Onward (film)

Onward
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Dan Scanlon
Screenplay by	Dan Scanlon Jason Headley Keith Bunin
Produced by	Kori Rae
Starring	Tom Holland Chris Pratt Julia Louis-Dreyfus Octavia Spencer
Cinematography	Sharon Calahan Adam Habib
Edited by	Catherine Apple
Music by	Mychael Danna Jeff Danna
Production companies	Walt Disney Pictures Pixar Animation Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release dates	February 21, 2020 (2020-02-21) (Berlinale) March 6, 2020 (2020-03-06) (United States)
Running time	103 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Box office	$66,743

Onward is a 2020 American computer-animated urban fantasy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film is directed by Dan Scanlon, produced by Kori Rae from a screenplay written by Scanlon, Jason Headley and Keith Bunin, and stars the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Octavia Spencer. Set in a suburban fantasy world, the film follows two elf brothers who set out on a quest to find a spell that will bring back their deceased father.

It was released in the United States on March 6, 2020.

Plot

In a world inhabited by mythical creatures, magic is commonplace and its wielders are greatly respected. However, due to the difficulty of mastering it as well as technological advances over the years, the use of magic eventually becomes all but extinct.

In a time equivalent to the modern day in the town of New Mushroomton live two teenage elves: Iandore "Ian" Lightfoot, lacking in self-confidence for want of a father figure, and Barley Lightfoot, Ian's older brother and a passionate role-playing and historical fanatic who longs to go on a proper adventure.

On Ian's sixteenth birthday, he and Barley receive a gift from their father Wilden who died of a severe illness shortly before Ian's birth: a magical staff, alongside a letter, a rare phoenix gem, and a guide to a "visitation spell" that can resurrect Wilden for a single day. Barley attempts to incant the spell to no avail, but Ian succeeds in doing so later that night. Due to Barley's interference, the spell is interrupted and only the lower half of Wilden's body is physically reformed. Resolving to fix their mistake, the brothers leave on a quest to acquire another phoenix gem in order to reattempt the spell. Their mother Laurel finds the boys gone soon after and leaves to find them.

Ian and Barley's first stop is the Manticore's Tavern, named for and run by a fearless adventurer who possesses a map to a phoenix gem. The tavern has become a mundane family restaurant and the Manticore Corey is its uptight manager. In an argument with the boys over the map, Corey realizes what she's become and drives the customers out accidentally setting fire to the premises — and the map — in the process leaving the brothers with one clue on a kids' menu: Raven's Point.

Laurel later arrives at the scene and befriends Corey who becomes tamed. Corey warns the mother that the brothers' journey may lead to the awakening of a vicious beast, and that a special broadsword is needed.

Laurel and Corey head to a shop where the broadsword is stored. The storeowner Greckle is selling the sword for such a sum that Laurel can't afford. Although the mother states that it's an emergency, Greckle remains the same. Corey disables Greckle with her tail, before they take away the sword.

Ian and Barley head to a mountainous area and follow the directions pointed by the beaks of the bird statues which lead to an underground river. For several minutes, riding in the river is smooth until they are met by dangers like arrows and flooding.

After surviving the troubles in the underground river, Ian and Barley reach the surface which, to their surprise, is their hometown. Thinking that the journey is a wild goose chase, Ian vents frustration at Barley before walking away with their father. Barley, nontheless carries on in the mission before coming across an old fountain. Barley places a flower-shaped rock, which they found along the way, onto a hole in the fountain which fit perfectly. To the older brother's amazement, the gem they are looking for unravels which he takes causing a nearby dragon sculpture to come to life, which then starts wreaking havoc. Ian tries to fend off the sculpture with the staff, but the dragon is too strong.

Help, however, comes for the brothers when Laurel comes flying with Corey, and wielding the broadsword. After the mother and Ian impaled the sculpture twice, it explodes and is completely subdued. When the dust clears, Ian is trapped in rubble, but is able to see their father standing next to Barley yards away. Ian uses his magic to finally complete their father's body. Barley and the father have a brief chat. Barley and the father hug each other before the father fades into thin air. Although he never gets to meet his father face to face, Ian is contented that they get to be with him in the journey.

