Underplayed Gems

Onward (2020)

Onward poster
Directed by
Dan Scanlon
Genre
fantasy film
Country
United States
Runtime
1h 43m
Rated
PG
Rating
7.6 of 10 from 6,624 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

Two elf brothers go on a quest to bring back their dead father for one day. They use magic and old artifacts to try to complete the spell.

whimsicalemotionaladventuroustenderbittersweetupliftingnostalgiclighthearted

What happens

Onward is a 2020 American animated urban fantasy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, and starring the voices of Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer. It was directed by Dan Scanlon and written by Scanlon, Jason Headley, and Keith Bunin. The film, set in a suburban fantasy world for the modern day, follows two elf brothers named Ian and Barley Lightfoot (Holland and Pratt, respectively) who set out on a quest to find an artifact that will temporarily revive their dead father, Wilden (Kyle Bornheimer) for twenty-four hours. After directing Monsters University (2013), Scanlon was encouraged to develop personal stories. The concept of Onward is based on the death of Scanlon's father, who died in a car accident when Scanlon and his older brother were very young children, and their relationship with each other. He began to write the story after hearing an audio clip of his father. The film was announced at D23 Expo in July 2017, with the title being revealed in December 2018, alongside the voice cast. The animation team chose to give the film's magic a unique style after studying several animated films featuring magic in order to fit with its suburban setting. Development on Onward lasted for six years. Composers Mychael and Jeff Danna were hired to compose the film's musical score, with Brandi Carlile contributing an original end credits song for the film. Onward premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 6, 2020. The film received a critical and underperformed at the box office, grossing $141 million worldwide against its between $175–200 million budget. The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to its financial shortcomings, due to the widespread closure of theaters. Like several other films released in the early months of 2020, it found far greater success on VOD. The film was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 78th Golden Globe Awards and 93rd Academy Awards. Onward was the last Pixar film released in theaters worldwide until Lightyear in 2022. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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