Pixar Era Analysis – Onward
As mentioned in a previous blog post, I’ll be writing analysis content on all 28 of Pixar’s animated feature films and their film making eras.
The fourth era is the Personal Era, which is the current Era, and started in 2020 with Onward. As mentioned in a previous blog post, the Personal Era is known for its film releases being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, its films being based on the personal lives of the directors and writers who were making them, and its varied animation.
So how did Onward measure up to the above features of the Personal Era, and was it the right film to kick it off?
Release being affected by the COVID-19 pandemic:
Whilst it did premiere at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States two weeks later, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Onward was the first Pixar film to be released for digital download whilst still in theatres. It was also the last Pixar film to be released in theatres worldwide until Lightyear in June 2022.
Being based on the personal lives of the directors and writers making the film:
According to the film’s IMDb and Wikipedia pages, the film was inspired by Director, Dan Scanlon, always asking “who was my father?” as his father died in a car accident when he and his older brother were young children. Scanlon also began to write the film’s story after hearing an audio clip of his father. The film’s composers, Mychael and Jeff Danna, also lost their fathers at a young age, when they were teenagers.
Varied animation:
According to the film’s Wikipedia page, the animators wanted the film’s magic to fit in with its suburban, human setting. The Wikipedia page also states that the animators first developed the film’s magic by using hand-drawn animated drawings before turning them into computer animated effects, mixing hand-drawn and computer animation, as going one way or the other didn’t work for the film and its plot.
According to the film’s IMDb page, Ian’s and Barley’s designs were inspired by Stephen Fitzpatrick and Audun Laading of the Indie rock music duo, Her’s. In comparison, Laurel’s design bears a similar appearance to Sadness from Inside Out.
According to the film’s IMDb page, for the scene where Ian steps into the void whilst trying to create a magic bridge, Pixar created a virtual reality (VR) experience for its crew and got them to take those first few steps into thin air, to be able to realistically animate it.
My overall thoughts:
Overall, I found this to be a moving and captivating film.
What I found interesting about its plot was its contrast between magic and science. I also found everyone within the world letting magic fade away in favour of a life made easier with human technology, an interesting and unique concept.
Whilst set in a fantastical world, the film is very human, touching on a variety of personal and relatable themes, such as: loss, grief, growing up, trying new things, coming to peace with the past, and becoming confident.
Due to the fact that this was a very human and personal film, and it was Pixar’s first film with an original story in three years, I felt it was the perfect film to kick off the Personal Era.
The next part of the Pixar Era Analysis series to be released will focus on Soul.
Fun Facts and Trivia (from the film’s IMDb page):
- It’s implied that the boys’ father died on the same day that Ian was born.
- This film is Pixar’s first PG-rated film not to have humans in it.
References:
Loveday Writing 