Onward's Magic Mistake 

Hello! Primary school music teacher here! To be devil's advocat with the recorder, it is used a lot in school because it's a cheap instrument that is very easy to travel with and that (if you buy a basic quality recorder) is hard to break accidently. Schools can't afford every student to have an instrument to take home and most parents won't buy there children an expensvie musical instrument. I'll also add that 3rd graders are actually pretty excited to start learning the recorder, they usually get tired of it in the 5th grade where they want to learn "adult instruments". It is possible to make the recorder fun, but most people won't bother with it, because it's a hard idea to sell to children. Also great video Nando, love your stuff!

Finally, somebody else talks about that devilish object that is the recorder. We all share your pain.

The Recorder is a worldwide phenomenon, but no one can explain why.

The dnd passion was the best part of the movie imo and I felt like it fit really well with the themes you wanted to highlight in this video by making magic mundane. In the movie and irl, dnd is not about being passionate about magic, it is about being an adventurer and imagination and whimsy.

We are forced to play that instrument too in Argentina. It is called “sweet flute” and it’s been around for more than 70 years.

I absolutely adore the concept of magic being something everyone learns but no one cares about.

Man, love your ending a lot more! Colt being utilized and revered would be a great message as in the current movie he's used almost as an obstacle. Giving Laurel the time to have a response to her lost husband coming back to life would be very interesting. Ian, Laurel, and Colt being together in the end to talk to Barley after his dad evaporates would be a great transition into the final message. And, of course, your overall message is much better and more relevant to what many people feel today. Perhaps the magic of the past went away or changed or became outdated, but that doesn't mean the wonder had to go with it. The status quo can change, and it *will change,* so embrace the change and respect the past

The world-building of Bright and Onward of the fantasy world in modern-day’ ish reality has so many possibilities. Because when it came to Bright especially, I imagined all the possibilities they could have done as spinoffs, from that of a detective series all the way to a hospital drama. Anywho... I just hope that Hollywood doesn’t give up on this genre idea.

Belgian here, we know the recorder aswell. Tears have been shed because of it.

The growth spell can be circumvented by a corporation slandering it. Or it could need its own rare gem.

The thing about Onward that bothered me the most is that they were cheated out of a reunion with their father. Using one phoenix gem got their dad's legs for 24 hours. The second should have let them have the top half for another 24 hours. That's a whole phoenix gem that only worked for a few seconds! That's a complete ripoff!

Saw the movie literally 2 hours ago, time to see how nando can make it better

This one felt kind of rushed? Like, normally Nando's points are really well articulated in contrast to the script, but... the movie goes out of its way to answer Nando's complaints about several things? The convenience of technology meant that Centaurs no longer needed to run and sprites no longer needed to fly, so they forgot how. The Chris Pratt character articulates this stuff all the time in the movie, and they pay it off every couple of minutes. I think you can make an argument that this is a *weird* message, but it's in no way inconsistent. I think the tone of voice and character backstory rewrite suggested at @7:48 strongly suggests there's some predisposition to moving the story away from being a love letter to D&D, which seems like a weird choice for a movie that's... well... a love letter to D&D?

I live in Trinidad and they made us learn the recorder so Nando, your pain is worldwide.

The only thing worse than having to play the recorder is having siblings who do.

I never watched this movie, but I'm glad Sadness from Inside Out got to have a fulfilling family life.

I thought Nando was a creative person. Until he explained how he believed cantrips are useless.

Never before have I heard so eloquent an expression of the evils of the recorder.

Not to nitpick, but the Phoenix Gem is likely a "Phoenix" Gem because it's used in the film for a resurrection spell. A more general term would be appropriate in this case.

Pixie Dust is literally Wild Magic. Turn Barley into a Potted Plant.

As a younger brother, I must say that it made me cry

I was homeschooled and I was still forced to learn the recorder. The conspiracy permeates every corner of society.

"We dont need most of the magic in Onward..." Oh my man, you have no imagination.

The Recorder: plays* Nandosvmovies: Ah yes, Thomas The Deamon Engine

What belt did you get to in the recorder? Or was that just a regional thing?

The recorder tormented me as a third grader. They kicked me out from playing due to how bad I was at it.

“Like selling candles online” *Jan wants to know your location*

the one thing about onwards that gave me the biggest headache (could be a plot hole that was patched up but i paid no attention) is that they were STUCK to thinking that they had to have to complete and fix up the dad on the same day. i believe that they could've just waited for him to fade away, then resummon him and restart the 24 hours.. there wasnt anything in the movie that stated that they couldn't do.

