Onward Review: 6 Ups & 4 Downs
1. The Emotionally Satisfying Ending
No spoilers here, but as is characteristic of Pixar, Onward certainly ends with an emotional banger of a climax.
Even if it surely won't leave you a sobbing mess on the level of Toy Story 3, it arrives at a meaningful and poignant crescendo that helps smooth over the somewhat generic route the film took getting there.
Writer-director Scanlon has made it clear that Onward was a deeply personal project for him, having lost his own father at a young age, and there's no doubt that the filmmaker's own connection to this story helps imbue it with such a potent visceral impact in its final moments.
That it doesn't assault the viewer with a contrived attempt to wring tears from their eyes is admirable, opting instead for a modestly earnest finale that's all the more gratifying as a result.