Onward premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on March 6, 2020.

In the modern day, Ian Lightfoot is a teenage elf struggling with self-confidence; his older brother Barley is an enthusiastic and impulsive role-playing gamer.

Their father Wilden died shortly before Ian's birth, and their mother Laurel has a new boyfriend, centaur police officer Colt Bronco, whom the brothers dislike.

Ian succeeds in casting the spell but is interrupted by Barley before completing it; consequently, only the lower half of Wilden's body reforms before the gem disintegrates.

The brothers embark on a quest to acquire another gem and finish the spell before sunset, taking Barley's beloved van "Guinevere".

Officer Bronco catches up to the group and orders them to return home; Ian appears to comply but unexpectedly drives away, leading to a wild police chase.

The party make their way through the cave, evading a series of increasingly dangerous traps, and emerge on the other side, only to find themselves back in town in front of Ian's high school.

Corey flies in with Laurel, who drives the magic sword into the dragon's heart, giving Ian enough time to recast the visitation spell.

With help from Laurel, Ian manages to fight off the dragon and destroy it, granting Barley the opportunity to find closure with their father.

[13] In July 2017, then-studio head of Pixar John Lasseter announced that a "suburban fantasy world" film at the D23 Expo was in development, with Scanlon directing and Kori Rae producing.

[13] On December 12, 2018, Tom Holland, Chris Pratt, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer were announced as starring in the film.

[11] On February 18, 2020, Wilmer Valderrama, Tracey Ullman, Kyle Bornheimer, and George Psarras were revealed to have voice roles as well, and John Ratzenberger's appearance was officially confirmed.

[24] On April 16, 2019, Mychael and Jeff Danna, who both previously worked with the studio on The Good Dinosaur (2015), were revealed to be the film's composers.

[25] On February 12, 2020, Brandi Carlile revealed she recorded the song "Carried Me With You" for the film's end credits, co-written with Phil and Tim Hanseroth.

[27] Onward premiered at the 70th Berlin International Film Festival on February 21, 2020[28] and was theatrically released in the United States on March 6.

The announcement followed Disney's earlier than planned release of Frozen II on Disney+ as well as Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker on Digital HD in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[44][45][46] In the United States and Canada, the film was released alongside The Way Back and the wide expansion of Emma, and was projected to gross $45–50 million from 4,200 theaters in its opening weekend.

The website's critics consensus reads, "It may suffer in comparison to Pixar's classics, but Onward makes effective use of the studio's formula – and stands on its own merits as a funny, heartwarming, dazzlingly animated adventure.

[49] Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film three out of five stars, and called it "a likable family comedy that finds an easy rhythm without effort," though he felt that the movie's "attitude towards death" is not as radically powerful as in Coco.

[55] In a same star review Peter Travers of Rolling Stone said "It's no Toy Story—but the animation juggernaut's latest, about two elf brothers on a quest, is still worth your while.

"[56] Reviewer James Berardinelli praised the film's originality and emotional weight and called it "engaging and enjoyable", adding "there's something here for everyone", though concluded it is not the next Disney/Pixar classic.

[57] Ben Travis of Empire gave the film five out of five stars, and wrote, "Pixar returns with a great big power-chord of a movie—heart-pumping, resonant, and positively harmonious.

While he praised the animation and said that the movie "begins with an intriguing premise", he concluded that it "doesn't come close to fully fleshing out the possibilities.

"[59] In January 2020, San Francisco tattoo artist Sweet Cicely Daniher filed a copyright lawsuit against Disney, Pixar, and Onward producer Kori Rae.

[82] The case was dismissed, after Daniher's copyright on the design was cancelled in March 2020 as it was "based on a pre-existing work" and that "she was not the author of the Vanicorn, because she hired someone to paint the unicorn mural".