Episode 206: Pixar's Dan Scanlon (And His Dog) On The Music Of Onward

Soundtracking with Edith Bowman

One of the things that helped Edith and her family no end during lockdown was having access to the entire Pixar back catalogue through Disney Plus. She and her two boys watched virtually all of the movies and shorts again for the umpteenth time, so it was a real joy for us to welcome to the animator, writer and director Dan Scanlon to Soundtracking.
Dan joined Pixar in 2001, and worked on Cars and Toy Story 3 as a story artist before directing Monsters University. His latest work was the deeply personal suburban fantasy, Onward. Based on his own experience of losing his father, Onward tells the story of two elf brothers who go in search of an artefact that will temporarily bring their deceased dad back to life. It's both visually and emotionally beautiful, and if you haven't seen it already, watch it now!

The film is scored by Mychael and Jeff Danna, and we'll hear plenty of their work throughout the conversation, as well as that of Pixar stalwarts Randy Newman and Michael Giacchino.