Disney-Pixar’s upcoming animated film Onward shows how even suburbia in a fantasy world can be quite humdrum. The movie centers on two elf brothers, voiced by Chris Pratt and Tom Holland, who embark on an adventure to find out if magic still exists in their world. Pratt plays the boisterous Barley Lightfoot, the older brother to Holland’s awkward Ian. Julia Louis-Dreyfus stars as their mom.
“Tom Holland is perfect for our character of Ian, the younger brother,” explained director and writer Dan Scanlon, who also wrote and directed Monster’s University. “We were looking for someone who could have this shy quality and someone who is good at being a little awkward. And Tom is great at that! And yet has a genuine sweetness to him that you really root for him.”
When it came to Barley, the director noted, “We wanted someone who was the exact opposite of that. Someone who could be wild and chaotic and out of control, but in a very charming and infectious way. And Chris Pratt is perfect for that. He has this ability to be both sort of wild and out of control but in a really lovable, fun, infectious way.”
Pratt and Holland have history together in the MCU movies, playing Star-Lord and Spider-Man respectively. Their chemistry and friendship came through during production.
“They are clearly friends,” Scanlon said. “They’ve worked together before and hung out together. It was fun to sit back and watch them make each other laugh.”
Much like other Pixar films, Onward will have an emotional quality alongside its humor, and Scanlon hopes that audiences will feel both as they watch.
“My hope is some of the questions that I’m asking in the film will be questions other people are asking about their own lives. And I think that’s what a lot of the times gets us to connect to a movie,” he said.
Onward is set to hit theaters in March 2020.
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