S Schneider on ONWARD (2020)

ONWARD the newest Pixar hit stars Chris Pratt & Tom Holland, as two brothers going on an adventure quest to complete a magic spell that will allow them one more day with their deceased father.

Pratt and Holland animate their character’s the best way possible. Anyone who has followed Chris Pratt's career since his Parks & Rec days will see his goofy & good-natured personality shining through, while Tom Holland carries the same insecure yet full of heart persona you see portrayed in SPIDER-MAN giving each of the Elf brothers the deserved accuracy & depth.

ONWARD itself was the perfect portrayal of integrating the fantastical themes of magic & magical creatures into a society with the everyday loss for the appreciation of skills we all once had before technology took over to make everything “more convenient” that we face today. It may make things "easier", but when we get too used to it we all forget to fly. It is full of laughs, realizations, & warmth. The plot is relatable while still maintaining an imaginary world true to only Pixar's Style. While at times the movie may hover on more heavy topics, it is still lighthearted enough to be a great family movie for all ages.

I recommend going on a journey with ONWARD, because after all regardless what we face that is truly the only direction we can take!

The Good Dinosaur or Pixar goes off the rails

Lets face it- THE GOOD DINOSAUR is a derivative mess. I know people will give the film the excuse thatthe film was effectively made twice since the first go through didn't work so they chucked it and started over...but even so this film is a mess-I mean it's embarassingly bad.

The film's plot had dinosaurs not going extinct and instead evolving to the point where they farm. When a critter, aka a human, is found to be stealing food Arlo is assigned to capture and kill the creature. However Arlo balks and the kid gets away. Arlo's dad is pissed so he and Arlo give chase-but his dad is killed saving Arlo from a flash flood. Sometime later the kid comes back Arlo tries to kill him but the pair get swept away and they have to learn to work together if they ever want to get back home.

How many times have we gone to this well? How many times better?

The script is weak, the characters poorly drawn and slap dash and the film holds very little suspense. Its a series of set pieces barely linked together. The set pieces themselves are fine as are some of the characters but the problem is there is nothing but the pieces. The film never links them up. There is no real drama or emotion just a slap dash short hand. Its awful- its beyond insufferable in a Pixar film.

Sitting in the theater I started to take notes about the problems of the film but that quickly escalated to the point where I was literally picking the film apart moment by moment and I got to the point where I scribbled EVERYTHING in large letters and stopped note taking.

The problems for are best summed up by the fact that nothing in the film is internally consistent- just look at the design of the film which has cartoony dinosaurs in realistic landscapes. The mammals are somewhere inbetween.

From there we move on to the various plot points  which make me go WTF? I could go on for most of the film but I'll keep it to only a couple of points and then let you spin out the rest.

The first major question I had was where does the flood that kills Arlo's dad come from and why doesn't it wipe out the farm when the farm is literally on the bank of the river? Shouldn't it have done some sort of damage?

The second major point is why are Arlo's family the only one farming or being domestic? Everyone else behaves like humans to some degree but they are ultimately animals and not living in houses.

Don't give me its a cartoon- cartoons have their own rules- this film has none. Things go one way in one sequence and go another in another sequence. Things happen (the flood) for no real reason except for the story to spin out- Arlo's family is domestic so he has a home to come home to.

Its crappy.

Why aren't more people beating this film up?

What annoys me is that Pixar is getting a pass in regard to the film. If someone else had released the film I don’t think that would have been the case. Here the general feeling is that the film is lesser Pixar but its Pixar so they jump over the problems and move on. That’s not fair. If this was say part of the ICE AGE series it would have been crucified. If it was a LAND BEFORE TIME is would have been pooed on. But it’s a Pixar film so it gets a pass.

This is a lousy film. While it's not a worst of the year film, it is a bad one and it should be scorned as such.

Monsters University (2013)

Prequel to the classic Pixar film is an amusing follow up that proves that Pixar can get sequels right when they aren't a Toy Story one.

The film is the story of the young years of Mike and Sully. Largely focusing n them as they go to Monsters U and eventually end up working at Monsters Inc, the film focuses on how Mike and Sully have to work together in order to survive college. Its an amusing romp that hits every single solitary college cliche and trope you can imagine short of naked co-eds.

Unfortunately while it is a good film it's not great. The film has two problems that prevent it from being great on it's own terms.

First the film is full of references to not only other films (Animal Hose is referenced). Its so full of references that anyone over the age of say ten is going to be able to know where parts of the film were lifted whole cloth from.  Additionally the film's designs are also full of riffs on other monsters. The film is full of Muppet designs and other creatures. Yea I know there is only so many cute creatures you can do but this is a little excessive.

The other problem is that no matter what happens you know its going to be alright since this is a prequel and we know Mike and Sully are destined for greatness....We know they are going to Monsters Inc. How can you fear for your leads when you know where it all ends. (And never mind that the cliches make it even less tense)

This could have and should have been a great film, but the makers went safe and easy and made a good one instead. Bitching aside I do like the film, but at the same time like most sequels and prequels and all of that this film isn't something we really needed, even if Pixar wanted the certainty of a cash payday.

Worth a look but I'd wait for cable.