History TearJerker / Onward

* The fact that this film is John Ratzenberger's very last voice role with Pixar (he voices Fenwick the Cyclops worker)

** It's also ironically sad, as before Barley was furious about being called a screwup and now he was heartbroken because of his brother calling him a screwup. But despite the heat of the moment, and the confusion, Ian didn't realise that they were where they needed to be, [[spoiler:because the gem was at the same fountian that Barley was trying to save at the beginning of the film]].

* Barley being on the verge of tears when he sees Ian precariously walking across the bottomless pit without the safety rope. On one hand, it can be interpreted as him being proud of Ian for mastering the Invisible Bridge spell, but on the other hand, it can also be interpreted as him being [[AdultFear scared of losing his brother before his eyes, all while he's powerless to save him]].

* Ian laying into Barley after their adventure takes them back to their school, meaning they went in a huge circle and that the entire adventure was a waste of time. He even calls Barley a screwup for it, much to Barley’s sadness.

* A meta example: the film came out right as the UsefulNotes/Covid19Pandemic started, and ''Onward'' is one of the last movies released in theatres prior to the lockdown. The film itself could remind people of how it could have been the final activity they did before the lockdown and bum them out.
** Given the causalities involved in pandemic and the shuttering of movie theatres, it's likely this was the last movie experience many people had before dying.

** It's also ironically sad, as before Barley was furious about being called a screwup and now he was heartbroken because of his brother calling him a screwup. But despite the heat of the moment, and the confusion, Ian didn't realise that they were where they needed to be.

** Barley desperately looking for some clue that the Phoenix Stone is nearby, just to prove to Ian that he's not a screwup.
** It's also ironically sad, as before Barley was furious about being called a screwup and now he was heartbroken because of his brother calling him a screwup.

** Let's not forget the subtle symbolism that really sells the moment, of Guinevere's tire popping and making galloping sounds, the parking tickets streaming out of the windows like wings just before she makes her final jump, and the way the camera zooms in to the painted winged horse on her side as she flies through the air, all set to the dramatic chorus of "Rise to Valhalla". This wasn't just a van crashing: for all intents and purposes, it's ''Barley's noble steed going out in a blaze of glory and ascending to a warrior's paradise.''

* Ian giving up on any chances of being a "new" him, including being like his father.

** Because the gem is right in town, Barley pretty much sacrificed Guinevere for nothing.

* Barley accidentally ruining [[TragicKeepsake his father's sweater]]. It's just a tear and Ian is able to fix it, but it subtly hints at a [[WesternAnimation/{{Brave}} bond torn, if not by pride]].

-->'''Mr. Lightfoot:''' Long ago, the world was full of wonder. It was adventurous. There was magic. But it wasn't easy to master, so the world found a simpler way to get by. But I hope there's a little magic left... in you.

** Just the fact that the tape recording is any form of message, let alone a posthumous one Wilden left for Ian, like one would initially expect. It's literally just audio of Wilden trying to get the recorder to work and talking to Laurel in the background. Clearly Ian wants to know about his father so badly that he's willing to listen to meaningless audio of him just to hear his voice.

