Over the past 25 years, Pixar has touched the hearts of moviegoers of all ages with their family-friendly adventures. From the original TOY STORY to COCO, we've fallen in love with the colorful characters and worlds Pixar has created.
With their 22nd feature film, ONWARD, we will be introduced to an original story and fantastical setting, filled with elves, unicorns and more mythical creatures. Though ONWARD is unlike anything we've seen from the studio before, the new movie follows the proven "Pixar paradigm," which we learned is all about authenticity.
"When it comes to telling a good story, the secret comes from just being honest ourselves," head of story Kelsey Mann said during our recent visit to Pixar Animation Studios. "If there’s any secret, it is allow yourself to be vulnerable and honest about what it is to be alive, and put that in the film."
ONWARD is a deeply personal story for director Dan Scanlon. The basis was inspired by his own relationship with his brother and their connection to their father, who passed away when Scanlon was just 1 years old. He had only heard his father's voice on tape saying two words — "hello" and "goodbye" — but to Scanlon and his brother, it was magic.
In ONWARD, we follow two teenage elf brothers, Barley (Chris Pratt) and Ian (Tom Holland), as they embark on an extraordinary quest to bring their father back to life for just one more day. As they attempt a revival spell, the brothers accidentally destroy half of the special gem their father left them, and only half of him comes back. Now, they have to find a replacement gem within 24 hours to fully conjure their father before he disappears forever.
While the characters and story are born of fantasy, the emotions behind them are real and relatable. "This film in particular is very personal," producer Kori Rae said. "What we found through making it is personal stories generally connect people and connect with those audience members out in the world… I think that’s what we really want to do ultimately."
Based on the footage we got to see at Pixar Animation Studios, ONWARD will be another touching film from the studio that reminds us of the importance of family. ONWARD is available now on AMC Theatres On Demand, so get your family together and enjoy this epic adventure.
