'Onward' Trailer: Pixar's Latest Takes You On An Adventure

Pixar built up an impressive filmography by asking questions. "What if your toys came to life when you weren't around?"; "What do your emotions get up to inside of your head?"; "What if you died?"; "What if cars could talk?" And so on. Their latest, Onward, asks: "What if there was a world where magic and fantasy were considered boring and normal?" That's a premise rife with opportunity, as you can see in the latest Onward trailer.

I'm still not entirely sold on Onward. I like the concept, and I do chuckle every time I see that pair of sentient pants. But...I dunno. The humor on display in this trailer is extremely clunky, but that could just be a result of trailer editing. All I know is that between this and Pixar's other 2020 offering, Soul, I'm much more interested in Soul. This latest trailer is all about selling the premise, which means it's heavy on exposition, and also probably gives away too much of the movie. All that said, Pixar's track record is stellar, and I wouldn't be surprised if the finished film ends up being much stronger than this trailer. And, knowing Pixar, it'll probably make me ugly-cry in the theater.

Onward is "set in a suburban fantasy world" and "introduces two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot (voices of Tom Holland and Chris Pratt), who embark on an extraordinary quest to discover if there is still a little magic left out there." The cast also includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Ian and Barley's mom, Laurel Lightfoot, and Octavia Spencer as the voice of the Manticore. The film is directed by Dan Scanlon and produced by Kori Rae—the team behind Monsters University.

Regarding the casting of the film, Scanlon told People: "Tom Holland is perfect for our character of Ian, the younger brother. 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."

And for Pratt's character, they "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."

Onward opens March 6, 2020.