“‘Onward’: Pixar Takes A Step Backward In A Film Rife With Fantasy Clichés”

I never hated Cars. I don’t like Cars, mind you; I will never say that it’s a good movie, or even a mediocre movie, because it’s a bad movie, and so are its subsidiaries. These are not representative of what Pixar is all about. They’re dreck. But I don’t hate them.

I hate Onward. I have nothing but disdain for Onward. Onward is the rare (very, very rare) Pixar movie that manages to represent Pixar’s brand while also totally misappropriating it by dressing that brand up in fucking Dreamworks’ clothing. It’s awful. It’s nowhere near as referential as the average Dreamworks picture, most of which are bound by eldritch law to wink and nudge at Mom and Dad to keep them entertained through soulless “children’s” entertainment, but it’s way more referential than most Pixar movies, and frankly I found the whole thing anti-imaginative.

You can read my full review for The Playlist (my first in a while).