Pixar films are known for their endearing combination of magic, adventure and subtle life lessons that somehow manage to evade preaching to their audience. This winning formula applies once again to 'Onward', Pixar's latest feature film starring Chris Pratt and Tom Holland as teenage elf brothers living in a once-magical world who have twenty-four hours to bring back their late father. According to an interview with E! News, Holland and Pratt hope that as well as walking adults and children alike through a charming story of family, life and loss, 'Onward' will convince the phone-obsessed generation of today to put down those little black mirrors and pay attention to the world around them.
Neither Pratt nor Holland hesitated in pointing out social media platforms when asked what aspect of technology they would choose to get rid off. Whilst Pratt stated that Twitter would be the platform he'd like to see the back of, Holland responded that he would opt to get rid of Instagram, having already deleted the app from his phone after finding that it had become his latest obsession (though his account itself is still active).
"I just had to get away from it and take a break", says Holland, who is best known for his portrayal of Peter Parker and his arachnid alter-ego in 'Spider-Man: Far From Home'. "It was taking over my life, and I was becoming obsessed by it. Like, 'How many likes did I get?' and 'What did people say about my picture?' and who's doing this and who's doing that. I found myself focusing more on my Instagram life than I was on my real life."
The actor noted that taking this step back from Instagram has helped him to consider himself and his future as opposed to focusing on the image he creates for social media: "I've started to focus on Tom and the future of what Tom is gonna be... I'm talking about myself in the third person, I sound like such a dick, but you know what I mean. I'm just working on myself, and I feel really great for it."
'Onward' Wants Us to Disconnect From Our Phones
Both Holland and Pratt share the belief that phones, social media and technology in general distract us from the tangible things in life such as family.
"I think you use it as a distraction to distract yourself from things you don't want to face in life," says Holland. "So when you step up and face them, you can get over them and you become happier".
Pratt, who recently married the daughter of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Katherine Schwarzenegger, and is raising his son Jack from his previous relationship with actress Anna Faris, noted that his phone was taking away considerably from the time he spent with his family. "I think that when it takes away your attention and your awe, that awe is supposed to be reserved for bigger things, like your family."
Speaking of family, Pratt has taken both his wife and brother-in-law, Patrick Schwarzenegger, as well as his son to see 'Onward', and notes that it moved the adults in the room as much as the young people to which Pixar has traditionally appealed.
"It makes you laugh, it makes you cry", says Pratt, who notes that every adult he took to see the film were brought to tears by this tale of brotherhood. "Really anybody with a pulse is going to be moved by this film, but especially people who have brothers and/or siblings, anybody who has lost someone close to them. It's very moving, very emotional". They just had to look up from their phone screens to notice it.
'Onward' hits UK cinemas on the 6th March 2020.
