 |
| ONWARD, THE MEANING OF THE ENDING: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF, BELIEVE IN MAGIC |
23 Aug 2020
10:55 CEST+02:00
They did it again. Those Pixar wizards also succeeded with Onward, a film that seemed like a minor title in their production, to address important issues and keep the narrative and content quality that characterizes the animation studio high. Only apparently obvious and predictable.
Onward is another piece in that thematic path that is common to the latest Pixar production, capable of playing with its characters (both created from scratch and with sequels of now historical titles) and the most disparate genres (the western from Arlo's journey,
Onward's fantasy, the intellectual drama of Inside Out) to create a sort of human comedy where you can face the most disparate existential topics.
Dan Scanlon's film is no exception and, through an adventure tainted by RPG quests and the tradition of fantasy literature (with all its clichés such as journey through stages, the Manticore, maps, gems, spells and so on) stages a moving metaphor of growth, overcoming mourning, accepting the present and the strength of family relationships. And there's more because thanks to the fantasy genre, The Meaning Of The Ending of Onward acquires an even greater value at the moment in which the discourse linked to magic is faced.
SELF-CONFIDENCE
Ian is a problematic protagonist. He has always suffered from the lack of the father figure, who disappeared shortly before his birth, and does not have a great relationship with his older brother Barley who, on the contrary, is passionate about role-playing games and obsessed with the "old world" in which magic was. here I'm. Despite this, Ian feels the need to improve himself so much that he continuously writes lists of things to do, but the lack of self-confidence, both in approaching his peers and in being more courageous and valiant, constantly blocks him.
He often listens to a music cassette with his father's voice, imagining impossible conversations and missing them. At the dawn of his 16, however, Ian has the opportunity for a change:
his mother gives him his father's magic stick with the instructions attached to be able to bring him back to life, even if only for 24 hours. The spell, however, thanks to Ian's lack of fortitude, does not go for the best and only the legs return from the father.
The two brothers will have to make an adventurous journey to find, within 24 hours, a magical gem that can replicate the spell and finally see, albeit for a short time, their father. During the adventure, Ian will have the opportunity to overcome all his character difficulties:
he will be the one to show off and be brave by talking to the Manticore, he will have to believe in spells and behave like a wizard,
he will have to enter the freeway overcoming the fear of traffic. spell, however, thanks to Ian's lack of fortitude does not go well and only the legs return from the father.
During the adventure, Ian will have the opportunity to overcome all his character difficulties:
he will be the one to show off and be brave by talking to the Manticore, he will have to believe in spells and behave like a magician, he will have to enter the freeway overcoming the fear of traffic.
a magical gem that can replicate the spell and finally see, albeit for a short time, the father. During the adventure, Ian will have the opportunity to overcome all his character difficulties:
