"Onward" – Title And Cast For 2020 Original Pixar Feature Announced

Pixar have announced the title for their next original feature releasing on March 6 2020 – Onward. 

Up to this point, Onward (which has been described as a ‘modern fantasy’ film), directed by Dan Scanlon (Monsters University) and produced by Kori Rae, has been under the working title “The Untitled Pixar Film That Takes You To A Suburban Fantasy World“. It was first announced at the 2017 D23, and takes place in a world where fantasy has almost become mundane. Chris Pratt and Tom Holland will play the teenage elf brothers who set out on a journey together in the hopes of rekindling magic and spending one last day with their late father.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer have also been revealed as cast members. This isn’t Louis-Dreyfus’ first time lending her voice to a Pixar character – she voiced Princess Atta in A Bug’s Life way back in 1998!
The film is inspired by Scanlon’s own life and relationship with his brother – Scanlon’s father passed away when he was only a year old. Now that the title has officially been revealed, we can all look forward to more plot and character details being released.
Following the official release of the title, Pixar employees on Twitter have been expressing their excitement about working on the film. Pixar animator Austin Madison compared Onward to a Tolkien story, suggesting that this is a kind of fantasy that the studio has never explored before.

“If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if John Hughes directed a Tolkien story, you may want to join our quest.“

Tolkien stories tend to have epic journeys, incredible amounts of lore, strong bonds between characters, and a lot of heart. We never knew that Pixar tackling a Tolkienesque fantasy feature was a thing that we needed, but this news has made the wait for Onward (or at least some more news on it) all the more excruciating.