Pixar's Onward

[Disney Duster]

Oh, I love how this looks! I'm excited for this! I guess it's that a magical world loses it's magic once modernity comes to it, like and people have gotten "used" to magical stuff, so that's how they lost the magic. I love Chris Pratt's character, he's so cute I love how he's into the dungeons and dragons type stuff, it seems, so he wants to make life like that. I loved the Pegacorn-raccoons! This looks so great, count me in!

[Sotiris]

The teaser for Onward seems cynical about a fantasy setting and elements. Yeah look there's a Mermaid in a plastic pool... It's something DreamWorks did 18 years ago with Shrek. Not something you'd see in a Pixar film in 2020.

The gag about raccoon-unicorns felt very DreamWorks-y too.

[estefan]

Monsters University is my least favourite Pixar film, but I think it's unfair of me to judge Dan Scanlon's future directorial efforts based on that. Especially since with MU, he was restricted by having to work with pre-existing characters. With Onward, he was more freedom to explore a new world, concept and characters.

The thing with Pixar teasers is they're not indicative of the full world we're about to see, or even the plot. Go back to "The Incredibles" teaser, which just consisted of Mr. Incredible desparetly trying to put on his supersuit. We don't even see the family. Or "Monsters, Inc.", which was just Mike and Sulley in a children's bedroom, which was wildly inaccurate to the finished film, where only Sulley was the one who went in the bedroom to scare children (Mike also nonchalantly picks up a child's hula hoop, something movie Mike would never have done). The "Inside Out" teaser merely introduced the emotions, but didn't mention the journey Joy and Sadness would have to go on or anything about Riley.

I always think of Pixar teasers as just there to introduce (or re-introduce in the case of the sequels) us to the concept and characters. Just a little announcement to say "Hey, we're making a movie about bugs" or "Hey, we're making a movie about cars." I'm amazed people already have a strong opinion about the characters, story and humour. The footage in the Outward teaser may not even be in the finished film.

[Disney's Divinity]

I don't know... I want something epic, something serious. It seems like the same generic road trip buddy comedy.

It is. PIXAR films and now WDAS films, too, always are. Maybe in 5 or 10 years without John Lasseter they might take risks again.

I despise Monsters University, too. Maybe this will be better than his work with that film considering he isn't crapping on a good movie but working with his own characters instead.

[JeanGreyForever]

The teaser for Onward seems cynical about a fantasy setting and elements. Yeah look there's a Mermaid in a plastic pool... It's something DreamWorks did 18 years ago with Shrek. Not something you'd see in a Pixar film in 2020.

The gag about raccoon-unicorns felt very DreamWorks-y too.

I got Shrek vibes from the mermaid too and it's really just trite and unoriginal at this point. The concept of the unicorns is that they're so prominent in numbers that they've lost their unique appeal and are treated more like an infestation of rodents.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

Oh, I love how this looks! I'm excited for this! I guess it's that a magical world loses it's magic once modernity comes to it, like and people have gotten "used" to magical stuff, so that's how they lost the magic. I love Chris Pratt's character, he's so cute I love how he's into the dungeons and dragons type stuff, it seems, so he wants to make life like that. I loved the Pegacorn-raccoons! This looks so great, count me in!

Nice to see some positivity and real expectations now and then. I don't mind anyone being negative either, but I'm just a little worried that those who a looking forward to it might be afraid to post here.

(t's a dilemma; should you post your worries in a thread already full with concerns from others, or just try to be diplomatic? I can't say much based on what we have seen, but it seems like those features playing with its own concept (like Zootopia). )

Also, I don't think I would recommend anyone to spray their pet with water, even if it is a dragon, dog or cat.

[RyGuy]

The reaction to this trailer reminds me a lot of the reaction to the first trailer for Zootopia (the one with Nick Wilde explaining what anthropomorphic meant). Which if I recall correctly also had an unconventional release date because people thought Disney had no faith in it.

Onward may suck or it may be be one of the best yet. Only time will tell.

[unprincess]

It is. PIXAR films and now WDAS films, too, always are. Maybe in 5 or 10 years without John Lasseter they might take risks again.

