Pixar’s Onward Ending Explained

Pixar Animation Studios returns to the big screen this weekend Onward, the new fantasy adventure from Monsters University director Dan Scanlon. The film follows elf brothers Ian and Barley, voiced by Tom Holland and Chris Pratt, as they try to find a source of magic to resurrect their late father before their spell runs out. It’s just as funny and touching as you’d expect from a Pixar movie, but the ending actually upends expectations, taking a few turns before getting to the finish line. This one doesn’t arrive where you think it will.

WARNING: This article contains Major Spoilers from Pixar’s Onward! Continue reading at your own risk…

The whole movie follows the journey of Ian and Barley as they try to bring their dad back, even for just a brief moment. It seems like the whole point of the quest is to allow Ian to meet their dad, since he died before Ian was born, Barley at least got a couple of memories with their father before his passing. However, as we learn in the third act of the movie, Onward is actually telling a different story. Barley reveals that he got scared when his dad was on his death bed and never went in to say goodbye.

After this turn of events, Barley finds the magical Phoenix Gem while Ian realizes that meeting his dad wasn’t as important as he believed, because he had someone looking out for him all along. Ian kept a checklist of everything he wanted to do with his dad in the 24 hours that the spell would give them. He started to cross them out before realizing that he did get the chance to do all of those things, but with Barley. His older brother always looked out for him, doing the things with him that their father wasn’t around to do. In that moment, Ian became motivated to finish the job and get their dad back, if only for a few minutes, so that Barley could see him.

The curse of the Phoenix Gem arrived when Barley took it from its place and Ian chose to sacrifice his chance to see his father in order to fight the curse and allow Barley his goodbye. Ian watches from a distance as Barley hugs his dad in the brief moment that he’s able to be alive again. Then their dad disappears, and Ian and Barley are left with one another, which both of them are perfectly happy with.

What did you think of Onward? Where do you rank it amongst Pixar’s best? Let us know in the comments!