Onward Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Onward Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman June 4, 2020

As the Pixar canon grows, its stories remain virtually the same, offering meaningful, heartfelt content within a larger frame of both side-splitting humor and industry defining and boundary pushing digital creations. Onward, directed by Dan Scanlon (Monsters University), is the latest from the studio to find its voice within its heart (and Scanlon's own soul and life experiences), building a sincere tale of self-discovery within the prism of a lost past and missed opportunities. The film is as tender as it is funny, as touching as it is fantastically put together, one that might not stand as the studio's finest but that certainly stands as one of the most quintessentially "Pixar" films within the studio's filmography.

A world of wizards, magic, creatures, and quests evolves through the centuries into a more technologically advanced society, not so dissimilar from this. Replacing magic spells are modern conveniences such as light bulbs and cell phones. But as the world has evolved and magic devolved, remnants from the past remain. Unicorns, minotaurs, elves, and fire-breathing dragons continue to populate the world, as does the magical lifeblood that once defined it all. It's just that nobody reaches for it anymore. That dream of the past lives on in Barley Lightfoot (voiced by Chris Pratt), a teenager obsessed with tabletop games and dreams of the world that was. His younger brother Ian (voiced by Tom Holland) desperately wants to know his father who died before he was born and when Barley was still too young to remember more than a few fleeting memories. One day, their mother Laurel (voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) presents them a gift from their father: a wizard’s staff and the powerful and rare Phoenix Gem which Barley instantly recognizes. With instructions on how to perform a “visitation spell,” Ian summons his father but only his lower half materializes. To complete the spell, the brothers are going to have to find a second Phoenix Gem to finish the process, but they only have 24 hours to do so. And so begins a great adventure to connect with a past the brothers never knew in a magical present they hope will rewrite their future, and, maybe, redefine their relationship with one another.

The film's superficialities are in fine working order. Humor flows freely, whether in the banter between brothers, the Weekend at Bernie's-inspired tagalong in the form of their half-formed father, or in the extensive cast of characters they meet along their journey. The dialogue is witty, the performances are sharp, and it's all supported by that cutting-edge digital animation that brings life to the world and essence to the story even beyond the voice work, which is exemplary. Pixar never fails to flex its muscles with every film, technologically and dramatically, but it's that latter component that tends to stand head-and-shoulders above the rest, almost always besting the technical marvels and timely gags that earn the most immediate awe but don't get to the heart of what the movie is about.

Indeed, in Onward, there's a fundamental human essence in play even as the movie is populated by a myriad of nonhuman characters: elves, minotaurs, cyclopses, dragons, and so forth. It's a movie not about magical incantations but rather fundamental connections between family. It's a story about finding and understanding what it means to love within the prism of missed opportunities. It's a film that challenges perspectives and preconceived notions about life, love, and loss. It challenges audiences to see the spirit beyond the physical, and as the story reaches its heartfelt, tearful conclusion, its simplicity in defining the complex emotional resonances that drive it make the entire experience worthwhile. Onward is a moving tribute not to loss but rather to the often unheralded and sometimes imperceptible gains that fill the gaps left behind in lives both fundamentally altered by death and never impacted by life.

Onward Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Little need be said about Onward's picture-perfect 1080p transfer. It's fine tuned to showcase the film's digital roots in all of their resplendence, boasting impeccable textures and wonderfully brilliant colors beginning to end and in any light. Character models and world details both deliver intoxicating clarity. It's amazing how much detail exists in the source material and how much clarity the Blu-ray has on offer. The format compliments the source wonderfully, allowing viewers to soak in fine skin and fur details as applicable and sharp and finely defined clothing lines across a wide spectrum of attire. Environments are likewise dizzyingly clear and sharp, particularly the dense urban elements and notably in well-lit daytime shots where the image thrives in sharpness and reveals every texture with impeccable command. Colors are likewise brilliant, offering flawless depth and punch and contrast that never wavers. Bright light sources, including intense magical spells, dazzle at every opportunity. Low light color reproduction is sure and surrounding blacks and shadow detail are terrific. The image shows no obvious examples of troublesome source or encode artifacts like banding or aliasing. Digitally animated films don't look much better on Blu-ray.

Onward Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This Blu-ray includes a DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 lossless soundtrack (the UHD includes Dolby Atmos) but defaults to the included DTS-HD HR 5.1 presentation. The 7.1 track is subject of this review, however, and is fairly good in the aggregate of not wanting in the typical Disney areas of need. As with most Disney tracks from the past several years, an upward volume adjustment is required, here for Onward perhaps one slightly more modest than some others. Also as with other Disney tracks, it's clearly lacking low end response. The opening montage, taking place back in the world's ancient history of magic and wizards and the like, features a scene depicting adventurers in search of a chalice being guarded by a dragon. The cave collapses to absolutely no low end dominance or detail, a shame because everything else is in good working order, particularly spacial awareness and elemental detail. Such holds true throughout. Action scenes at volume-adjusted levels output just enough modest muscle to keep the presentation from falling entirely flat, but expect to find some frustration with the general lack of honest supportive low end response. But as mentioned, even with LFE output wanting, the track does offer impressive surround engagement and sound movement. A driving lesson early in the film features fast-moving automobiles zipping around the stage and many other fast-moving scenes -- a chase featuring pixies midway through the film -- feature impressive surround dynamics and balanced engagement. Music soars with impressive stage command and instrumental detail, offering wide front side usage and balanced surround integration. Atmospheric effects are impressively positioned, offering balanced volume within the larger whole no matter what they are or where they may be. Dialogue is clear, precise, and well prioritized as it flows from the front-center channel.

Onward Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Onward contains extras across two Blu-ray discs. A DVD copy of the film and a Movies Anywhere digital copy code are included with purchase.

Disc One (Feature Film):

• Quest for Story (1080p, 9:21): The film's story, characters, and themes explored with roots in Dan Scanlon's own history with an older bother and a deceased father.
• Citizens of New Mushroomton (1080p, 10:08): Building a "modern fantasy world" and the characters that inhabit it, including main character design, characteristics, and voice work.
• Audio Commentary: Director Dan Scanlon and Producer Kori Rae construct the film in a track that explores the film from multiple perspectives: origins, themes, characters, technical details, and more.

Disc Two (Bonus):

• Heart's Fire (1080p, 7:35): Combining a character-driven drama with magic, exploring character construction, digital workflow, and more.
• Dragon High (1080p, 6:31): Making the film's climactic action sequence.
• Wizard Rock (1080p, 6:31): Scoring the film.
• Fantasy Is Our Destiny (1080p, 2:29): A quick look at the cast and crew's love for the Fantasy genre.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 29:27 total runtime): Included is an Introduction followed by Unstoppable, Training, Mismanaged, Partnership, Trees Warning, and Sirens.
• Trailers & Promo (1080p): Included are Magic Gems (2:54), World - Global Teaser in English (1:53), Believe - United States Trailer (2:33), Japan Payoff Trailer (2:05), Legs - Global Trailer in Ukrainian (2:32), and Memories - Global Trailer in Spanish (1:51).

Onward Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Onward doesn't necessarily break out of the Pixar mold, but that's perfectly fine. The movie captures an essence of humanity even removed from human characters. It's fun, funny, adventuresome, and sincere, building on the essential foundations that have lifted up so many of the studio's finest films. Disney's Blu-ray is a treat, too, delivering reference quality video, studio-typical audio, and a myriad of bonuses. Highly recommended.