That John recorder thing is my headcanon now

It could end the movie with them flying off in the van, then cut to them getting pulled over getting a ticket.

I gotta disagree with your premise of “magic isn’t that useful” the ability to levitate things, create fire, shapeshift etc are all very strong and useful

The real mistake onward made was being released when nobody goes outside

Wow, that was a brilliant analysis. Thanks for the food for thought!

I kind of disagree with you in some places, but I do like the direction. I think part of the theme of the film that could have gotten more attention is the idea that these characters are being made unhappy by trying to suppress who they really are. I feel like you're giving a little too much attention to the mcguffin here though, the phoenix gem is fine the way it is in the film... but I like your idea for magic: Let's take that a little further. Going with the "Magic as Music" comparison, Barley is the ultimate roadie: he knows basically everything there is to know about magic and adventure, but he could never wrap his mind around magic... it just never clicked for him. Ian, on the other hand, is *very* passionate about magic, but he was always embarrassed about it and never showed it off to people. Then Barley's lessons are less "you can do magic" and more "you can play freebird... but like... with magic"... Ian's conflict is still "can I do this?", it's just more that he's never had to do something this complicated under this kind of pressure. In the end, their quest succeeds because everyone embraces who they are.

I specifically enjoyed the "bright" aspect of it. I actually really love that style of world building. I also specifically complained about the very idea that magic would fade away, in a world where it was so clearly real. Our governments have experimented with these things, with "mind reading" and powers from the mind. If magic was real, people would know it and use it. They make magic seem kind of small at first, but we later see that it is extremely useful. Everyone who has ever worked on the outside of a house knows most of these spells would be useful. They would be every day spells people would use, to grab things, to move things, to light stuff that needs lighting. Can you replace a bridge with a ladder? Sure. Is it actually easier than casting a quick spell and walking up to whatever you need? No, not in any way shape or form. And that lightning spell could take out a regimen of troops. It's absurdly powerful, lol. It's not just "electricity." We even see at the end of the movie that he doesn't 100% need the staff, meaning over time, over the centuries or millennia, magic would absolutely evolve to the point of being mundane, but useful. Not.. completely faded, or replaced by technology, lol.

I watched this while kneading dough by hand next to a stand mixer. I really am being called out here.

I hated the recorder but when I got on the mic with it, I made hot cross buns hit different

Same thing for the recorder here in Quebec, Canada: had to learn it. I found it funny to learn it is a baroque instrument.

In my school they called the recorder “flute”

Completely disagree Nando, having our heroes saved by their mom and have the mom slay the dragon would completely undercut their heroic ark.

The comparison of magic to the recorder would have been both hilarious and more narratively satisfying. I very much enjoyed Onward despite it being a little generic (I particularly enjoyed how the magic functioned with each spell having different rules that had to be followed instead of just taking physical energy). However, your version would have definitely been an improvement.

Very cool nando keep it up

I’m proud of myself for completely understanding your intro.

"the recorder is this awful plastic..." disliked. unsubscribed. reported. left.

Well, I didn't think I will feel the urge to say this when the video began but... You've officially fixed Onward! 😁 Great ideas! Love them all!

Anybody else do "Recorder Karate" in school? I'm proud to say I was one of 3 student in my class with a black belt. Also, at the end of the year it was sort of a tradition that we all performed "Chi-Chi the Chiwawa" at the graduation ceremony, however, the year that it was my grade's turn to perform, they stopped the tradition... Honestly, I had a love/hate relationship with our recorder unit in music class. It was actually pretty fun most of the time.

As a homeschooler, I was never forced to play recorder, but we had two in our school cabinet. The recorders are everywhere!

I had basically this exact same thought, but mostly through the lense of "why aren't they trying to teach this to everybody"

Nando help! I watched Homeward by mistake and now every animated character triggers my PTSD

I was watching some other video a few days ago and when they brought up nitpicking I half expected to hear you plug Mostly Nitpicking.

I really like the idea of the school's magic class staffs being plastic, durable, basic shapes, singular bright colors, and generally thought of as pieces of junk that the students just go around whacking each other with. It would also be interesting to see a magic class as a combination between music class, Home Ec., and art, given that all of those are classically underfunded, unrespected, and overlooked classes.

I don't get his problem really, his re-framing of magic was literally the same as the original, and the growth spell wears off so there could be no infinite resources.

