Pixar's latest heart-warming film on Disney+ this Friday, April 3.
Featuring the vocal talents of Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, Onward follows two elf brothers living in a fantastical suburban world who embark on a quest to bring their deceased father back to life for one single day. It also stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Octavia Spencer, Ali Wong, and Lena Waithe. Despite the so-so box office performance, Onward was met with positive reviews that praised its heartfelt story, even if it didn't completely match the quality of previous Pixar films.
To promote the on-demand release of Onward, director and co-writer Dan Scanlon spoke with ComicBook.com about the film's development. Onward's story was inspired by Scanlon's personal experiences with his family, and while he was initially breaking the story, he saw it as a sci-fi adventure with two human brothers trying to revive their scientist father. Scanlon explained the original idea went like this:
And my early version of the story was in our world and they were humans and their father was a scientist who had invented a machine that could he hoped communicate with the dead in some way, but it didn't work. And so after the dad died, the boys were scientists too and they were trying to prove that their father's machine would work. And in doing so they inadvertently brought parts of him back. And we could have gone that way. It started to feel a little episodic because they were bringing back pieces of dad, like his feet first, then his legs, then his torso. And it also just felt a little cold and clinical. And then the idea of magic as a way to bring him back felt way more romanticized and just special.
From there, the idea of setting Onward in a suburban fantasy world came from the desire to keep the story modern. This worked out even more than expected, because Scanlon said he found parallels with the world and Holland's character Ian. According to Scanlon, "The world is a place that's lost a little bit of its potential and Ian's a kid who's not living up to his potential and so you get to see both the world and Ian grow and live up to their potential together." Ian's personal journey is one of the story threads found in Onward and is aided by his relationship with his brother Barley (Pratt).
Scanlon's original sci-fi idea (which sounds a bit like Frankenstein) is interesting, but it looks like the fantasy route was the better option. Not only did it evidently mirror Ian's own arc, it provided a far more interesting and vibrant setting, one that's filled with fun Easter eggs and references. Fantasy fans can get a real kick out of seeing the world of Onward come to life. The sci-fi take could have been fun, but Onward's magical elements add something different to the story. As Pixar's first true fantasy film, Onward created a brand new world to enchant audiences.
Source: ComicBook.com