Im hoping Frozen2 will start taking some risks(at least in story if not artistically,) judging by the teaser and those Elsa/Anna character synopsis promos, it might.

[D82]

Monsters University is my least favourite Pixar film, but I think it's unfair of me to judge Dan Scanlon's future directorial efforts based on that. Especially since with MU, he was restricted by having to work with pre-existing characters. With Onward, he was more freedom to explore a new world, concept and characters.

I agree. I admit that at first I was a bit worried because he was the director, but to be fair, good sequels are not easy to make, not even when they're directed by the same person who made the original. I also think he might do a better job with his own idea that he's probably more passionate about. Plus, the plot is partly based on his own personal experiences, so I guess he's more likely to get those emotional aspects right than others.

By the way, I actually like Monters University, I find it quite entertaining and it has good messages. I just don't think it's one of Pixar's best movies, and of course, Monsters, Inc. is far superior.

The reaction to this trailer reminds me a lot of the reaction to the first trailer for Zootopia (the one with Nick Wilde explaining what anthropomorphic meant). Which if I recall correctly also had an unconventional release date because people thought Disney had no faith in it.

Onward may suck or it may be be one of the best yet. Only time will tell.

Yes, Zootopia was also released in March and it turned out to be great, so you never know, this one could also be an excellent film.

btw those unicorns have wings, technically they're alicorns.

It's true! I was doubting whether they were unicorns or pegasus.

I love Chris Pratt's character, he's so cute I love how he's into the dungeons and dragons type stuff, it seems, so he wants to make life like that.

I like that too. And he speaks in an old-fashioned way, doesn't he? Could that be because he's a fan of the old days of that world and their magic?

Anyway, the trailer was fine, though. I liked the designs and the settings, but disliked the song at the end.

I personally liked the song as well, it reminded me of fantasy movies from the 80s like The NeverEnding Story. I guess it was probably their intention in choosing a song from that decade. Speaking of the 80s, Austin Madison, a story artist on the film, twitted that Onward is a like "a Tolkien story as told through a John Hughes lens". If that's true, it sounds like an interesting combination to me. Here's what he wrote in his tweet:

If you've ever wanted to see a Tolkien story as told through a John Hughes lens, this is the quest you've been waiting for. As a story artist on this film, I can personally guarantee you that van will earn its place among the noblest of steeds.

[Disney Duster]

Glad to see some positivity from you too, Rumplestiltskin, and you, D82! Yes, post your positive opinions! Yes,I think Chris Pratt's character is talking old-timey because he wants life to have the magic, epic quality the world once had, if he even was around when the world was like that, maybe he just wants life like that even if he never grew up with it, as many of us fans would like our worlds to be magical, and go on quests! And I liked the song at the end, too!

[thedisneyspirit]

Tolkien and John Hughes? They're like apples and oranges, their styles are pretty much the opposite in terms of writing, dialogue, characters, themes, etc etc.

I'm thinking the only Tolkien-esque thing will be the shallow usage of magical races and little else. Besides, I thought nowadays it was "cool" to dump on Tolkien while praising to the high heavens the nihilistic Game of Thrones? Pixar needs to be up to date, yo!

[DisneyFan09]

Honestly, from the teaser, this doesn't even feel like a Pixar movie. It feels like a generic CGI film from almost any other studio.

Well said! Though I wouldn't use the word generic, since it didn't looked as generic as it could've been, the trailer still didn't seemed Pixar and seemed like any other animated movie that could've emerged from any studio.

I agree with those who said that Chris Pratt's voice is incredibly annoying in this. I really hope that shtick was just for the teaser and select scenes in the film because it's already gotten old fast.

To be honest, I didn't felt the same way. Chris Pratt's voice can be a little too much at times, but I thought he was fine in this trailer.

Even Brave, while it came off as epic in the teaser, was quite underwhelming for most viewers at the end. It's pretty foreboding then that this teaser by itself is already underwhelming-

True, but Brave had more scrutiny at it's time. It came after the heels of Cars 2, which was a movie that made every Pixar fans scream foul and since the Pixar fanboys where whining about how Disney had destroyed Pixar, Brave suffered from a lot of scrutiny for being a compromised Princess-movie in a Pixar disguise (which is pretty much was). And therefore creating more havoc around Pixar's downfall.