On the topic of the growth/reduction spell, you don't need to get rid of it. Just adjust the rules on it. If you could grow food to end world hunger, sure, it would be broken, but maybe it just doesn't work that way. When you embiggen something, it doesn't STAY big. That's what happened to Barley. The spell wore off. How useful would it be to feed 100 hundred people only for the food to shrink after an hour? Maybe that means the plan to embiggen the gas tank was flawed to begin with, or maybe it would've worked for just long enough that they could get to a gas station. Maybe it's just dangerous to do. Who knows? I love the idea to make magic more of a novelty that no one takes seriously, but if you take a little bit of inspiration from D&D itself, you'll see that it's usually more of a stop gap than a permanent solution. And having it be so difficult to master still would drive the point home that people just want convenience over wonder.

would u believe i tear up at every one these videos?

I remember playing the recorder in elementary school back in the 80s I actually felt like a real musician back then.I remember we did a concert for parents and the funny thing is no matter what no you played it all sounded the same.

I am more interested about Nando’s video about this movie than the actual movie.

My school also forced the students of third grade to play the recorder. However, I skipped third grade, so I can not verify if it was truly that horrible.

fellow new jersey 3rd grade victim of the recorder, thank you for sharing our suffering with the world

Your level of imagination of just what the invisible bridge could do is already where this failed hard!

Not really here to start an argument, but how exactly was Toy Story 4 "groundbreaking"? The plot was just Toy Story 2 but Woody goes to Japan with Jessie and Bullseye because he wants to.

Georgia and North Carolina learned it in music class in elementary school. It’s a very simple instrument which is why it’s taught in early grades to get a grasp of how instruments work for those who maybe want to play music in higher grades (4th grade in my Gwinnett county, Georgia school)

when you said a school in new jersey my eyes actually dilated and i felt targetted

One of my roommates is an elementary music teacher. I asked him why the recorder, and he said because it's cheap and easy to learn. Literally, the cheapness is the biggest factor. It's an instrument schools can buy in bulk for little cost.

Amazing rewrite, brings out the potential of the script

I think that Barley still shouldn't be able to use magic, otherwise the story doesn't really work. To continue with your recorder analogy, make Barley tone deaf. When he tries to use the staff it does something else or works poorly. This maintains the knowledge/ability dynamic between Ian and Barley. Also, I think Ian should still get the staff from his dad, but it would be a "high quality" staff (like getting a Stratovarius). We could even use that to set up the gift. Ian is at school, does a spell wrong, and breaks his cheap, school staff. He needs another one for class and his mom just so happens to have found one while starting to go through her husband's things (signalling how she's starting moving on... ward [I had to]), movies continues.

The recorder is one of those nebulous memories where I remember I played it but I couldn’t tell you how old I was. Maybe fourth grade? Fellow East coaster, in the dc area. I like the comparison though. Like some people like playing music (or our worlds magic) as a hobby, or not at all, and a few go pro who are really skilled and passionate about it.

I really enjoyed Onward. It was a pleasant surprise. I'll probably end up buying it when it comes out on Blu-ray.

I really liked your angle of taking the magic more out of the... well magic. One part though i would keep from the movie is that ian makes the choice to let barley meet dad, since that allows ian to still make the realization of barley being that father figure, and hit those emotional highs. Having it taken from him because of some rocks doesnt feel as rewarding as him making the choice for himself.

I clicked for Nando's discussion of the movie, but by the 2:59 mark I was disappointed that this wasn't just going to be a 21 minute rant about recorders

This is my first video of yours and I already feel called out by being a NJ kid who had to learn the horrid recorder. Thank you youtube recommendations for giving me another youtuber to subscribe to!

Nice to know that Nando is a fellow Jersey kid!

Your restructuring of Onward is exactly the movie I wish Onward was. Also, quick question: does the dad still have only 24 hours left like in the final movie, or is the resurrection spell in your version to bring him back permanently? I feel like I might have missed you mentioning that, but just in case, I figured I'd ask.

They've got recorders in the UK too, our whole class had to play that devil rod in Primary School

Giving Colt something to do in the finale could also help bridge the gap between him and the kids. Like Ian and Barley don't like or respect him and he doesn't understand them and that plot point just kinda never gets resolved.

When I was in second grade there was one teacher who taught their students how to play the recorder and I was unfortunate enough to take the same bus as several of the students in that class who insisted on practicing on the bus

Unrelated but the close up shot of the stove burner in the intro genuinely looks like a real stove and almost took me out of the movie from the shock of it

Made me google if Flute vs Recorder is Φλάουτο vs Φλογέρα in Greek. When you said it's that cheapish instrument, I wondered if it's what we were getting in school. But Floghera, the latter, is actually a Greek version of the Bamboo Flute. Then I closed this video as the pic of the recorder was up and I thought I had left google search on, then looked at my tabs and wondered where your video was. What a journey you've taken me through! Well, 'journey' in quarantine terms. I still have these cheap, actually wooden instruments somewhere in my room, but I'm too bored to look at 'em.

