16-year-old elf Ian and his older brother Barley receive a wizardās staff that once belonged to their dead father; it has the power to summon him back for 24 hours, but thatās just the start of a wild adventure. Another fine Pixar film that knows how to put together a hilarious and intense journey, while also offering a theme that goes straight to your heart, in this case brotherly love and the painful absence of a father. Tom Holland and Chris Pratt are perfect choices to voice very different siblings and the filmmakers find just the right touch of weirdness for this world. Thereās only half a dad here, but heās wholly enjoyable.
2020-U.S. Animated. 102 min. Color. Widescreen. Produced byĀ Kori Rae. Directed byĀ Dan Scanlon. Screenplay: Dan Scanlon, Jason Headley, Keith Bunin. Voices of Tom Holland (Ian Lightfoot), Chris Pratt (Barley Lightfoot), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Laurel Lightfoot), Octavia Spencer, Mel Rodriguez, Kyle Bornheimerā¦ Tracey Ullman, John Ratzenberger.
Trivia: Executive-produced by Pete Docter.Ā
Last word: “My brother, I kept in the dark about it ācause I was making it for him. He knew little bits, here and there, and he generally knew that it was based loosely on our family, but he saw it, for the first time, two weeks ago, and he was blown away. I feel like, of course he loved it because heās that kind of brother. Heās the kind of brother who was gonna love it, but itās really opened up some great emotional things for us.” (Scanlon, Collider)