Zootopia (2016)

The characters that made the cut are in essence — girls that kick butt, challenge stereotypes/gender norms, and are just in general, great characters to begin with. Who says a girl can’t have some spunk?

Matilda is a special girl with telepathic powers and a brilliant mind for her age. She frequently stands up to her ruthless principal and parents with both her smarts and psychic abilities.

As I sat through a bunch of trailers that mostly consisted of remakes and sequels, it made me glad that I came to watch an original movie instead, especially from Disney/Pixar. Especially Disney. I recently heard that Bambi is next on their surreal progression to make live action remakes of everything they’ve created. Who is the sick, twisted person who thinks it’s a good idea to traumatize a new generation of kids by showing Bambi’s mom getting shot in live action?

Fortunately, in this film, the mom’s still alive. Dad on the other hand…

Ahem.

Onward is an entertaining film about two brothers on a magical quest. Pixar never delved into brotherly relationships before, and it was nice to see this dynamic after the sisterly bond from Disney’s Frozen II. Unlike Anna and Elsa, I found the brothers from Onward, Ian and Barley, played by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, more engaging. I also thought their relationship to be the best part of the movie. Ian is shy and doesn’t have much confidence in himself, while Barley is extremely confident and keeps getting into trouble. With these conflicting personalities, the two play off of each other well.

The story is about Ian and Barley trying to bring their dad back to life. Unfortunately, they’re only able to bring back his legs, so the brothers go on a quest in search of a gem that would return the rest of their dad. However, they have a limited amount of time to do so, and so they have to race against the clock.