Pixar’s upcoming film, Onward is set within a suburban fantasy world in which two brothers embark on a grand and glorious adventure to find a little bit of magic. In a new screenshot shared exclusively by Empire, both Ian and Barley Lightfoot are showcased in an embrace with their distinct personalities on display.
It’s a story about a 16-year-old boy, Ian Lightfoot, who is shy and awkward, and lacks confidence, and it’s about him maturing and finding his potential, so what better world to set it up in than a world where magic used to exist in and is now gone? A world that lost a little bit of its potential
Dan Scanlon
That ever-changing world includes Ian and Barley’s town called New Mushroomton, where the once majestic unicorns are now raccoon-like pests. We really enjoy how the filmmakers have mirrored the brothers’ personalities with the current/modern world and the old-school magic way the world used to be and this latest screenshot highlight those story points perfectly.
DETAILS & EXTRAS
Release Date — March 6, 2020
Director — Dan Scanlon
Producer — Kori Rae
Composer — Mychael Danna & Jeff Danna
Below is 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.
Of course, the 2019 D23 Expo also revealed several more plot and character details for the film which really sold the humor and emotion the film will be packed with.
What are your thoughts on the new Onward screenshot — chat with other Pixar fans in the Pixar Post Forum Onward thread.
Pixar Post — Julie & T.J.