Disney Pixar return with a brand new family-friendly epic, rivalling the emotional endurance of its predecessors such as ‘Wall-E’ and ‘Coco’ (tell me you didn’t cry at that one – I won’t believe you).

‘Onward’ follows brothers Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley (Chris Pratt) as they embark on an old world quest to retrieve an almighty gem capable of bringing their dad, who passed when they were too young to remember him, back to life to spend a final 24 hours with them.

The catch? Ian must first master his magical powers, as the first attempt left them with only their father’s legs – which cause as much mischief as you can expect from Pixar.

Directed and produced by Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae respectively, the movie’s underlying story reflects a common theme of Pixar films; family is key, and ‘Onward’ contains some harsh realities amongst the morals of familial behaviour and how we treat our loved ones.

Once again, Pixar humanises figures of our inhuman fantasies, and brings suburban life to a community of elves once ruled by fantastical magic.

Unicorns are the stray cats who screech at each other over scraps of food, and (albeit minuscule) dragons are over-excitable dogs who bound around the house causing chaos and jumping for attention, creating the perfect balance of relatable realism and wacky fantasy. Also, thumbs up to Pixar for including their first openly-gay reference in over 20 years of movie production.

Tom Holland and Chris Pratt portray brilliant on-screen chemistry as brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot, reflecting the feelings towards a sibling that everyone lucky enough to have one will understand – from the unbearable annoyances and embarrassments to the pure moments of love and understanding between one another.

Neither Ian nor Barley have many friends; Ian has made himself somewhat of a recluse, desperate to learn more about his Father, while Barley has immersed himself in the history of magic and the elf equivalent of the real world’s Dungeons and Dragons, insisting of course that it is not a game.

Supported by Julia Louis-Dreyfus as their mother Laurel, Octavia Spencer as The Manticore, and Mel Rodriguez as sheriff Colt Bronco, ‘Onward’ gives us a sizeable cast of famous faces, but limits the central characters allowing for more character development which we miss out on in large ensemble films such as the latest instalments of the ‘Toy Story’ saga.

Laugh-inducing and tear-jerking from beginning to end, ‘Onward’ encapsulates what Disney Pixar does best; bringing emotion to a new community of characters and humanising them, all the while giving their audience a thing or two to think about and reflect upon with their own family and relationships.

Bring tissues and get ready to fall in love with a new host of unlikely friendships with what is sure to be another smash-hit for Pixar.