie, taking risks and doing things that seem scary are the only ways to really get anywhere enjoyable in life. The Bible teaches this, too. So many people in the Bible took huge, scary risks in the name of serving the Lord, particularly the disciples of Jesus. In 1 Chronicles 28:20, King David tells his son Solomon, who was at the time trying to build an enormous temple to God, "Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord thy God is with you." There are Christians today in various nations who take immense risks by accepting and standing up for Jesus. We, too, may be called by God to do scary or risky things for Him, but He will get us through them and will never leave us or forsake us.
A final Scriptural message that I think can be taken from 'Onward' is on the nature of grief. We see how the family has dealt with the loss of the boys' father. It is a heavy blow for them all, especially for Ian who had never really known his father and wants so desperately to have some memories of him, but it's a blow that they eventually (Largely through this adventure they go on in the movie) learn to make peace with and move on from. By the end of the movie, we see that the brothers have a better relationship with each other and with their mom's boyfriend Colt whom they initially disliked, the mom has become more socially active, and they aren't letting their loss negatively impact their lives anymore. This calls to mind what Jesus said in Luke 6:21: "Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh." We as Christians know that, while we can experience deep pain and loss (I'm speaking from personal experience on this), the Lord Jesus Christ can help us all find comfort, get through it and move on, and live active, fulfilling lives in spite of our pain. We know that the pains of our Earthly lives are nothing compared to the endless joys that await us in Heaven, and that God can still enable us to make the most out of life even amid loss and setbacks; All we have to do is trust Him.
That's about it for 'Onward,' an awesome family film that teaches us what Godly love can look like, the importance of being brave and taking risks to serve the Lord, and how He can help us recover from loss. We've learned these lessons, now to paraphrase Barley, let's ALL go "'O' for 'Onward'" and put them to good use in our lives as we follow Jesus!
That's all for this entry of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next Wednesday, as we'll be finishing up this year's Summer at the Movies series with one more film. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!
That's all for this entry of the Nightcrawler Experience. Come back next Wednesday, as we'll be finishing up this year's Summer at the Movies series with one more film. Until then, stay safe and healthy, and may God bless you all!
This is very well written! Much thought and analysis has been put into this. I have not seen the movie but now I would like to see it.
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