* To fool two police officers, Barley and Ian use the Disguise Spell to disguise themselves as Colt. When one of them refers to Barley as a screwup, Ian disagrees- and one of his disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? The Disguise Spell only works if the spellcaster tells the truth... which means Ian was ''lying.'' Barley’s understandably hurt to find out his little brother sees him as a failure like everyone else in town does.
** During the drive, Barley doesn't speak one word to Ian as the latter clumsily tries to make up for indirectly calling him a screwup. Whenever Ian tries to speak, Barley just drowns him out with loud music. After spending a good deal of movie acting exuberant, there's something deafening about him sitting there [[TranquilFury quietly seething]].
* Barley being on the verge of tears when he sees Ian precariously walking across the bottomless pit without the safety rope. On one hand, we can interpret he's proud of Ian mastering the Invisible Bridge spell, but on the other hand, we can't help but feel he's [[AdultFear scared of losing his brother before his eyes, all while he's powerless to save him]].
* Barley has to sacrifice his beloved van to stop the cops. Ian had a whole list of things planned out to do with Wilden, but Barley's only wish was to show his dad the van he'd put together from scraps. It may not seem like a big deal, but once you actually think about it, this is essentially Barley giving up the one and only thing he'd ever wanted to share with his dad, just so he could see him again. He didn't blame Ian for not being able to use lightning magic, or force anything on Ian. He sacrificed everything ''he'' could to help instead, and that realization turned a small "oh dang" to some real manly tears...
* Barley reveals to Ian that he [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye never got to say goodbye to his father]] because the sight of Wilden hooked to life support scared him from going in. And Barley's shame over this incident led to him deciding to [[FearlessFool never be afraid of anything else again...]] ''at three years old.''
** Barley only has ''four'' memories of his father, and three of them are only vague details like how he used to play drums on his feet. The fourth and final memory is the only one of a specific ''event'' - and it wasn't even a ''happy'' one.
** Just the way that Barley hangs his head and takes his hat off, one of the few times in the film he's very soft-spoken. You can tell that Barley isn't just sad that he didn't say goodbye to Wilden, he's ''guilt-ridden.''
* Ian laying into Barley after their adventure takes them back to their school, meaning they just went in a huge circle and the entire adventure was seemingly a waste of time. He even calls Barley a screwup for it, much to Barley’s sadness.

** In their final moments together, Wilden pulls Barley in for one last father-son hug...and then he fades away as the sun sets. Barley is left standing there for a moment, wiping tears from his eyes.

** It's also ironically sad, as before Barley was furious about being called a screwup and now he was heartbroken because of his brother's words.

* Barley reveals to Ian that he [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye never got to say goodbye to his father]] because the sight of Wilden hooked to life support scared him from going in. And Barley's shame over this incident led to him deciding to [[FearlessFool never be afraid of ''anything'' again...]] ''at three years old.''

* Barley reveals to Ian that he [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye never got to say goodbye to his father]] because the sight of Wilden hooked to life support scared him from going in. And this incident led to Barley's [[FearlessFool reckless nature-]] he'd decided to never be afraid of ''anything'' again.. ''at three years old.''

* Barley reveals to Ian that he [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye never got to say goodbye to his father]] because the sight of Wilden hooked to life support scared him from going in. And this incident led to Barley's [[FearlessFool reckless nature-]] he'd decided to never be afraid of ''anything'' again.

* Barley reveals to Ian that he [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye never got to say goodbye to his father]] because the sight of Wilden hooked up to life support scared Barley so much that he ''didn't even go in.'' And this incident led to Barley's reckless nature- he'd decided to never be afraid of ''anything'' again.

* Barley reveals to Ian that he [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye never got to say goodbye to his father]] because the sight of Wilden hooked up to life support scared Barley so much that he ''didn't even go in.''

* The boys' first interaction with Wilden's legs is both this and Heartwarming. Because Wilden has no eyes or ears, his legs just blindly stumble around the room. Barley taps him on the foot, and though Wilden's legs pull away nervously at first, they stop when Barley taps out the first five beats of "Shave and a Haircut." Realizing that it’s Barley, Wilden taps out the last two notes, confirming that he gets it, and the two play it out again. Then, as if he’s realizing Ian must be nearby, Wilden's legs start reaching out carefully until they find Ian's foot. Then Wilden just... presses his foot against it. Remember that Ian wasn't even ''born'' when his father got sick, and Wilden fought so hard to stay alive so he could actually meet him. Just in the simple interaction, you can ''feel'' the love and relief of a father finally meeting the son he never got to see.

* Barley reveals to Ian that he [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye never got to say goodbye to his father]] because the sight of Wilden hooked up to medical machinery scared Barley so much that he ran out of the room.

** Just the way that Barley hangs his head and takes his hat off, one of the few times in the film he's very soft-spoken. You can tell that Barley isn't just sad he didn't say goodbye to Wilden, he is ''horribly'' guilty for running away.
* Ian laying into Barley after their adventure takes them back to their school, meaning they just went in a huge circle and the entire adventure was seemingly a waste of time. He even calls Barley screwup, much to Barley’s sadness.
** Barley desperately looking for some clue that the Phoenix Stone is nearby, just to prove to Ian he's not a screwup.