After Pete Docter covered the latest updates from Soul, next up was Onward where guests were greeted to an approximately 8-minute screening filled with laughs and high emotional moments.
Stay tuned to this post as we'll be updating and summarizing the news from today's D23 Expo Walt Disney Studios Panel — Covering all the latest Pixar news.
ONWARD
Announced at the 2017 D23 Expo (though still untitled at that time), we were eager to hear new details surrounding the suburban fantasy film directed by, Dan Scanlon and Produced by Kori Rae. As the 8-minute clip was shown to the crowd, members of the media began to tweet story points from Onward.
On each of the boys 16th birthday, mom (Louis-Dreyfus) gave them a gift from their father (who passed away some time ago). The gift, a magic stick/staff. The letter from their father explains fading magic and gives them a spell — that spell brings their dad back for one day.
Barley (Pratt) tries the spell first but fail, after multiple attempts he gives up. Mom apologizes and said that dad wanted to see them both, how they've grown and who they grew up to be. Ian (Holland) noticeably sad, having never remembered his dad (as he died when Ian was a baby), looks at the letter and reads it aloud and the spell magically begins to work.
The staff begins to glow and starts to create a person, but it seems the magic is too powerful and it explodes before their father could return. However, half of their father is with them, the bottom-half that is, their father's legs have returned.
Barley touches his dad's legs and they begin to tap each other (a moment that numerous attendees noted was tearfully emotional). With just having their father's legs, Ian is determined to meet his dad and both he and Barley set forth on their "grand and glorious" quest to find the replacement gem.
After the first 8-minute clip was shown a secondary scene was featured showcasing the brothers in the van, Guinevere as it breaks down (running out of gas). The brothers look for a gas station with Ian, wondering if there is a magic spell by using the staff. They dress up their dad's legs (hiding the fact that he's half a body), and both Ian and Barley use a spell to get gas for the van. However, instead of making gas, Ian accidentally makes his brother small.
ORIGINAL TEASER TRAILER
SYNOPSIS
Set in a suburban fantasy world, Pixar’s “Onward” introduces two teenage elf brothers who embark on an extraordinary quest to discover if there is still a little magic left out there.DETAILS & EXTRAS
Release Date— March 6, 2020Director— Dan Scanlon
Producer— Kori Rae
Composer— Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna
A brief history with links for additional details — Onward was first announced at the 2017 D23 Expo (August 2017) where Dan Scanlon was on stage to reveal the news. In June of 2018, it was revealed in a patent filing that Pixar had secured the name, Onward, leading people to speculate that it would be tied to this film. In December of 2018, the title of Onward was confirmed and some of the vocal cast was revealed (Julia Louis Dreyfus, Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, and Octavia Spencer).
Jumping to 2019, we first learned in April that Mychael and Jeff Danna would be scoring the film (they previously scored The Good Dinosaur). In May, we got our first look at the main characters, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, a look at the first poster, as well as the first trailer for the film.
In June, we got a sneak peek that Pixar was creating the real-life van from Onward and would be premiered at the D23 Expo. Earlier in August, a bevy of Onward-themed books started popping up on Amazon and we summarized a post of the latest titles. That pretty much brings us to today's announcements and we're even more excited than ever.
What are your thoughts from today's announcement — chat with other Pixar fans in the Pixar Post Forum Onward thread.
UPCOMING PIXAR FILMS
- March 6, 2020 — Onward
- June 19, 2020 — Soul
- June 18, 2021 — Unknown
- March 18, 2022 — Unknown
- June 17, 2022 — Unknown
Related Posts:
- 2017 D23 Expo Panel Breakdown: Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios Upcoming Films Presentation
- Pixar’s Next Film Will Officially Be Titled, ‘Onward’ - More Details about the Vocal Cast Announced
- Pete Docter’s Next Film ‘Soul’ To Hit Theaters June 2020
Pixar Post - T.J. & Julie