'Onward' trailer 2: 'Weekend at Bernies' meets fantasy in Pixar's latest

Two of the biggest stars in the MCU will team up as brothers for Pixar’s next animated film, Onward. Disney dropped a new trailer for the film on Thursday, which sees Tom Holland and Chris Pratt as pair of teenaged elves, Ian and Barley Lightfoot, who learn their late father has left behind a pretty amazing gift for them. Turns out, dad was a wizard — when he wasn’t working as an accountant, that is. The boys open up the mysterious bundle brought down from the attic by their mom (played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and discover a magical staff that will allow them to bring their dear departed dad back from the great beyond for just one day.

Naturally, their first order of business is to follow dad’s instructions. Unfortunately, wrangling a magical staff isn’t easy, and Ian accidentally messes up the spell partway through, and is only able to summon forth the bottom half of his father. “I definitely remember dad having a top part,” Barley stammers.

So they embark on a quest to complete the spell and before their 24 hours with dad are through. Since everyone around them would likely freak out after seeing a pair of disembodied legs ambling around, the brothers disguise them a bit by plonking a lumpy stuffed sweatshirt and some sunglasses on top. It sort of looks like a real elf-person. But not really. And it keeps flopping over, not unlike Weekend at Bernies, another movie about two dopes going on a wacky adventure with a dead guy. Bernie deserved to have his corpse desecrated because he tried to kill Johnathan Silverman and Andrew McCarthy, while Ian and Barley’s dad was presumably a good dude, because he has a warm smile and oddly reassuring feet. We’re about 98 percent certain this new film from Pixar won’t involve any corpse desecration.

Onward takes place in a suburban fantasyland called New Mushroomton, which includes all sorts of goofy stuff like elf aerobics videos, feral unicorns and a fire-breathing Manticore (played by Octavia Spencer) who appears to work at medieval-themed buffet. There’s all sorts of chuckle-worthy little world-building details to enjoy in the trailer, like Wild Boar Jerky and “Orange Quest” soda we spotted in the convenience store.

Be warned, Pixar fans. This one looks like it’s gonna be a weapons-grade tear-jerker. At some point, we will probably see dad’s top half, and he will say something heartfelt and tender to Tom Holland, and everyone everywhere will cry their eyes out.

Onward comes to theaters March 6, 2020.