Onward: Every Pixar Easter Egg & Fantasy Movie Reference

Pixar’s Onward is absolutely packed with Easter eggs – and here’s every one that’s been spotted to date. Starring Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as the elf brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot, Onward is a film about grief and loss. It was inspired by director Dan Scanlan’s experience of losing his father at an early age, and the film is essentially wish fulfillment for anyone who’s gone through that kind of tragedy.

Onward is the first true fantasy world Pixar has ever created, which makes it somewhat unique among Pixar movies. At the same time, though, this imaginative new world is strikingly familiar; Pixar has blended classic fantasy tropes with aspects of popular culture. The animation studio has created a fascinating society where magic has been overtaken by science, and pixies have forgotten they were meant to fly.

All of this means that Onward contains a delightful number of subtle Easter eggs to classic fantasy tropes, as well as all the traditional Pixar nods. Here’s our guide to every Easter egg you can spot in Onward.

16. An Easter-Egg Rich Opening Scene

Onward‘s opening scenes reveal the history of the world, detailing the ancient magic that used to flourish. Magic is illustrated using the example of a great wizard, who looks strikingly similar to Gandalf the Grey from The Lord of the Rings. Later, Barley does indeed reveal the wizards of old had formulaic names like “Wendelyn the Whimsical,” a detail seen in both The Lord of the Rings and J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. In those long-distant days, sorcerers were adored as the easiest solution to the world’s many crises – until technological development made the impossible a part of everyday life. Why train to generate magical light when you can just flick on a light?

This opening scene is absolutely packed with Easter eggs. Attentive viewers will notice the wizard is surrounded by Night Holler flowers from Zootopia, and he’s being watched by an elven version of Bonnie from Toy Story 3. There are also what look like a group of rock trolls from Frozen.

15. Shop Names In Onward Are Almost All Easter Eggs (And Sometimes bad Puns)

Moving forward to the “present day,” keep your eye on signs and shop names in this fantastical world. Almost all of them are actually fantasy references, including

• The “Sword & The Scone”,a pun on the animated classic The Sword in the Stone; this is actually a repeated gag, because this was the name of a meal on the breakfast menu in Toy Story 4.
• A shop called “Burger Shire” serves “Second Breakfast,” two delightful nods to The Lord of the Rings.

14. Brands Are Fantastical Riffs On The Real World As Well

Other brand names in Onward are fantastical riffs on real-world brands. There’s the”Z90 Fit,” “Cloak & Cola,” “Prance Prance Revolution,” “Trollios,” and “Mount Doom.” Barley’s jacket contains stickers for the band “Muddle of Mush,” a pun on Puddle of Mudd.

13. Barley’s Van Has A Memorable Name

Barley has named his van after Guinevere, the legendary love of King Arthur. He seems more than a little confused, though, considering her something of a Valkyrie rather than a monarch; that’s initially signposted by the paintwork, which features a Valkyrie’s winged horse. When Barley sacrifices his van to give his brother a shot at meeting their dad, he plays “Ride of the Valkyries.” There’s even a hilarious wing-effect at one point in that sequence.

12. The Rules And Roles Of Dungeons & Dragons

The magic of Onward is heavily inspired by Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. Magic itself can only be wielded by a specific “class” of character, notably Ian himself. Just as in these games, spells have specific requirements that must be met in order to perform them. They are:

• Someone must harness their “heart’s fire,” i.e. speak with confidence when casting
• Other spells require a focus of attention, such as a growth spell
• In addition, others require absolute self-belief, with Ian using magic to create an invisible bridge
• The most complex spells require all three of the above
• Finally, advanced magic is only possible with an assist element such as the Phoenix Gem

Barley is obsessed with ancient history, and as such he collects his world’s equivalent of Magic: The Gathering cards, called Quests of Lore. To his delight, he and his brother wind up on a magical quest of their own; it incorporates the classic Gelatinous Cube from Dungeons and Dragons, and ends with a confrontation with a dragon, just like one Dungeons & Dragons mission. Barley’s jacket includes stitchings of the D20 dice, suggesting the game really is remarkably similar.

11. Triple Dent Gum

Pixar seem to love Triple Dent Gum, which appeared in both Toy Story and Inside Out (where it got an annoying jingle). The gum is also popular in Onward; there’s a pack in Ian’s room, and an advert at the gas station trashed by the pixies.