As for the movie itself, yes Brave suffered from being fairly simplistic and formulaic, yet I've ranted about this before, so I won't repeat myself.

[Disney's Divinity]

Nice to see some positivity and real expectations now and then. I don't mind anyone being negative either, but I'm just a little worried that those who a looking forward to it might be afraid to post here.

(t's a dilemma; should you post your worries in a thread already full with concerns from others, or just try to be diplomatic? I can't say much based on what we have seen, but it seems like those features playing with its own concept (like Zootopia). )

I wouldn't be afraid to give your real opinions and that goes for this forum or anywhere really. You'll get attacked regardless, so why worry about what others think. They are irrelevant.

I'll never understand the obsession over positive and negative posts. It's possible to be positive about some things and negative about other things all at the same time. But I suppose if you were to criticize one thing amid a post of many positive things, that will be termed a "negative" post.

[JeanGreyForever]

Well said! Though I wouldn't use the word generic, since it didn't looked as generic as it could've been, the trailer still didn't seemed Pixar and seemed like any other animated movie that could've emerged from any studio.

To be honest, I didn't felt the same way. Chris Pratt's voice can be a little too much at times, but I thought he was fine in this trailer.

True, but Brave had more scrutiny at it's time. It came after the heels of Cars 2, which was a movie that made every Pixar fans scream foul and since the Pixar fanboys where whining about how Disney had destroyed Pixar, Brave suffered from a lot of scrutiny for being a compromised Princess-movie in a Pixar disguise (which is pretty much was). And therefore creating more havoc around Pixar's downfall.

As for the movie itself, yes Brave suffered from being fairly simplistic and formulaic, yet I've ranted about this before, so I won't repeat myself.

The film's premise may not be generic, but honestly the execution of it from the teaser has somehow managed to turn what ought to be unique and promising into a typical CGI-fest better suited for Dreamworks, Illumination or Blue Sky Studios.

Pratt's voice might be manageable in a one-minute teaser, but it'll get old fast throughout an entire film if he keeps talking in that old-timey way.

Technically, there's been a lot of dissent about Pixar here, with Lasseter being booted and all the complaints about sequels (Toy Story 4, Cars 3, Incredibles 2, Finding Dory, etc.) Not to mention, that Cars 4 and Toy Story 5 have basically been confirmed and Onwards, the first original film we've seen so far, hasn't proved to be very promising. Then again, Coco had a lot of negative speculation and that ended up being adored, although the complaints there were mostly about cultural appropriation and the lack of a Mexican director.

[D82]

Yes, I think Chris Pratt's character is talking old-timey because he wants life to have the magic, epic quality the world once had, if he even was around when the world was like that, maybe he just wants life like that even if he never grew up with it, as many of us fans would like our worlds to be magical, and go on quests!

Yes, it must be as you say. I think it's more likely he didn't grow up with this magic, but knows it once existed.

Pratt's voice might be manageable in a one-minute teaser, but it'll get old fast throughout an entire film if he keeps talking in that old-timey way.

I don't think he'll speak like that the entire movie, or at least not all the time. And maybe it was exaggerated for the teaser, whose footage, as estefan pointed out, may not even be in the actual film.

[JeanGreyForever]

Pratt's voice might be manageable in a one-minute teaser, but it'll get old fast throughout an entire film if he keeps talking in that old-timey way.

I don't think he'll speak like that the entire movie, or at least not all the time. And maybe it was exaggerated for the teaser, whose footage, as estefan pointed out, may not even be in the actual film.

The footage may not be in the movie, but if he's speaking like that throughout the whole teaser, it's quite possible that this is how he's meant to talk in the final film. I was expecting his voice to go normal by the end but it never did so we'll see.

[Candy-Bonita95]

I'm thinking the only Tolkien-esque thing will be the shallow usage of magical races and little else. Besides, I thought nowadays it was "cool" to dump on Tolkien while praising to the high heavens the nihilistic Game of Thrones? Pixar needs to be up to date, yo!

Ehh...highly disagree with that considering that a lot of GoT thrones fans were disappointed with the series finale. I don't think nihilism is as popular as you presume. I think people like the sensuality and politics of GoT more than the actual nihilism.

