Two Elven brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, use a spell to bring back their late father. But the spell wasn’t completed and so now they only have half a father. They must go on a quest to find a jewel that will complete the spell.
Blaine: “Onward” is based on a piece of Dan Scanlon’s own personal life. His father died when he was just a year old, and he always asked his mom what his father was like growing up. Then this idea came to Dan about bringing your father back from the dead and meeting him for the first time. Question was how could you bring him back?
After directing “Monsters University”, Dan began developing the story for “Onward”. The story went through a long process because Dan was trying to figure out how it should go. “Onward” didn’t start off as a fairytale. It could have been a Sci-fi where two brother scientists bring their dad back from the dead using a machine they invented. “Onward” does have a little bit of science in it. I mean at the beginning everything starts off as magical, but then it shows how things that are powered by electricity took over.
Story plots to a lot of features go through changes as they are being developed. There were eight different ways that “Onward” could have been told and everyone who was involved with “Onward” had suggested all kinds of different ideas.
Dan Scanlon is not that big of a fan of fantasy, but he loves to be funny. He drew a picture of a unicorn eating out of a dumpster and that made people laugh. Dan thought maybe he could like fantasy if he did it his own way.
I think another reason he decided to go with fantasy was because it worked with the story he wanted to tell about resurrection. Dan thought magic could help bring back the dead, but there had to be more to it because they were making a full length feature. Using magic to bring a loved one back would just be too easy. Dan and his team really thought hard in figuring out how the magic should work in “Onward”. They put pressure on themselves, then Dan told everyone to relax their minds. Dan finally found the answer he was looking for and that was you could bring your dad back using magic, but you would need a crystal in order to perform the spell. Dan didn’t want “Onward" to be a period piece film because a lot of fairytale movies are like that. He thought it would be funny if it would be taking place during a modern day time.
The main goal of “Onward” was to make something that felt emotional. Pixar is big on making sure their movies have heart. Another challenge for “Onward” was how they could mix magic with emotion. The main character, Ian, started off as a boy who loved magic and wanted nothing more in life than to become a wizard. The reason Ian would want to meet his father was so he could teach him how to be a better wizard. That didn’t work out for Pixar. To them it sounded like Ian would just be using his dad. Plus it didn’t sound like anything that would touch you. They wanted Ian to explore magic, but meeting his father for the first time would be everything to him.
Tom Holland was hired to do the voice of Ian while Pixar was still putting the story for “Onward” together and trying to tell it in the best way. Tom Holland was happy to be apart of a Pixar film, but he wasn’t too big on who the Ian character was. Tom had suggested that Ian would be more of the type who is having trouble coming out of his shell and that idea blew Pixar away. It sounded perfect to them and they asked themselves why they hadn’t thought of that. Tom was the shy type during his teen years and he brought that into the character.
Ian doesn’t feel his life his complete without his father, even though he wasn’t around when his father passed away. Ian also wants more for himself. He has a list of things he wants to accomplish, like make friends and drive a car.
Barely can see things that others can’t. Everyone else is living in a modern day time and they’re too lazy to do things their kind use to do, like fly for one, if you have wings. How can you be too lazy to fly? And centaurs, they'd rather be driving cars instead of putting those horse legs to good use. Barely sees everyone as they truly are in nature.
Barley tries to use magic to bring his dad back, but it doesn’t work. Then Ian tries it out and something happens. Apparently magic doesn’t work in everyone’s DNA. The spell isn’t complete and all it brought back was the lower half of the father. So they go on a journey and on the way Ian has to learn what it takes to be a wizard if he is to see his father. This is everything Ian had dreamed for and he has to fight hard in order to accomplish it. Ian just has to believe, not just in magic, but himself. Ian accomplishes a lot because of this journey and bringing out the best in him. And his brother, Barley, is helping Ian by pushing him to do better.
At one point, Barley is upset with Ian because he learns that Ian thinks of him as a joke. They make a stop and the father’s legs are dancing to the music that is in the van. Dads usually know how to cheer their kids up and the legs have the boys dance with it.
Ian is very nervous about performing magic, but he grows a passion for it and is sharing it with Barley. Ian has been looking at the negatives a lot, but now he is looking at the positives. Barley knows what it is like to be afraid. It scared him to see his father on his death bed and fear got in the way of him saying goodbye. Regret has made Barley realize that he shouldn’t be afraid. He reminds himself of the things he would miss out on or stood for. Barley and Ian’s adventure is bringing change to the world. They are bringing back some old fashioned things and help get creatures off their lazy butts.