10. The Pizza Realm Truck

Pixar traditionally get in a Pizza Planet Easter egg, and in Onward it’s switched up; the company is called Pizza Realm instead. Signs are shown in the background of several scenes, and a Pizza Realm truck joins the queue for the toll booth. A box in the back of Barley’s van has a Pizza Realm sticker on it.

9. Did You Spot The Brave References?

Surprisingly, there are quite a few references to Brave, another film about a young adventurer. The calendar in Ian’s room has a picture of the woods from Brave on it, while Barley’s map refers to “Brave Wilderness.” That supports the popular fan-theory all the Pixar films are set in the same universe. The map also references “Lock Lake,” a nod to the animated short The Ballad of Nessie.

8. Remy From Ratatouille Works At The Manticore’s Tavern

It’s easy to miss, because he’s only ever shown in the background, but the chef at the Manticore’s Tavern is very familiar. He’s actually Remy, the French rat from Ratatouille. Presumably he’s left Paris for pastures new, and found a more fantastical place to work. Attentive viewers will notice he’s quite near to a Pixar ball in the background.

7. The Manticore’s Tavern Staff Wear Distinctive Hats

Mickey famously wore a very distinctive sorcerer’s hat in the animated classic Fantasia, and this has become something of a symbol of the magical in Disney films and theme parks. There’s an ironic nod to this idea in Onward, because some members of staff at the Manticore’s Tavern are wearing those same hats. Of course, unlike Fantasia, there’s no true magic at the Manticore’s Tavern – not anymore.

6. Hidden Mickey Fireworks Are A Double Easter Egg

Almost every one of Disney’s animated classics features a “Hidden Mickey,” the shape of a Mickey Mouse head in the background. They’re scattered around the theme parks as well, and commonly feature in the fireworks displays you’ll sometimes see there. Appropriately enough, then, Onward features a Hidden Mickey in Ian’s fireworks spell.

5. John Ratzenberger’s Onward Cameo

John Ratzenberger has voiced a character in every one of Pixar’s films, sometimes as a main character but on other occasions in a more brief, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it role. In the case of Onward, he plays a construction worker called Fenwick who attempts to stop Barley climbing all over historical monuments.

4. An A113 Is In Progress

Few people outside the animation industry will have heard of Room A113 at the California Institution of Arts, the classroom used by graphic and animation students including John Lasseter, Tim Burton and Brad Bird. But it’s impossible to overestimate the impact of these classes, because students from Room A113 breathed new life into Disney after the passing of Walt himself. Pixar always like to honor Room A113, dropping an Easter egg into every one of their films. In this case, Onward ends with a police call stating there’s “an A113 in progress.“

3. Tom Holland & Chris Pratt Are Amusingly In-Character

Tom Holland and Chris Pratt are the voice stars of Onward, and their characters are amusingly on-type. Like Peter Parker, Holland’s Ian is a socially awkward teenager who struggles to fit in. Chris Pratt’s Barley is notable for having a mixtape, albeit one Quest-oriented and thus different to Star-Lord’s in Guardians of the Galaxy.

2. Barley’s Badges Are MCU References

Chris Pratt’s Barley even wears a couple of badges that call out his connection to the MCU. He has an Infinity Gauntlet stitched into the fabric of his jacket (that logo is also stuck on the back of the passenger seat inside his truck). He also wears a Hydra badge as well, which may just be a reference to the mythical creature, but it stylized like the MCU organization.

1. The Phoenix Egg Is Reminiscent Of The Soul Stone

The Phoenix Egg itself – the key to bringing the dead to life, albeit only for a day – is the same color as the Soul Stone in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. In the comics, a person’s consciousness can enter the Soul Stone in order to interact with the dead, but Onward inverts the idea.

About The Author

Thomas Bacon
(4893 Articles Published)

Tom Bacon is one of Screen Rant’s staff writers, as well as a Peer Mentor for new writers and a member of the Care Team, offering support and a listening ear to members of the Comics group. A lifelong fan of major franchises including Star Wars, Doctor Who, and Marvel, Tom is delighted his childhood is back – and this time it’s cool. You can find him on Twitter @TomABacon.

A graduate of Edge Hill University, Tom remains strongly connected with his alma mater as a volunteer chaplain. He’s heavily involved with his local church, and anyone who checks him out on Twitter will swiftly learn he’s into British politics too.

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