History TearJerker / Onward

* 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 at first, they stop when Barley taps out the first five beats of "Shave and a Haircut." Wilden taps out the last two notes, confirming that yes, he's talking to Barley, and the two play it out again. Then, almost excitedly, Wilden's legs start reaching out carefully until they find Ian's foot. Then Wilden just...presses his foot against Ian. 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 even got to see.

** 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 remotely happy one.

* 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 ‘Screw-Up’, 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 'screw-up'.
** It's also ironically sad, as before Barley was furious about being called a 'screw-up' and now he was heartbroken because of his brother's words.

* To fool two police officers, Barley and Ian use the Disguise Spell to disguise themselves as Colt. When one of the officers refers to Barley as a screw-up, Ian disagrees- and one of his disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? To keep the illusion of the Disguise Spell going, the user has to tell 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 'screw-up'. 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 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, nor did he 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...

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

** The reason why Ian was willing to make such a sacrifice for Barley: Ian realizes that even though he never got to meet his father, he always had Barley to fill in his shoes. He just wants to give Barley the chance to properly tell Walden goodbye.
** Walden's return is only shown through Ian's eyes: he's far away, not even facing him, and we don't hear anything he tells Barley. It really just drives in how unfair it is that he's ''right there'', and neither Ian nor the audience gets the full family reunion the boys worked so hard for.
** In their final moments together, Walden 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.

* Barley accidentally ruining 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]].

* To fool two police officers, Barley and Ian use an illusion spell to disguise themselves as Colt. When one of the officers refers to Barley as a screw-up, Ian disagrees- and one of his disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? Because the spell only works if the caster tells the truth... which means Ian was ''lying.'' Barley’s understandably hurt to find out his little brother sees him like everyone else in town does.

* This could count for the creatures who practiced magic for so many years and honing their craft, only for technology to take over and for them to become irrelevant.
* The fact that the plot of the movie kicks in because Barley and Ian want to bring their father back to life for Ian's sixteenth birthday. Even worse is the reveal that Ian never he got to meet his dad, as Wilden died before he was born.

* Corey the Manticore [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizing]] that she's sacrificed her glory days for the safe route. She used to be feared every bit as much as a manticore deserves, yet she's been [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen reduced]] to running a Chuckie Cheese Knock-off hardly fit to call "The Manticore Tavern".
* Barley’s reaction to learning Ian thinks he’s a screw-up.
** To explain: To fool two police officers, Barley and Ian use an illusion spell to disguise themselves as Colt. When one of the officers refers to Barley as a screw-up, Ian disagrees- and one of his disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? Because the spell only works if the caster tells the truth... which means Ian was ''lying.'' Barley’s understandably hurt to find out his little brother sees him like everyone else in town does.

* Barley has no choice but to sacrifice his beloved van to stop the cops.
** To add a little context to why this is such a big tearjerker; 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, nor did he 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...

** Even sadder, Wilden spent a better part of 24 hours as a lower half who was probably scared and confused and had to trust that the company he was with was his sons.

** To explain: To fool two police officers, Barley and Ian use an illusion spell to disguise themselves as Colt. When one of the officers refers to Barley as a screw-up, Ian disagrees- and one of his disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? The disguise spell only works if the caster tells the truth... which means Ian was ''lying.'' Barley’s understandably hurt to find out his little brother sees him like everyone else in town does.

* 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]].

** To add a little context to why this is such a big tearjerker; Ian had a whole list of things planned out to do with Wilden, but Barley only wanted to show his dad the van he had 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 had ever wanted to share with his dad, just so he could see him again. He did not blame Ian for not being able to use lightning magic, nor did he 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...

** To explain: To fool two police officers, Barley and Ian use an illusion spell (which requires the caster to speak only the truth after casting it) to disguise themselves as Colt. When one of the officers refers to Barley as a screw-up, Ian disagrees with them... and one of the disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? Ian broke the spell by ''lying.'' Barley’s understandably hurt to find out his little brother sees him like everyone else in town does.

** To add a little context to why this is such a big tearjerker; Ian had a whole list of things planned out to do with Wilden, but Barley only wanted to show his dad the van he had 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 had ever wanted to share with his dad, just so he could see him again. He did not blame Ian for not being able to use lightning magic, nor did he force anything on Ian. He sacrificed everything HE could to help instead, and that realisation turned a small "oh dang" to some real manly tears...

** To add a little context to why this is such a big tearjerker; Ian had a whole list of things planned out to do with Wilden, but Barley only wanted to show his dad the van he had put together from scraps. It may not seem like a big deal (this troper's friends had some chuckles during the scene that made the van look like a flying pegasus) but once you actually think about it, this is essentially Barley giving up the one and only thing he had ever wanted to share with his dad, just so he could see him again. He did not blame Ian for not being able to use lightning magic, nor did he force anything on Ian. He sacrificed everything HE could to help instead, and that realisation turned a small "oh dang" to some real manly tears...

* Corey the Manticore [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realizing]] that she's sacrificed her glory days for the safe route. She used to be feared every bit as much as a manticore deserves, yet she's been [[HowTheMightyHaveFallen reduced]] to running a Chuckie Cheese Knock-off hardly fit to carry on her legacy.

** To explain: To fool two police officers, Barley and Ian use an illusion spell (which requires the caster to speak only the truth after casting it) to disguise themselves as Colt. When one of the officers refers to Barley as a screw-up, Ian disagrees with them... and one of the disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? Because Ian ''lied,'' Barley’s understandably hurt to find out his little brother sees him like everyone else in town does.

* The prologue embodies TheMagicGoesAway. It shows how gradually, magic falls out of favor because it's not as 'easy' as technology. It's sad to watch it be outmoded, as the magical world loses what makes it special.

* Barley trying fruitlessly to use the Visitation Spell. He keeps trying and trying, but nothing happens.
** It becomes sadder in hindsight when one realizes, he's desperate to keep trying because he NeverGotToSayGoodbye. And he wants this one last chance to see his dad proper.

** To explain: When Barley and Ian use an illusion spell to disguise themselves as Colt to fool two of his fellow police officers, one of them refers to Barley as a screw-up. Ian disagrees with them... and one of the disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? ''Because lying breaks the spell.'' 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 'screw-up'. Whenever Ian tries to speak, Barley just drowns him out with loud music. After spending a good deal of movie acting excitable and 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 bride 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]].

** To explain: When Barley and Ian use an illusion spell to disguise themselves as Colt to fool two of his fellow police officers, one of them refers to Barley as a screw-up. Ian disagrees with them... and one of the disguise’s illusory limbs immediately disappears. Why? ''Because lying breaks the spell.'' Barley’s understandably hurt to find out his little brother sees him 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 'screw-up'. 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 accidentally ruining 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]].

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

** During the drive, Barley doesn't speak one word to Ian as the latter clumsily tries to make up for indirectly calling him a 'screw-up'. Whenever Ian tries to speak, Barley just drowns him out with loud music. There's also something deafening about him [[TranquilFury quietly seething]].

** During the drive, Barley can

* 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 his standard BerserkButton, ‘Screw-Up’, much to Barley’s sadness.