Have you seen Onward??? I saw it over the weekend and I loved it so much more than I expected. It combined so many of my favorite things: Pixar/Disney animation, a fantasy quest story, and Star-Lord and Spider-Man (Chris Pratt and Tom Holland).

Onward is set in a modern fantasy world populated with elves, trolls, centaurs and pixies. The mushroom houses reminded me of a very updated Smurf village. Feral unicorns roam the streets and eat garbage. The family dog is a dragon (who totally reminded me of our dog, Buddy.)

Ian and Barley Lightfoot are the brotherhood version of Anna and Elsa. If you mix Jack Black’s School of Rock character, Dustin from Stranger Things and Chris Pratt’s Andy from Parks and Rec into one person – that’s Barley. He seems like a loser who lives at home, drives a beat up van and gets in trouble with the police, but he’s a pretty great dude. He believes in his little brother and in magic. That’s the kind of optimism we need more of.

His brother Ian is an awkward teen just turning 16. He’s perfectly Peter Parker meets Harry Potter. He’s geekier in a different way than his Quests of Yore obsessed brother. Barley is positive and confident, while Ian struggles to invite other kids to his birthday party and makes to-do lists in his notebook. 

These two are on a mission to meet their dad, who died years ago, but left them a magic staff and a spell to bring him back for a day. And that Quest of Yore game might not be all that far from reality. 

Their home of New Mushroomton is getting rid of remnants of the past. That’s why Barley runs into trouble for his protests. They’ve traded magic for technology. (Haven’t we all!) But it’s still a world very inspired by fantasy with things like signs in calligraphy, a dragon mascot at the school, a GWINVR license plate. One of my favorite places is the Manticore’s Tavern – a theme restaurant run by the legendary-now-super-stressed-out Manticore. It’s Medieval Times meets TGIFridays complete with costumed characters, games, and walls filled with kitsch. 

I love that this is a story about two geeky brothers. They are really sweet guys. Their mom is pretty badass, too. 

I felt like I was watching a perfect mashup of Lord of the Rings and Goonies. And I love that there’s still some magic left in a modern world.  Of course it’s beautifully animated and filled with easter eggs and that special brand of Pixar heart. You might just need some tissues.

Robin Cabana loves to nerd out about Star Wars, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, Disney and so much more. She has a pug named Penny and lives in New Jersey.