So I wasn't going to see this movie. After the whole "minor character" controversy, I didn't care to pay money to see it.

But before all that, I was totally on board with this. Sure, the fantasy element wasn't my thing, but it's PIXAR. The story kings! Of course I was going to watch it!

Then, thanks to COVID, it was released on Disney+ early. I watched it late last night...and now I can't listen to the soundtrack without bawling my eyes out.

Ladies and gentlemen, they've done it again. I haven't cried this much over a Pixar movie since Coco. 

The story is by far the best part of the movie. It's brilliantly written. I had no idea where it would go with the idea (yes, even with the whole "we're going on a quest!" cliché), and trust me, it's great. The ending...it'll make you want to watch it again, if you connected with the brothers and their journey. As I said before, this is another emotional Pixar movie that...well you'll have to see for yourself. 

Barley is by far my favorite. He's the hysterical, dramatic nerd who loves roleplaying games. And since in this world, they're based on history, it isn't a complete waste of his time! Not to mention, he has some great character growth in this film too. Also...yes...I related to him so much. I can't say anything about that without spoilers, and yes, this is a film you don't want spoiled.

I fully acknowledge he may be annoying to many people. But since I connected to him hard...I really liked him. (Yes, this probably means I'm annoying. Ah well, such is life.)

Ian's fine. He's your classic hero who needs to "believe in himself", but yet, that isn't the main theme in the movie. In fact, it appears many reviewers completely missed the point of his character growth because they thought the message of the movie was "believe in yourself."

*sigh* Pixar wouldn't be THAT lame with their story themes. 

But seriously, he does have some great character growth and his relationship with his brother is great. I was getting FMA vibes, only without the horrific maiming involved in the start of their journey. 😁

I do need to mention the music though. As a Blind Guardian fan, I was pleased to see Barley's tastes mirrored my own. The composers were clearly inspired by bands from that genre for several of Barley's tapes, and I loved every minute of them. My only complaint is that they're too short. I really want an extended version of this song.

https://youtu.be/CekTf2IDqVU

I can't talk about my favorite scenes without going into spoilers, but I'll just say this. My absolute favorite scene (in which I laughed and cried), was when one of the characters went to Vahalla. It was somehow ridiculous and emotionally moving at the same time. 

My one major complaint though is the world.

Yes, the "fantasy land turned modern."

You could really do this movie in other settings and it'd still work. Yes, the world would have to have magic, but you could easily do this with humans too. The world isn't really important to the story the film's trying to tell. It really seems like they just set the film here for marketing purposes. 

Don't get me wrong, they have some great gags (which I probably appreciated more than most), but I ended up caring about the brothers and their journey more than the world. 

And that cop character who's lesbian? ONE FREAKING SCENE. THAT'S IT. I'm sick of Disney sticking in those characters just for press coverage. 

Yet again, this is another film that I loved, but my dad hated. It's inspired some interesting dinner conversations. I do acknowledge I probably enjoyed it more than most, just because I appreciated all the fantasy nerd jokes. 🤣 (Also my dad skipped through half the movie so he really can't say anything.)

All in all, this is a great film that I recommend checking out. It didn't do well in box office thanks to COVID-19 but it definitely deserves love now. Go, check it out. 

(If you have Disney+, you have no excuse.)