Onward

Set in New Mushroomton, a suburban fantasy world where magic has been rendered obsolete by modern technology, the film follows two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot. Ian is a shy, anxious high schooler who longs for the father he never met, while his older brother Barley is a boisterous role-playing game enthusiast who drives a beat-up van named Guinevere.

On Ian's sixteenth birthday, their mother Laurel gifts them a magical staff and a visitation spell left by their late father, Wilden, designed to resurrect him for a single day. When Ian attempts the spell, it malfunctions, bringing back only the lower half of their father before the Phoenix Gem powering the magic is destroyed.

Racing against a 24-hour clock, the brothers embark on a perilous quest to find another gem. Their journey forces them to encounter feral unicorns, a pixie biker gang, and a ferocious Manticore, ultimately challenging Ian to step out of his comfort zone and testing the true strength of their brotherly bond.

Director Dan Scanlon based Onward on his own personal experience of losing his father at a very young age and relying heavily on his older brother. The film's core message suggests that while we may obsess over the things we lack or the people we have lost, we often fail to recognize the profound love and support right in front of us. It is a poignant meditation on grief, illustrating that moving forward does not mean forgetting, but rather embracing the unconventional family structures that shape our lives. Furthermore, it serves as a critique of modern complacency, warning that prioritizing convenience over effort can cause us to lose our internal magic and potential.

While generally viewed as a straightforward coming-of-age quest, several alternative interpretations exist. The Secularization Metaphor: Drawing on philosopher Charles Taylor's concept of a 'Secular Age', some religious and philosophical critics interpret the film's 'loss of magic' as a metaphor for the modern world's loss of religion and transcendence. In this view, technology has caused society to become 'disenchanted', and the quest represents a hunger to recover the sacred and mysterious. Barley as the True Protagonist: Another reading argues that despite Ian being the POV character, Barley is the actual protagonist. Ian's arc is about realizing what he already has, but Barley undergoes the ultimate emotional catharsis by facing his childhood fear of death and finally getting to say goodbye to his father in the climax.

Released in early March 2020, Onward was one of the last major films to debut in theaters before the global COVID-19 lockdowns. Consequently, it became a pioneer in the pandemic-era shift to streaming, dropping on Disney+ shortly after its theatrical release and providing comfort viewing for millions in isolation. Culturally, the film has been praised for presenting a healthy, emotionally vulnerable depiction of modern masculinity and brotherhood. By centering the narrative on platonic, familial love rather than a romantic subplot, it joined films like Frozen in redefining Disney's emotional climaxes. Furthermore, the inclusion of Officer Specter marked a milestone for LGBTQ+ representation in Pixar, sparking both praise for diversity and censorship controversies in several international markets.

Onward received generally positive reviews, with audiences widely praising the emotionally devastating and subversive third act, as well as the strong vocal chemistry between Tom Holland and Chris Pratt. Viewers appreciated the profound themes of brotherhood and the poignant handling of grief. However, some critics argued that the world-building and visual character designs felt somewhat uninspired or generic compared to top-tier Pixar masterpieces like Coco or Inside Out. The reliance on standard fantasy tropes occasionally made the narrative structure feel formulaic in the first half. Despite these minor criticisms, the overall verdict is that Onward is a touching, highly underrated addition to the Pixar canon that delivers a massive emotional payoff.