There’s nothing but love between Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, the stars lending their voices to a pair of teenage elf brothers who must set out on a magical and emotional quest in Disney-Pixar’s Onward. Set in a world where humans don’t exist, causing it to be populated with such fairy tale creatures as elves, gnomes, goblins, and unicorns, Onward sees the Lightfoot brothers, 16-year-old Ian (Holland) and rowdy older brother Barley (Pratt), losing control of a magical staff capable of bringing back their late father for just 24 hours. Though the spell goes awry, the brothers will come to find out more about themselves — and each other — than they ever thought possible.
“I’ve heard it, I’ve heard it non-stop from everybody, regardless of gender, but I’ve had a lot of men tell me that this movie has made them cry,” Pratt told Access during a joint interview with Holland. Pratt previously tweeted an early screening of the latest Pixar movie ended with a “lot of grown man tears.”
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“I’m curious as to exactly why, but I know that it’s from what I’m learning, is because this bond of brotherhood is something that speaks to a lot of people,” Pratt said. “And just like you don’t have to be a girl to appreciate the relationship in Frozen, you don’t have to be a boy to appreciate this relationship, but it is anchored in a bond between two boys and two brothers who are on a quest to find their lost father.”
At the heart of Onward is the desire to reunite with a lost loved one, something Holland says is “so relatable.”
“I mean, everyone’s dealt with loss at some point in their life, and this film really resonates that,” Holland added of the film that sees technology pushing out the magical nature of the Lightfoot brothers’ home, New Mushroomton. “Technology is taking over our lives in such a big way now and in this film, the beauty of magic is being taken over by technology, and it’s about looking onward and looking forward to your bright future that you can make. So I think people just will really connect with the journey that these two boys go on, and obviously the idea of sibling love is something that’s really strong.”
Holland and Pratt previously appeared together in live-action in Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, but the stars only acted together “a few times” when recording for Onward. For Holland, Pratt’s presence posed a problem.
“The hardest thing for me was when working with Chris in the room, I just kept laughing. I just couldn’t stop laughing,” Holland admitted. “So all of his stuff was totally usable, and all of my stuff was just me giggling … A lot of it we did separately, because obviously our schedules are kind of crazy and we’re all over different parts of the world, but whenever we did come together, it was always electric and really fun. And like I said, I could never stop laughing.”
Asked about trending bromances — Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds among them — Holland and Pratt joined hands to announce Hollywood’s latest bromance.
“We’re just really happy to announce that we’re in love,” Holland said with a laugh. When Pratt confirmed, Holland quipped, “I’m sorry, Katherine,” referring to Pratt’s wife Katherine Schwarzenegger. Added Pratt, “She’s into it. It’s 2020.”
Disney-Pixar’s Onward opens March 6.
