Pixar’s latest animated movie Onward will be available to download before it hits the big screens, as movie theatres around the world remain indefinitely closed.
With all the buzz around Pixar’s latest epic, we’re pleased to report we won’t have to wait indefinitely to see it. Film distribution roll out is taking an unusual pattern through COVID-19, and on this occasion allowing us a special pre-release in the comfort of our own homes.
Onward tells the story of two teenage elf brothers, socially awkward Ian (voiced by Tom Holland) and his uncool, older brother Barley (Chris Pratt) in a fantasy-like world where unicorns eat trash like angry racoons, dragons are pets and where elves, manticores, cyclops and other creatures co-exist in a human-like suburban universe that was once full of magic. With the story set in the modern age, amidst the invention of technologies and mobile phones, mythical creatures have forgotten how to cast spells, leaving folklore a thing of the past.
Thus the boys’ attempt to search for the little magic left in their world. When Ian receives a staff and crystal from their late father for his 16th birthday, both brothers embark on an unusual quest to bring their father back for 24 hours. The condition is, they can only perform the spell once. Halfway through the spell something goes wrong and their father appears from waist down, as just a pair of khaki pants and shoes. Equipped with a baseball cap and a torso, they drag their dad along by a retractable dog leash to restore the magic crystal and make their father appear as a whole.
Like any good adventure, on their journey the brothers meet a kaeidoscope of colourful characters that includes human bumble bees and a fire breathing creature crossed between a dragon and a lion, all while being chased by their mother (Julia Lousi Dreyfus) and a fearsome neighbourhood manticore (voiced by Octavia Spencer). Insodoing, the film utilises slapstick comedy but also explores themes of love and nostalgia.
Director Dan Scanlon, of Monster’s University fame, inspired the Pixar film with his personal anecdote of the loss of his father at a young age, citing that he and his older brother only retained a hazy memory of their dad.
The film had originally been scheduled to open in cinemas on March 6th but that was before the unmentionable spanner in the works. Highly anticipated as the kid’s film to watch in 2020, Disney has now relieved fans with the announcement of an early streaming date for the Pixar movie on Disney+.
“While we are looking forward to audiences enjoying the film on the big screen, we are pleased to release this fun, adventurous film to digital platforms early for audiences” – Dan Scanlon.
This new Pixar film promises to be heart- felt, moving and not to be missed, telling the tale of sibling love, loss of a parent, and the fantasy of being able to spend a day with a loved one. Onward has an emotional ending and it’ll pull on your heart strings. Check it out on Disney+.
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