Therapist Reacts to ONWARD

Ian Lightfoot (Tom Holland) is hoping the father he's never met can help him figure out who he is. His brother Barley (Chris Pratt) is still processing the grief of losing their father. Together, they learn to move ONWARD - finding closure and appreciation for the relationship they have with each other.

Licensed therapist Jonathan Decker and filmmaker Alan Seawright talk about father figures and how grief and loss affect families, and revel in the general awesomeness of another Pixar masterpiece.

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Cinema Therapy is:
Written by: Megan Seawright, Jonathan Decker and Alan Seawright
Produced by: Jonathan Decker, Megan Seawright & Alan Seawright
Edited by: Alan Seawright
Director of Photography: Bradley Olsen

[heatherjasper]

What I loved about Barley is that he wasn't the moody, jealous older sibling who spent the movie groaning why HE wasn't the chosen one since he was older. He was so legitimately and vibrantly happy for this brother to be the chosen one, and he wanted to help him succeed in any way possible. It was so refreshing to see such a loving, wholesome family member when it could've been so easy to follow the tropes instead.

[hayerickson]

My favorite quote on grief is this one:

"Grief, I've learned, is just really love. It's all the love you want to give but cannot. All that unspent love gathers up in the corner of your eyes, the lump in your throat, and in that hallow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go."

[tealovinggeek]

"American cinema has trained us to want the perfect happy ending where everything is as we want it to be, and we kinda get upset when we don't get that."
WHAT WE WANT VS. WHAT WE NEED!

[LittleHobbit]

Maybe not "don't grieve", but "don't lose yourself to grief" would be a better way to phrase it.

[blacknoisyblue]

This movie is so underrated. The way it can teach boys to be vulnerable, and silly, and honest, without feeling like they're not masculine, or not themselves.

[mousepat]

I don’t understand why barley is so hated by the fandom. Sure he was naive and a bit reckless but he was so empathetic and supportive to his brother. Even when his brother got to do magic and he didn’t even though he really wanted it, he wasn’t jealous or spiteful. He was supportive and happy for his brother the whole way through and helped him work with it throughout the journey

[NathaniaDemecillo]

Frozen: Sisterly Love

Onward: *Brotherly Love*

[smalliesxd]

I actually love how Ian never got to see his dad, because the ending actually shows that Barley was really the one who never had a father/father figure in his life

[HiLaToya]

It makes sense that in the end he didn’t get to meet his dad because, in reality, if a parent passes before you knew them, you’re only going to know them through the people who did and this is showing that that’s more than okay. That’s pretty deep. It’s for those who would never get to meet someone so profoundly important to their existence.

[AmberZak]

I loved that he didn’t get to see his dad. It felt like the right ending. He realised his brother was his father figure, and that his brother needed to see their dad more than he did. He sacrificed for his brother. It’s a perfect analysis in character want vs need.

[vincegonzalez]

I can't believe that people were upset that he didn't get to meet his dad. Seems like they missed the entire point of the movie!

[dexteradams]

"You'll never be ready. Merge!"

It best line in the film I think. It's that tough love that is not cruel. It's just that push to ignore that inner demon that holds you back.

[ginster]

I just love that Alan got through Schindlers List dry-eyed but 5 seconds of Pixar got him again

[Daph]

"I wanted to cry"
"And this film has a Pixar in front of its title"
"It's Pixar, therefore I will cry"

This is too relatable. Especially Onward. I've cried during pretty much every single film Pixar's released, but usually I can rewatch little clips of those films and I feel fine.. The short clips in this video however, had me sobbing. Love this story so much! Thoroughly enjoyed your analysis too - thanks guys!

[anna-dgzc]

''What is grief, if not love persevering?'' -Vision

[tariqthomas]

Barley is such an amazing character.

In most movies, you don’t really get to see older brothers who are actually *good* older brothers. He’s openly affectionate and loving towards Ian, always protecting and supporting him.

I think all kids should watch this movie. If no other reason than to show that siblings can have wonderful, meaningful relationships—especially in the face of grief.

[CLD]

I was in the camp of, “Are you kidding me? He didn’t get to meet his dad?” I understood the narrative on paper, but I just didn’t connect to this. I was just sad. After hearing this breakdown, I had a breakthrough. I had no relationship with my dad, my mother was a major gaslighter. I had to cut ties with all family a lot of years ago. I never got parented and never found a surrogate parent because I kept going to people like my mother and would end up getting burned. Duh. I just stopped trying to find that person. Even though I’m 30, I still grieve that lack of connection. That hole gets smaller with time, but it’s still there. Thanks guys. I figured out why I hated this movie even though it was a very good movie. Gained some perspective.

[delireent.]

One of the reason why I love Barley IS that with his design, he would certainly be a bully in a lot of other Disney movie but it's not the case at all! He remind me some of my metalhead friends that are often portrayed as Bad person on a lot of médias but who are in fact really nice and open minded. So to me, Barley and Ian are one of The most realistics duo created by Pixar and I just love their relationship troughout the movie! I wish it was less underated !

[chillsahoy]

So this is another movie where Chris Pratt plays a character who lost a parent, as a child, and was unable to fully say goodbye due to being overwhelmed by all the medical devices their dying parent were hooked up to.

[iau]

Seriously? People were mad he didn't meet his dad? Did they not get the whole sequence about his brother being his dad?