Onward's director, Dan Scanlon (Monsters University) explains why magic became the crucial element for telling the film's heartfelt story. Onward is Pixar's 22nd film, and while the studio has done all of sorts of fantastical movies about everything from toys to superheroes, this film marks Pixar's first go at the fantasy genre. As such, Onward has magic and it allows its character to perform impossible feats, but harnessing that magic isn't as simple as saying a spell.

Onward is a fantasy film with a modern setting, where elves, trolls, and centaurs live a suburban lifestyle not so dissimilar from our world. Magic is a thing of the past and has been largely replaced by technological convenience, but for those who have the gift, there's still a chance of performing some miracles. Onward stars Tom Holland as Ian Lightfoot, a teenage elf just looking to blend in, and Chris Pratt as Barley, Ian's older and wilder brother. On Ian's 16th birthday, they receive a wizard's staff left to them by their now deceased father along with a spell that promises to bring him back to life for just one day. When they attempt the spell, however, they only bring back half of him - the bottom half. To correctly finish the spell, Ian and Barley must embark on a quest that may not only return magic to the world, but do the impossible - let them see their dad one more time.

Related: Everything You Need To Know About Pixar's Onward

Having Ian and Barley's quest be trying to share one more day with their deceased father is inspired by director Scanlon's own life. During a press day for Onward at Pixar Animation Studios that Screen Rant attended, Scanlon explained the genesis of the idea for Onward and how magic became the key to telling its story:

"You know, as I'm sure you've heard, my dad passed away when I was a year old and my brother was three. So that was a biggie. That was a big question I had. I think a lot of times movies are questions, or should start off as questions. And my question was, you know, ‘Who was he? And how am I like him? Like, where am I going?’ And, and so that's where the idea came from. And we thought, well, wouldn't it be amazing if you had one day with that person? What would you say? And that's where the idea of magic came from. Because we thought, well, we need to make a movie where that could be possible."

Chris Pratt as Barley and Tom Holland as Ian from Pixar Onward

Using magic to achieve the impossible is a signature trope of fantasy storytelling, but in true Pixar fashion, Onward is also using magic to drive the emotional story at the heart of the film. Not only that, but once Scanlon and his team settled on using a magical, fantasy setting, they were inspired to give it a fresh take, using that to find Onward's sense of humor. It all really came together, though, once they realized the rediscovery of magic in the film mirrors Ian's personal journey, as Scanlon explained:

"And then the idea was, well, I don't want to do a period piece in like a fantasy world, that wouldn't feel as--I wouldn't feel as close to that. And then thought, well, why can't it be modern and be a fantasy, magical place? And that led to the humor of, well, that would be ridiculous and then we can do all these gags. Then lastly, they kind of came together when we realized, well, Ian is this character who is not living up to his full potential, who is out of fear and comfort not wanting to explore and take risks. And the world was kind of mirroring that too, like, oh, well if this was a world that maybe got a little too comfortable. It was never to say that this is a movie about science or technology being bad, it's really about baby with the bathwater. They've lost a little bit of their special-ness in taking the easy route. And so over time, over five years, the personal story and the world story came together, which, I think, is ideally the hardest thing to do and what you want out of a good film, but that was really the genesis of it."

So many Pixar films are born from the personal experiences of their filmmakers, and Onward is no different. That the film is able use its fantasy setting to both enhance its world-building and further the arcs of its characters is the real magic at work here. Of course, getting to enjoy such gags as scrappy-looking unicorns in alleys fighting over garbage or biker gangs comprised of tiny fairies is part of Onward's charm, too. And audience will get to experience it all when Onward hits theaters this March.

More: Every Upcoming Pixar Film (2020-2022)

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