Everything GREAT About Onward!

Onward! One of the first movies to struggle because of 2020 just pummeling us into the ground repeatedly. But some people still put a lot of work into it and it was more enjoyable than I expected. Here's everything right with Onward!

CinemaWins Socials:

[TheAwesomeDarkNinja]

I appreciate a movie in which the older of two brothers, doesn't bully his younger sibling but actively encourage and help him.

[lindseysquire]

Some of my favorite details you didn't point out are:
1. When Ian is nervous to talk to his classmates, they don't make fun of him or anything; in fact, they're totally down to go to his party. He gets in his own way, which is exactly what social anxiety is like.
2. When the rope falls off of Ian, Barley almost starts crying.
3. Bronco is never an 'evil stepfather'. Throughout the movie, you can see that he genuinely cares for Laurel and the boys.
4. I adore the message that Barley stands for; never forget the past, because you can learn from it.

[Kayley]

"Last name: Manticore, First name: The". That line had me absolutely in stitches when I saw this movie, especially because they'd been calling her Cory the whole time.

[itexplodes]

One thing you forgot: Barely is revolutionary for another reason, namely *him actually crying when he dropped that rope because he was so worried* and we are ALL for men being able to both be masculine and being able to express feelings like genuine terror

[elizabethbanden]

Took me forever to realize: Aurora dish soap. Aurora “Yes they named her after the dawn”. ITS DAWN DISH SOAP. Well played Disney. Well played.

[samireland]

I'm convinced that anyone who says "Pixar films are only for kids" has never actually sat down and fully appreciated one.

[seeingspots]

I sincerely enjoyed how the step dad wasnt evils or a bad guy. He only tried to stop the boys because their mom was worried and he seemed to genuinely care for them. It was also nice to see the mom not just be absent for an entire adventure and take a more active useful role.

[McSomething]

I feel like this movie sprouted from an actual D&D session during Avengers filming.

[ZombiePotatoSalad]

One thing I noticed is that their mom yells to Barley to "keep his soldiers off her land, or their kingdoms will go to war" referring to a figure he left on the hallway floor. Rather than being disapproving or calling him childish, she communicates to him on his level, allowing him to understand exactly what she meant, and sounding more supportive.

[elfmonster]

As someone who lost my mother as an infant, the "I've never had a dad... But I've always had you" hit me like a freight train at 120 miles per hour.

[definitelynottommywiseau]

another great thing: the entire film, i am not hearing spider-man and star-lord, i just hear ian and barley. pratt and holland did great.

[CameronMetrejean]

One subtlety I really liked is how when Ian is trying to invite the other students to a party they dodged the cliche of the other kids backing away from Ian because ‘Barley is weird‘. They instead they just had Ian be embarrassed and abandon his effort because he anticipated this very thing from them.

[DismemberedHat]

I'm surprised you didn't mention that when Barley was acting out what he thinks the top half of the dad's dancing looked like, that there was the symbolism of Barley acting as Ian's dad

[everettrittenhouse]

The director was Ian in real life, right down to talking to old recordings of his own dad which is why they put it in the movie. The thing is, he never told his brother what he was working on and when he showed him the completed movie apparently his brother got pretty emotional

[paulb]

One thing I noticed at the end was that Barley had a phoenix on the back of his jacket, so Ian was looking for the Phoenix Gem to talk to his father when he had one all along in Barley. Great foreshadowing :)

[RoximRox]

I'd argue that Onward actually deals with the living cope with the loss of a loved one better, and Coco is more focused on remembering your loved ones without holding on to resentment and preventing it from connecting with your current ones. That sentence got real clunky at the end, but what I think I mean is that I actually think this movie deals with death better than Coco did. I felt Coco was more about being true to yourself as a central theme.

[laurengrosjean]

As someone who’s main father figure was their older brother this movie BROKE me I cried for like the last half hour

[qbc_x]

Fun little extra, in the beginning when Ian is walking into school one of the two girls on our left signs to her friend that she thinks Ian is cute

[RobotInSpace]

As someone who's like Barley, the oldest sibling who is a screw up this really really hit hard for me

[christalbot]

Okay, I'm kind of annoyed it took me THIS long to realize the "You Shall Not Pass" sign is their version of "No Passing Zone".

BTW, watching this video made me watch the movie again and I noticed another bit about Barley being the Dad version of Older Brother: when the trap had filled with water and the top door finally opened, Barley grabbed Ian and pushed him to the surface FIRST. Only then did he surface himself. That is very much a parent thing to do.