Pixar’s New Original Film Onward Revealed in Delightful new Trailer
It’s always big news when Disney-Pixar releases a new film. Onward marks the first non-sequel release in a while—three years to be exact, since the gorgeous Coco—and focuses on a pair of teenage elf brothers going off on a journey in search of magic. Monsters University director Dan Scanlon conceived of the project, writing and directing the film. Your stars are Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, voicing the two elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot, respectively. The great Julia Louis-Dreyfus voices their mother, and the equally great Octavia Spencer also has an unknown role. More of the cast will eventually be revealed as more of Onward‘s story becomes clear. For now, we’ve got this trailer.
While our first look leaves a lot—okay, nearly all—of Onward‘s narrative to be discovered, the world it reveals is Pixar beautiful. It opens with a gorgeous wide shot of a magical realm full of unicorns and mermaids, but that world changes right before our eyes. An airplane cruises across the sky, and soon we’re looking at water towers, powerlines, and sensible sedans. It’s still a fantasy world, but a suburban one with more pedestrian delights. A newspaper—”The Daily Scroll”—lands on a doorstep with the headline “Centaur Gallop Poll Results,” while an actual centaur trots by on her morning jog. A mermaid sips a drink in a kiddie pool. A garden gnome is revealed to be an actual gnome sleeping on his job in a garden. These sight gags are pure Pixar, and they’re as delightful as they are clever. It’s also a joy to dip into a new film, with all the unexpected twists and turns it will provide.
Once Barley arrives to take Ian on a road trip, the trailer gives us a pinch of the plot. Barley says they’re going on a quest. Ian says it’s just a “strange errand.” What it feels like it’ll be is a mashup of a road trip buddy movie and fantasy flick. We’re here for it.
Check out the Onward trailer below. The film cruises in theaters on March 6, 2020.
Featured image: OH BROTHERS – In Disney and Pixar’s “Onward,” two teenage elf brothers embark on an extraordinary quest in a van named Guinevere to discover if there is still a little magic left in the world. Featuring Tom Holland as the voice of Ian Lightfoot, and Chris Pratt as the voice of Ian’s older brother, Barley, “Onward” opens in U.S. theaters on March 6, 2020. ©2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
