It looks like it’s going to be a big year for Disney Pixar home entertainment with two original stories out in 2020 and the first will be the Onward UK DVD Blu-ray, digital, rental and 4K release date (details below). It’s a real world adventure meets fantasy mashup in which magic once prevailed, but it has been taken over by technology.
The story follows two teenage elf brothers, Ian and Barley Lightfoot. Their father died before Ian was born and Barley was too young to remember him. However, he left them a magic staff that will bring him back to life for a single day that they can use when they come of age. The time comes, but the staff only manages to bring back their dad’s legs, so the brothers set off on a quest to try to get the rest of him before the time runs out.
In addition to it being a Disney Pixar film, it’s also got a big name cast, which should add to its success when the DVD, Blu-ray, 4K and digital release comes around. Tom Holland of Dolittle and Avengers Endgame fame teams up with fellow Avengers star Chris Pratt as the two elves Ian and Barley with Julia Louise-Dreyfus playing their mum Laurel.
The cast also includes Octavia Spencer (Dolittle) as Corey, a manticore, which is essentially a part human, part Lion, part porcupine hybrid. Ali Wong (Birds Of Prey) plays faun police officer Gore and Lena Waithe (Ready Player One) is her cyclops cop partner Specter.
It’ll be followed in the summer with the release of Soul, Disney Pixar’s second new story in 2020.
DVD, Blu-ray, 4K, iTunes or digital rental in the UK?
The Onward UK DVD and Blu-ray release date is expected towards the end of June or early in July at the very latest. As one of the big animated films out this year, it should also be available on 4K Ultra HD disc, as well as 3D Blu-ray, which has been the case for all recent Disney Pixar films like Toy Story 4 or The Incredibles 2.
It’ll be out a little earlier to buy on digital in the UK from iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play and YouTube, so you’re looking at mid to the end of June depending on the final date for DVD and Blu-ray. There should be a whole host of special features bundled with the home entertainment release, but these will only be available on HD & 4K digital, Blu-ray, 3D and 4K disc in the UK. We’ll add a post on the details for the extras when they’re announced.
If you miss the film on the big screen the digital rental will be out on the same date as the physical formats.
Runtime and digital file size
The Onward runtime is 1 hour and 43 minutes, so it’s the typical length for a Pixar animated film. That will give it a digital file size of around 4.38 Gb at 1080p HD, and 1.65 GB in standard definition.
You can follow us on Twitter to see more film news or check out the official Twitter page at https://twitter.com/pixaronward to see more on the home entertainment release.
Age rating and parents guide
Onward hasn’t been given an age rating as of yet in the UK, but the details should be announced by the British Board Of Film Classification in the next couple of weeks. Looking back on Disney Pixar’s last two films, Toy Story 4 was certified U and The Incredibles 2 PG. Onward looks more like it’s in the same category as the latter if the trailer is anything to go by, so it should be another PG film.
In terms of a parents guide, you might want to take the mild violence in the trailer into account for any young viewers.
Cinema release date
The Onward UK release date in cinemas is Friday 6th March 2020, which sets it up well for Easter viewing. It doesn’t have much to compete against on its opening weekend, but as we get closer to Easter on the 12th April this year it’ll be up against the Mulan live action adaptation, Peter Rabbit 2, No Time To Die and The New Mutants, although the latter two are far from direct competition for its viewers.
Visit our UK DVD and Blu-ray release dates page to see more upcoming films for home entertainment and you can check out the official webpage for the film on the Disney Pixar website at https://www.pixar.com/onward.
Trailer
The trailer sets the story up well and features all of the main characters as the quest to bring back all of their dad takes shape.
