One of those movies is Disney and Pixars most recent film, Onward, having only premiered a little over a month ago and has now hit Disney Plus on April 3. I’m here to share with you my thoughts on the movie and why I think you and your loved ones should check it out if you’re looking for a good family film to pass the time.

Being a lifelong Pixar fan with some of my earliest memories involving watching Toy Story 1 and 2 over and over and having seen practically every one of the studios movies to date, I knew I had to check it out. Though the last 10 years for Pixar have been very sequel-heavy with the release of exceptionally long awaited follow-ups to films like Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and yes, even Toy Story, I feel like Pixar really shines when they tell original stories. Some of my favorites in recent years are Inside Out and Coco.

The story of Onward involves two brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot, played by Marvel stars Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, living in a world of fantasy creatures that have long since abandoned the ways of magic in favor of the practicality and simplicity of modern technology. The premise of the movie involves the Lightfoot brothers trying to find a way to see if they can conjure enough magic to see their late father for just one more day since he died early on in the boys’ lives.

This actually comes from a real place since director of the film, Dan Scanlon, also lost his father at a young age and he often questioned what he would do and say if he were ever given the chance to meet him. After their first attempt at bringing him back goes awry only bringing back half of their father as a pair of legs (which trust me, leads to a lot of really good visual gags), it’s up to Ian and Barley to find a way to complete the spell before 24 hours are up and they miss their final chance to see him forever.

Even though the whole concept of a modernized fantasy world isn’t very new and some have criticized the world building of the movie not being as good as something like Zootopia, I personally feel the film’s biggest strength is its relation between its characters. The Lightfoot brothers share a very relatable bond with Ian being the shy insecure younger brother and Barley being the supportive yet clumsy and often goofy older brother. I especially appreciate seeing this dynamic in the movie because it reminds me in a way of the relationship I have with my own brother.

Tom Holland and Chris Pratt work off each other very nicely and I don’t think that’s a coincidence since the two supposedly shared excellent chemistry on and off set when filming Avengers: Infinity War just a few short years ago. I’m almost sure that led to the ultimate decision to cast them in the roles we see now. These actors also aren’t strangers to voice acting either, as Pratt starred in the 2014 smash hit The Lego Movie. And this was Holland’s third voice-over role this year with the first two being in Blue Sky Studios Spies in Disguise and Universal Pictures Dolittle.

I was initially worried that the supporting cast including Julia Louis-Dreyfus of Seinfeld fame as the boys’ mother and Hidden Figures star Octavia Spencer as the Manticore wouldn’t be given as much to do. Thankfully, the movie quelled those worries and gave them an interesting enough b-plot that allowed them to also become really strong characters. Even the dad who we mostly see as a pair of legs has some character to him. They surprisingly do a lot with just a pair of legs.

I dare not ruin the ending for you here and I’m not the first to say this, but the finale is truly the kind of thing only Pixar can pull off. Despite theaters having to cut showings of it early, I really hope this movie gets another chance now that it’s moved to home streaming so if you have a Disney Plus subscription I highly recommend you check it out. These are confusing times for everyone, so I encourage you all to stay safe because we can and will get through this. We’ll just have to keep moving onward.