Another character who went through changes during development was the mother, Laurel. She was more of the type who worried a lot in the beginning and she would go after her boys trying to stop them. But then Dan thought Laurel should be stronger than that and more supportive. She would go after the boys, but as their back up. As soon as you see Laurel, you see she’s the type who likes to get fit and is a believer in both herself and her boys. The boys aren’t aware that there’s a curse when they find the crystal because The Manticore, a former warrior and adventurer, forgot to tell them. Laurel and The Manticore go on their own adventure to find a special sword that will defeat the curse. And then they’ll catch up to the boys.
Ian is embarrassed to be around Barley. His mom on the other hand, he feels more comfortable with her because they connect well. Ian always talks to his mom whenever there’s something on his mind and she’s understanding. This was Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ second movie with Pixar. She was apart of Pixar’s second feature, “A Bug’s Life”, and after that she had been wanting to be apart of another movie of there’s. It took twenty two years for that to happen.
Laurel is dating a centaur named Bronco, and the boys don’t mind him and he treats them as if they are his own. Bronco is also finding his way into the Lightfoot family. But like everyone else, he is living in a modern day time.
There’s a wizard at the beginning of “Onward" that looks like Gandalf from “The Lord of the Rings”, and it’s gotta be a reference. Gandalf is one of the most popular wizard characters who has ever existed. There’s wizards everywhere in the beginning, they are like the Jedi Knights of “Onward”. The reason I say that is because in the “Star Wars” prequels it would show not just humans, but different types of aliens who are Jedi. And “Onward” shows different types of creatures as wizards. Another thing is Jedi are nearly extinct and in “Onward” there’s hardly any wizards walking around in a modern time. Luke Skywalker and Rey made the Jedi religion remain alive and Ian and Barley are doing that with the wizards.
Pixar puts a lot of brain power into their movies. Like the details on how everything goes in the story. For example in “Onward”, the magic staff gives Ian and Barley splinters, and Barley points out that every piece of the staff, including splinters, is a piece of magic. And later on while fighting the curse, which is in the form of a dragon, Ian loses the staff, but it left a splinter on his finger. So he uses that splinter and uses magic to evolve it into a new staff. Another example is the riddles. Barley is teaching Ian the disguise spell and there’s a rhyme to it as he explains how it goes.
Pixar movies will also have a twist at times compared to what you were expecting. SPOILER, only one brother gets to see the father. Ian realizes this journey has made him closer to his brother and made him realize how much his brother means to him. Barley has been helping his mother raise Ian as soon as he was born.
Barley finds the crystal, but it awakens the dragon. Ian fights the dragon using everything he has learned about magic. He has become the master. And Laurel is his back up. She is a very protective mother. Ian has Barley stay out of the action so that he can be prepared for when the old man is in full mode. Ian successfully defeats the dragon, but it costs him that moment he wanted to have with his father. Ian does get to see Barley and the father have a moment from a distance. Laurel and Bronco watch as well. Everyone thinks it’s beautiful to see those two have a moment and it gets them emotional.
It’s disappointing that Ian never got the chance to meet his father, but a lot of things don’t go as planned. But at least one of the Lightfoot brothers got to see the father before the spell came to an expiration date. The father gave Barley a hug to pass on to Ian, along with a message for him. Ian’s not disappointed that he didn’t get to meet his father in person because he was thinking for someone else, his brother. He’s happy for his brother. Also it’s not the end of the world. Ian still has Barley and his mother and they’ve been looking out for him his whole life and their his family. And the father will always live on through the boys in their hearts.
This experience has brought out the best in a lot of citizens, not just Ian. Laurel has taken her fitness skills to the next level. Bronco has the need to run again, instead of letting a car do all the transportation. The Manticore has never been happier than being herself again. As for Barley, he was living the dream. This experience was everything he ever hoped for in life. A lot of citizens also realize the incredible things magic can do. Electricity and other modern day stuff is very useful, but it can’t bring back a loved one in person and give you one last moment with them. Modern day stuff also can’t make your van fly…….unless you’re living in a future where flying vehicles have been invented.
