History WesternAnimation / Onward

* SayingTooMuch: The pawn store owner, Grecklin, is willing to part with the Curse Crusher with just 10 dollars, but after Corey starts extolling its virtues on how it's made from a rare metal and capable of destroying curses, Grecklin naturally tacks another 3 zeros to the price, which Corey and Laurel naturally can't afford, forcing them to steal it, as described above.

* SayingTooMuch: The pawn store owner, Grecklin, is willing to part with the Curse Breaker with just 10 dollars, but after Corey starts extolling its virtues on how it's made from a rare metal and capable of destroying curses, Grecklin naturally tacks another 3 zeros to the price, which Corey and Laurel naturally can't afford, forcing them to steal it, as described above.

* RaidersOfTheLostParody: Ian and Barley have to outrun a giant gelatinous cube, evade deadly traps, and then [[IndyHatRoll pull their father's pants through a closing door]].

* HartmanHips: Laurel Lightfoot has a large bottom, especially when she exercises in the opening of the film.

* OurElvesAreBetter: The two main characters, their mother, and their DisappearedDad are all elves with both blue hair and skin and the traditional PointyEars. Ian is shown to have innate magical talent, which it turns out his and Barley's father Wilden shared. In addition, both Wilden and another elf briefly seen near the beginning have facial hair, an unusual trait among elves.

* CoolCar:
** Officer Bronco's patrol car is pretty distinctive amongst all of the other police cars that show up in the film because it's a Ford [[{{Pun}} Bronco]].

** Guinivere the van, or at least Barley thinks so. At least it was an amazing mural painted on its sides.

* MagicVersusScience: Magic is very powerful and can do things science can't, but is difficult to master and can only be used by a few. Technology on the other hand is far easier to understand and can be used by anyone, quickly leading to it supplanting magic in the world.

* TheKeyIsBehindTheLock: The lever to lower the drawbridge across the bottomless chasm is on the other side of the chasm.
** Also, when Ian and Barley are fleeing from [[spoiler:biker pixies]], they realize they have left the car keys inside [[TheAllegedCar Guinevere]].

* IKnowMortalKombat: Barley assumes that he's the best one to cast the visitation spell because of his obsessive knowledge of fantasy [=RPGs=], but numerous failed attempts reveal that he is no magic user. Subverted because we learn that, in this world, only some creatures are born with the "gift" of using magic, and simply knowing the mechanics of how to cast a spell isn't enough. It turns out that Barley's claim that "Quests of Yore" is based on actual historical magic is accurate, seeing how well he is able to mentor Ian in spell-casting from simple spells up to the complex ''Arcane Lightning''. By the end of the movie, the audience has no doubt that if Barley also had the gift, he would have been a very effective magic-user.
** [[spoiler:Laurel]] also counts, since [[spoiler:she]] learned enough fighting skills from cardio exercises to fight a dragon.

** [[Spoiler:Laurel]] also counts, since [[spoiler:she]] learned enough fighting skills from cardio exercises to fight a dragon.

* FaunsAndSatyrs: In the trailer, there's a female faun painting a house wall, using her goat legs to leap and reach the high spots.

* BoringButPractical: Even though Magic exists in this world, Technology can be used by anybody, provided much more convenient ways of doing things, and inventions like lightbulbs made spells to light fires obsolete. As a result, the use of Magic faded over the years while Technology became used by the majority of the population.

* SpiritualSuccessor: When you think about the film's setting and how it uses many Medieval elements with modern day ones as well, it's almost like Pixar's take on ''Franchise/{{Shrek}}''.

* IntelligibleUnintelligible: The Manticore has no trouble understanding her goblin cook:
-->'''Manticore:''' You're late, Adolphus.
-->'''Adolphus:''' [unintellegible]\\
'''Manticore:''' I understand there's traffic. You need to plan for that.\\
'''Adolphus:''' [unintellegible]\\
'''Manticore:''' Well, maybe your mother should get her own car!

* CompanyCrossReferences:
** Triple Dent Gum, first seen in ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', is sold at the gas station Ian and Barley visit.
** One particular location on the map is "The ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' Wilderness".

* MythologyGag:
** Triple Dent Gum, first seen in ''WesternAnimation/InsideOut'', is sold at the gas station Ian and Barley visit.
** One particular location on the map is "The ''WesternAnimation/{{Brave}}'' Wilderness".

* HypocriticalHumor: Barley tells Ian that in order to cast the enlargement spell, he has to be ''absolutely focused''...and proceeds to heavily distract him with all his advice.

* LostInTranslation: In the Norwegian dub, the indication that the infamous cop is a lesbian is omitted due to the Norwegian word for one's romantic partner being gender neutral ("kjæreste", literally translating to "the dearest"), so the Norwegian audience would have no idea she's referring to a woman.

* MourningAnObject: [[spoiler:Barley sacrifices his precious van, Guinevere, so that he and his brother can escape from the police. After it crashes into a stone and is covered in rubble, he gives it a solemn salute.]]

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The Lightfoots have a small pet dragon named Blazey that acts like a dog. A brief scene in the prologue showing a party of adventurers battling a huge and aggressive dragon, suggesting that they were selectively bred over the centuries to be pets and used to be larger and fiercer.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The trailer shows the Lightfoots having a small pet dragon named Blazey that acts like a dog. A brief scene in the prologue showing a party of adventurers battling a huge and aggressive dragon suggests that they were selectively bred over the centuries to be pets and used to be larger and fiercer.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The trailer shows the Lightfoots having a small pet dragon named Blazey that acts like a dog. A cameo in the prologue shows that they used to be huge and fierce prior to their domestication.

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: The trailer shows the Lightfoots having a small pet dragon named Blazey that acts like a dog.