Pixar Animation Studios' next film, Onward already has some details out in the world. But the filmmaking team and stars Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Tom Holland (the latter's appearance vaguely awkward given recent Sony/Disney news, distilled by the actor down into the phrase "it's been a crazy week") were on hand to help introduce new clips from the movie and explain a little more about the story at Disney's D23 Expo event.
If you've seen the trailer, you know the basic setup: it's set in a modern-day fantasy world where elves, fairies, unicorns, trolls and more exist in a suburban setting with magic twists. Holland and Pratt play brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot (with Louis-Dreyfus as their mother, Laurel), who lost their father at a young age. When Ian turns 16, their mother hands them a present from their father, which turns out to be a staff and a magic phoenix gem, which are supposed to be able to bring their father back from the dead for one day so he can properly meet his sons.
The footage saw the excited Barley trying to use the staff to no avail, until Ian later picks it up and gives it a whirl. But while the spell starts to work, Barley accidentally interrupts the process, leaving their father as just a pair of living legs and hips, with the rest of his body trapped in the afterlife and the gem smashed. Which leads to the brothers setting out on a quest to find a replacement so they can bring the rest of their father back. The stage is set for a hilarious road trip (with dad disguised in a Weekend At Bernie's-style setup and along for the ride). The second scene shown found the brothers encountering problems with an empty petrol tank and Ian trying to use the staff to make a can of fuel grow in size, which backfires in comic fashion.
Director Dan Scanlon (Monsters University) and producer Kori Rae also revealed that Octavia Spencer will be voicing the Manticore in the film. And a new poster was both displayed and handed out to attendees.
Onward is scheduled to arrive on 6 March next year.