Was really hoping you'd talk about what you didn't like in terms of the worldbuiding and how other films have done it better - pls pls can you in another video??

As the owner and active player of my own recorder, which I recognize is lame, I feel obligated to say that the recorder is an absolutely delightful instrument when it is (a) something like an alto with a more pleasant range, and (b) not being played by a small child. Very affordable, approachable, and a little bit of patience and vibrato can make it a real pleasure.

Yes! Band geek culture would have been an amazing alternative and much more relatable and representative.

One little detail that drove me NUTS during Onward is the utter lack of consideration they put into the world. Stuff that Zootopia did masterfully. The best example is when they stop at a gas station. There needed to be an entire brigade of pixies just to open the door, shouldn't there have been a smaller door to accommodate for that kind of thing? Why didn't the school have larger desks for larger students, or smaller students? Why wasn't there a smaller lane for smaller cars? Just little details like that broke the immersion for me.

We had to play the recorder for the whole school years. Like 11 years of playing the recorder, called "sweer flute" in my country, plus other instruments, but the recorder was the main instrument we learned.

Another idea on how to do Magic in onward would be to make It a subjective thing to learn rather than an objective, like you can teach someone how to draw, but you have to develop your own style in other to make it your own, so magic only works if you do it your way, so there would be a thousand incantations for a fireball spell, since wich individual mage had to come with one of their own, inspired by the predecesor (Sorry for the mispeling)

Been wondering about something If you had to pitch an Injustice: Gods Among Us movie in the DCEU, how would you go about it? (freedom to merge the CW-verse characters as well)

OK here you go everyone! For Nando and everyone else - a deep dive explaining why we use the recorder in elementary music! Hope this answers your questions, and lets you see the recorder a little bit differently. In Defense of the Recorder: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-7wiLGq8ffus.html

I’m in NC and we learned the Recorder.

Nando, if you haven't already, check out Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood. Not for review or anything, I just think you'd really like it; your description of what magic should have been and the problems you outlined with the growth spell are pretty central aspects of that series.

Not to nitpick but there is dialogue that mentions 1, pixies wings essentially being vestigal, when Barley says your ancestors used to be able to fly. I do enjoy your take but I think they did a lot more of the science has caused atrophy than you noticed.

Going through the New Jersey public school system...I remember two terrible ideas, 1) forcing us to learn hot cross buns on the recorder, and 2) forced square dancing. Which is worse? Who knows?

Not to nitpick (ha) but I think your version of the intro is a little too blunt in the exposition. If instead of saying "magic like that needs a Phoenix stone" you said something like "magic like that needs a focus" or some such. That way a Phoenix stone could be something extra-special too, and could be basically self-explanatory as to how they survived when other focuses didn't, because they have some sort of regeneration similarly to an actual phoenix

Its probably worth pointing out the visitation spell is very likely unique, the letter says the father made/wrote it himself

I don’t want to be ungrateful but WHERES THE PART 2 OF THE X-MEN DAYS OF FUTURE PAST REWRITE??!!

Can't wait for you to be this critical aboit the existing magic in a world when you retread through Harry Potter.

Awesome! You should do a video on "Extraction". Please!!!

I just saw the film last night and isn't the growth spell limited by time? Barley eventually grows back to his normal base size and I assume that's what happens to all things affected by the spell. Like if you ate expanded food made from the spell you might feel temporarily full, but after a few hours the expanded food would shrink along with all it's nutrients putting you immediately back into hunger. You could expand the gas in your car but that would only give you a little extra mileage before the gas shrunk back down to normal, so you'd have to constantly stop and park to recast the spell while also having a massive gas tank.

Came for video essay surrounding onward. Stayed for recorder conspiracy theories.

I thought you kept saying "grope spell" and I was alarmed that I somehow missed that bit in the movie

I only just realized it's "Barley," not "Marley." And recorders have apparently been around since at least the Middle Ages. You can hear some in the Prisoner of Azkaban soundtrack. Now that I think about it, that kind of makes it closer to the whole magic thing.

6:04 The thing is… Ian didn't really master magic. He learned 5 or 6 spells and only one of them was really hard to master (the thunder spell)

World building was this movie's biggest flaw. I think magic should have been deeply integrated into society, like used in industry and daily life along with technology, but due to the nature of the modern world it is so common, over-explained and regulated that it just isn't fun anymore. You could have a scene in the school where the teacher is dryly explaining in detail how magic works and you could see students falling asleep or people talking about how they need to get such and such license to do blah blah magic thing for their job. That would have been more interesting to me.