Nice to see some positivity and real expectations now and then. I don't mind anyone being negative either, but I'm just a little worried that those who a looking forward to it might be afraid to post here.

(t's a dilemma; should you post your worries in a thread already full with concerns from others, or just try to be diplomatic? I can't say much based on what we have seen, but it seems like those features playing with its own concept (like Zootopia). )

Though I fully acknowledge the rules of the internet jungle, I don't like making people full like garbage for being optimistic about the film. Even if it may be Pixar's worst film (I doubt), no one deserves hate for their preferences.

To be a little positive about the teaser, I think Christ Pratt and Tom Holland voice acting are the strongest aspects. They both deliver convincing performances.

Speaking of Zootopia, I do remember the lacklustre reaction to the "anthropomorphic" teaser, but the final product paid off. How? Zootopia the city itself really surpassed our expectations of Utopia. Zootopia's world building makes sense and is FAR BETTER than other cinematic dystopias/utopias in the majority of contemporary movies. Even if you consider the critiques of Zootopiabeing too preachy, its world-building justifies the narrative. Onward would need to do the same thing for quality's sake.

And if the world-building in Onward is still lacklustre, it still has two protagonists with the potential of interesting conflict. Hollywood is kinda catching up to the whole Millenial v. Gen Z comparisons, and I think these two elves match that age gap. The older brother is nostalgia stan while the younger one is detached, reliant on security and technology. In my experience, I see a lot of millennials and gen z children contrast each other in this fashion.

Onward basically has to take any trope present and elevate it beyond our expectations, whether its world-building or characters.

[DisneyFan97]

I think Jessica Walter should be in this movie. I want her in a Disney animated movie.

[Musical Master]

That teaser trailer was cute and I like the elf brothers, especially Barley. I'll admit that I'm a sucker for enjoyable/lovable boisterous big brother characters.

[Rumpelstiltskin]

I wouldn't be afraid to give your real opinions and that goes for this forum or anywhere really. You'll get attacked regardless, so why worry about what others think. They are irrelevant.

I'll never understand the obsession over positive and negative posts. It's possible to be positive about some things and negative about other things all at the same time. But I suppose if you were to criticize one thing amid a post of many positive things, that will be termed a "negative" post.

It's not really what others may think of you, but how others experience a thread. If you are all delighted and excited, and come to talk about a movie you look forward too, but all (or at least the majority) you meet is negative reactions, it could perhaps kill the spark. Or at least weaken its glow.
I remeber seeing the trailer for a Christmas movie (don't remember its name) as a kid, and was really excited about it. Then I read a critic's opinions about it in a newspaper, and it was such a blow that I never went to see the movie after reading that it was more or less crap. Maybe I would have hated it, or maybe I would have loved it.

On the other hand, there should of course be room for honest oponions, even if not everybody agrees. The problem is if a certain view (positive or negtive) dominates way more than others. As I said, it's a dilemma.

(Also, there are perhaps people who have worked on the movie, which are proud of what they have done, that read the comments on this board.)

Speaking of Zootopia, I do remember the lacklustre reaction to the "anthropomorphic" teaser, but the final product paid off. How? Zootopia the city itself really surpassed our expectations of Utopia. Zootopia's world building makes sense and is FAR BETTER than other cinematic dystopias/utopias in the majority of contemporary movies. Even if you consider the critiques of Zootopiabeing too preachy, its world-building justifies the narrative. Onward would need to do the same thing for quality's sake.

Well, it is those who makes noise in an otherwise quit room you notice, not all those who don't make a sound. Especially these days, when the tabloids are cherrypicking comments on twitter or youtube and display them as typical for what the average moviegoer thinks.
The same thing happened with Frozen.

***

About Chris Pratt's voice. I'm willing to bet that he is not going to sound like Sideshow Mel through the whole movie.

A couple of more comments about the trailer. The garden gnome scene was hilarious, other elements could have been introduced a little more descret. Mermaids are more or less handicapped on dry land. What about streets filled with water, like in Venice in Italy, and houses that are at least partly submerged in water? But it probably depends on if the mermaids will have any important roles or not, and if they think it is worth the effort to create a whole neighborhood for them if they are not.