«Ahead, looking to the past

Les mercredis du cinéma - Kelly Lambiel

From Toy Story in 1995, every Pixar release is a real event. We need only mention a few of the most popular titles, such as the hilarious Monstre & Cie, touching him Coco or the visually impressive The Incredibles 2 to think that these studios are home to real magicians. But in Forward, the latest addition to the Luxo lamp franchise, halfway between heroic fantasy and fairy tales, does the magic really work?

A fable for today

Barley and Ian Lightfoot are two brothers with nothing in between. While the older one is a role-playing, bad-boy-loving hothead, the younger one is reserved and serious, more like an uptight schoolboy. On Ian's birthday, the boys receive a message from their mother, left to them by their late father. He died before Ian could form a single memory of him, and offers his sons the chance to bring him back for a day. But to do so, they need magic.

And, big-hearted Barley aside, nobody really believes it anymore. Glued to their screens and nailed to their treadmills, the inhabitants of the imaginary town in which the plot takes place have given in to the ease and comfort that technology brings. Why spread your wings when you can ride a motorcycle? Why cast spells when electricity and science can do the rest? The centaurs travel by car, the fairies have formed a motorcycle gang and the manticore has become a big teddy bear.

Aboard Guenevir, an old van restored by Barley, the boys embark on a quest that resembles a journey of initiation, fraught with pitfalls, from which they will emerge stronger and more united than ever. Although they often struggle to come to an agreement, as Ian's self-confidence grows, so does his trust in his brother. In the end, the answers they find will far exceed their expectations, and Ian will learn that what he needed had always been close to him, and even within him.

Prestidigitation rather than a real magic trick

While it's not devoid of Pixar's trademark humor, I found it lacking in both action and emotion. Hats off to the references to Dungeons & Dragons, at Lord of the Rings, to the legend of King Arthur and his knights, but unlike in these universes, I deplore the absence of a real threat. No real villain, obstacles too quickly thwarted, secondary characters of little use, personal conflicts too quickly resolved; we don't tremble much for Ian and Barley.

When it comes to softening our hearts, it has to be said that, here again, I think the studios have accustomed us to better. With the exception of the final scene, which I have to admit stole a tear or two, we're hardly moved by the main character, to whom Barley, wrongly perceived as a failure, ends up stealing the show. Even if comparing is never good, I can't help looking back and regretting the emotion provoked by the poignant Upstairs, Wall-E or Vice-versa. For me, Forward is a good animated film, it just lacks the spark he's talking about that could have made it a great masterpiece.

Write to the author: kelly.lambiel@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © The Walt Disney Company Switzerland