‘Onward’ Goes Beyond Typical Disney Pixar Magic

The first eight seconds of the trailer for the new animated film “Onward” feel like Disney Pixar bread and butter. A horde of centaurs, chests bare and hair flowing, gallop through a picturesque field. Atop a mountain in the distance, a stately, sprawling castle stands proudly, so perfectly generic that it could be the home of any Disney royalty. A wizard wielding a dark, curling scepter sends plumes of vibrant fireworks rocketing toward the heavens, as a booming narrator explains, “In times of old, the world was full of wonder and magic...”

But then, something new. An airplane jets past the cotton candy clouds. Vast hills are replaced by rows of matching houses, with neatly cropped gardens and attached garages. The homes still look like any fairy or dwarf could dwell within their walls, yet telephone wires crisscross the sky and a water tower looms in the distance. Pixar’s self-described “suburban fantasy world” is populated with magical creatures; the protagonists in fact are a family of elves, but they are profoundly normal. The mother, voiced by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, dances on a yoga mat to an ’80s style workout tape in a living room cluttered with knick knacks. If the characters' skin weren’t tinted blue and their ears didn’t extend to neat, rosy points, this could be any home.

This film will not chronicle the journey of a hero fated to save the world through some dramatic adventure. Instead, it is Ian Lightfoot’s sixteenth birthday and his mother reveals that his late father left a gift for him and his boisterous older brother Barley, voiced by Chris Pratt. The three are dumbfounded when they discover that the gift is a wooden wizard’s staff with instructions for its use: a spell that will bring their father back to life for one day. Ian, voiced by Tom Holland, beloved by Disney fans for his portrayal of Spiderman in the newest Avengers installments, is sure to grab hearts as his character, wide eyed and with cheeks flushed, asks, “I’m gonna meet Dad?”

However, it couldn’t be too simple or there wouldn’t be a movie, and the trailer humorously shows the moment when things go seriously awry. In an explosion of sparks and vivid color, the magical staff halts part way through the spell, with only their father’s legs having been generated. Thus, the Lightfoots set off on a journey with the sentient pair of pants to somehow bring back the rest of him.

The trailer’s final scene highlights what will likely be the movie’s core, the relationship between the Lightfoot brothers. Casting Holland and Pratt was a savvy decision from both a cinematic and a marketing standpoint, as their chemistry is apparent, evincing a brotherly familiarity that is earnest and endearing. And as the Marvel films have a passionate and enthusiastic fan base that eats up “bromances” between stars like Holland and Pratt, this film could entice moviegoers from an older, broader demographic to join its viewing audience.

With a star studded cast that also includes Octavia Spencer as “the Manticore,” this movie has the potential to become Disney’s latest smash hit. It has the exciting, voyaging quality of many of its predecessors, and yet the unique nature of its characters and setting may allow it to create its own legacy. While it takes place in a world in which magic is almost gone, it seems the Disney magic is still alive.