This fantasy adventure quest is about two teenage elf brothers racing against the clock to spend a day with their late father before a reanimation spell wears off.

Like many Pixar films, “Onward” is steeped in nostalgia, in this case for a time of wonder that’s been misplaced as a world populated by elves, mermaids, orcs, cyclops, dragons, centaurs, trolls and sprites learned that magic was tough to master so started relying on modern technology instead.

Ian (voiced by Tom Holland) turns 16 as the story begins, but is too shy even to invite classmates over for birthday cake. His older brother Barley (Chris Pratt) is spending his gap year either railing against the developers destroying the town’s history or playing “Quests of Yore,” an RPG that harks back to earlier times and magic now mostly forgotten. Their father Wilden (Kyle Bornheimer) died before Ian was born, so he clings to Barley’s few memories of him as if they were his own.

While his mother Laurel (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is strong and supportive, Ian is convinced that growing up with a father would have made him the bold, confident man he dreams of becoming. A gift Wilden left behind for the boys gives Ian the opportunity to test that belief. With a wizard’s staff, a magic stone and a spell, they will bring their father back for one day. But the spell only half works, conjuring Wilden just from the waist down. After the rare stone is accidentally destroyed, the brothers have 24 hours to find another and complete the magic before they lose their father again.

The dynamic of the quest is summed up by Laurel’s observation that one of her sons is scared of everything while the other is scared of nothing. That makes it easy to guess the kind of self-actualization that will mark introverted Ian’s coming of age. The more poignant thread, however, stems from Ian’s growing appreciation of the role his brother has played in his path to maturity.

So even though the central theme of sons longing for the father is touching, it becomes secondary to the bonding experience of two brothers finding common ground.

The problem with the screenplay is that nothing much that happens en route to these realizations is particularly funny or exciting. In terms of laughs, an unfair burden is placed on Barley, with his fat body and his beat-up van Guinevere.

There is also the underlying theme of rediscovering magic and enchantment in a commercialized, technology-driven world and a cop who loves Laurel but has struggled to win over her sons.

(SD-Agencies)