Voice cast

• Tom Holland as Ian Lightfoot, a teenaged elf who is Barley's brother and Laurel and Wilden's son.
• Chris Pratt as Barley Lightfoot, Ian's brother, and Laurel and Wilden's son who longs for a magical quest.
• Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Laurel Lightfoot, the widowed mother of Ian and Barley.
• Octavia Spencer as Corey, a manticore restaurant owner who Ian and Barley go to for help on their quest.
• Mel Rodriguez as Colt Bronco, a centaur police officer and Laurel's new boyfriend.
• Kyle Bornheimer as Wilden Lightfoot, Ian and Barley's late father and Laurel's late husband.
• Lena Waithe as Specter, a cyclops police officer.
• Ali Wong as Gore, a faun police officer.
• Grey Griffin as Dewdrop, a pixie and the leader of the Pixie Dusters biker gang.
• Tracey Ullman as Grecklin, a pawn shop owner.
• Wilmer Valderrama as Gaxton, a college friend of Wilden.
• George Psarras as Avel, a cop.
• John Ratzenberger as Construction Worker Felix, a construction worker.
• Dave Foley

Production

Development

In July 2017, Pixar announced a "suburban fantasy world" film at the D23 Expo, with Scanlon directing and Rae producing. The film's inspired by Scanlon's father's death when Scanlon and his brother were younger, and their relationship. He decided to write the story after hearing an audio clip of his father. On December 12, 2018, the title was revealed. In 2019, Headley and Bunin were hired to rewrite the screenplay.

Casting

On December 12, 2018, Holland, Pratt, Louis-Dreyfus and Spencer were announced as starring in the film. While having recorded most of their lines separately, Holland and Pratt did some of their recording sessions together since, according to Scanlon, "they've worked together before and hung out together". According to Rae, Holland and Pratt improvised some of their lines while recording together. On December 17, 2019, Wong, Waithe and Rodriguez joined the cast of the film. In February 18, 2020, Valderrama, Ullman, Bornheimer, Foley, Psarras and Ratzenberger were revealed to have been cast on the film.

Music

On April 16, 2019, Mychael and Jeff Danna were revealed to be the film's composers. On February 12, 2020, Brandi Carlile revealed she recorded the song "Carried Me With You" for the film's end credits. She co-wrote it with Phil and Tim Hanseroth. The film's soundtrack was released on February 28, 2020.

Release

Onward premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2020. It was released in the United States on March 6, 2020. On February 27, 2020, it was announced that the film included a new short-film titled Playdate with Destiny. The short-film stars Maggie Simpson of The Simpsons.

Marketing

On May 29, 2019, two stills from the film, featuring Barley, Ian and their mother, were revealed. The following day, the film's teaser poster was released, and the teaser trailer debuted during ABC's broadcast of the 2019 NBA Finals. The trailer was also shown with Toy Story 4 and Spider-Man: Far From Home. An official trailer was released on October 10, 2019. Another trailer was released on December 17, 2019.

Lawsuit

On January 27, 2020, a San Francisco tattoo artist named Sweet Cecily Daniher filed a copyright lawsuit against Disney, Pixar, and Onward producer Kori Rae. In September 2018, Pixar rented a van owned by Daniher and decorated with a unicorn-themed mural for use in a one-day festival. She learned about the production of Onward in May 2019 and, after seeing images of the van used by Ian and Barley Lightfoot in the film, came to believe that Pixar had stolen the design of her van in violation of her rental agreement with the company, and violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Visual Artists Rights Act, and California Artists Protection Act. She also sought in her suit to prohibit distribution of the film and any infringing advertisements or merchandise.

Reception

Box office

In the United States and Canada, Onward was released alongside The Way Back, and is projected to gross $45–50 million from 4,200 theaters in its opening weekend. The film held early advance screenings on February 29, and made $650,000 from 470 theaters. It then made $2 million from Thursday night previews.

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 201 reviews, with an average rating of 7.18/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "It may suffer in comparison to Pixar's classics, but Onward makes effective use of the studio's formula -- and stands on its own merits as a funny, heartwarming, dazzlingly animated adventure." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 61 out of 100, based on 53 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

External links

• Official website
• Onward at IMDb