My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analyses: "Onward" - The Pixar Fantasy Mashup That Was The Company's First Fantasy Property

Hi folks! Welcome to my My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analysis blog. A blog where I'm analyzing several Disney films, Disney or Animation in general! These entries are just meant to be my analyses. Not reviews or statements. Just fun analyses! Though I'll make some personal remarks now and then, the content of these entries are meant to be depicted objectively. They're made for entertainment purpose only and the pictures/clips are copyright Disney or other companies.

Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.

And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize

We're just taking a break on our journey :)

Bears can also
become ghost :)

We live in a harsh world where purism exists. While this should be applied to literal purism, it could also be applied to that the world has a general habit of making comparisons to a huge degree. And if there's one thing that certainly true to this kind of purism, is how no entities should blend at all. And this has certainly applied to Disney and Pixar. One recurrent criticism is how both studios have become homogeneous through thi Revival era, which is certainly understandable. Yet when both studios began exploring and intertwining the elements of each other, truly created outrage by purists and naysayers.

Yes, it's a challenge
to go onward with a
bodyless feet. That's
why we're guiding it ;)

This was certainly something that hampered Brave when it was released in 2012. Since it was heavily panned for the mending of the two studios and how Disney had supposedly destroyed Pixar (despite how the fuzz were less when Disney made the Pixaresque movie with Wreck-It-Ralph). But in March 2020 we got a second Pixar project that not only applied to the homogeny criticism. But also a project that could`ve been criticized for exploring Disney's trademarking elements. Which was Onward.

Onward`s Trademarks, Placement, Non-Pixar Components and Reception

I'm a new version of Casper
the friendly ghost:)

The title is
misleading ;)

Having been released March 6t, 2020, Onward was Pixar's first original property since the non-Caucasian Coco in 2017. Which also was a film that was truly invigorating from Pixar and could easily be interpreted as the amalgam of Disney and Pixar (since it was Pixar's first true musical). But after two sequels of two of Pixar's biggest hits, it was nice to see an original property of Pixar for once. Which has also pleased the general public, since Pixar has been frequently criticized for delving into sequel territory fully. While Onward perhaps wassn't the true culmination of Disney's territory as aforementioned Brave did, at least both movies shares genres that have similar components. But genre-wise they're still different. While Brave was Pixar's first fairy tale with a period setting, Onward was pretty much Pixar's first fantasy entry. Which truly was first for the studio.

Yet in true Pixar fashion, it was a mesh of different elements. As it blended a modern setting with fantasy elements. A mash-up like that may seem like a headscratcher. But hey, Pixar has managed to pull off such blends before. Regardless of how naysayers will hate me for mentioning this, a fantasy or fairy tale concept from Pixar always yields promise. Cause hey, it's not as Disney are the only company who's entitled to explore those properties.

Regardless of my aforementioned rants about purism, at least the backlash of the un-Pixar settings by Pixar seems to have settled down from Pixar purists. At least compared to when Cars 2 changed Pixar's foolproof fate forever. So therefore there weren`t many complaints about Onward. Yet one should always wonder if Pixar managed to restore their glory again during Onward`s time. Considering that none of their films between 2015-20 have been slammed as Cars 2, Brave or The Good Dinosaur. Yet Onward didn't seemèd to be destined for that path, as it's been well received by critics. At least Onward marked Pixar's first March release ever, which was going to be only three months prior to their second entry of 2020, Soul. Which was originally going to be released on their annual Summer slot, but was postphoned to December due to a certain pandemic (being helmed by Pixar veteran Pete Docter, who's behind some of Pixar's most beloved and emotionally resonant films, as Inside Out, Up and Monsters, Inc.)

Onward`s Plotline, Characters, Genesis, Setting and Personal Inspirations

We'll give ya more weight, Ian,
so you'll blend with us :)

Being helmed by Monsters University helmer Dan Scanlon, Onward tells the story of two brothers Ian (Tom Holland) and Barley Lightfoot (Chris Pratt). In a fantastical world that has over time devolved into something more closely resembling ours. The brothers are pointy-eared blue elves and lives in houses which essentially are mushrooms that could've practically been taken from The Smurfs (the choice of mushrooms was due to the sheer fun of it, while the crew were originally considering trees as homes. Since the crew wanted a blend of suburban normalcy).

It's Harry Potter's broomstick :)

This wasn't written
by Bob Dylan ;)

For Ian's 16th Birthday, his mom Laurel Lightfoot (Julia Louis-Dreyfus, making her second role in a Pixar movie after A Bug's Life's Princess Atta) gives the boys something their late father, Wilden, left for them. A staff with instructions to bring back Mr. Lightfoot for one day. Ian has no memories of his father and Barley was only three or four (that Wilden just appears at first with his pants was originally meant as a joke, until the crew realized that they could do it, still they've found it funny at the end).

You can be Forest Gump
regardless of having only feet :)

The idea was suggested on Pixar in 2013. Wanting to tell about brothers was a deliberate choice from the get-go. And it was based on the idea of the amazement of having one day with a deceased person. After further development, the team realized that they could create a story about magic vs. technology by introducing the element of magic. Yet it was the father issue that really settled that the story could be rooted in fantasy. Yet regarding the mash-up, the director didn't want to do a period piece in a fantasy world, so therefore it became so. Also because he didn't felt as close to a period setting. And also because he wanted to be innovative about it. Still originally the film didn't always have a fantasy setting, which was a late addition to the project. There always was a fantasy, but the crew weren't sure how to use it. Yet at the very beginning it was really more about magic than just a fantasy. Still Scanlon didn't know nothing about the fantasy genre prior to this.

At least we're not
running with the
Olympic Flame :)

Yes, it can happen. After all,
it's magic :)

While originally confirmed as an original project in 2016, it was officially announced in 2017 at Disney's D23 Expo. Yet it was untitled at first, declared to taking place in a “Suburban Fantasy World with no humans in this story, only fantasy creatures like elves, trolls, and sprites." The tone was said to be a mixture of fantasy and the mundane. Since the unicorns are the rodents of this world. As with most Pixar entities, it's inspired from personal events of the creators. Since Scanlon wanted to do something personal. As he lost his father at the age of one, the film is inspired by the question he’s always asked: who was his father? Scanlon's brother was only three during his fathers loss, yet Scanlon purposefully didn't share too many details with his brother about the project. Since he wanted him to be surprised when he saw the film for the first time.

While the family

saw photographs of Stanlon's father, they've never heard him speak before. Scanlon played the recording of his father to a sea of people, who sat in rapt attention. You only hear his father say two Words: "Hi" and "bye". The project stood out because of the personal nature of it. Initially Scanlon never really thought that his origin could be a story, still he had pitched two ideas that were similar. While one rumors of the movie was it being about "a half-pants person is walking around", with no further explanation.

Behind the Scenes Information

It can't go onward
without a driver ;)

Originally the characters were supposed to be human. But because of the magic, they decided to change the type of characters. Early concept art showed a mystical, face-having tree looming over a parking lot full of ordinary looking sedans. Production began in January 2019 and the title was finally announced in December 2018. Even D23 Expo 2019 had an presentation of Onward, despite howlittle was revealed to the public (while the van Guinevere was still there for the visitors). But at least the pivotal scenes of the discovery of their father was shown, as well as the shrinking of Barley scene.

I'm not trying to mess your
hair up :) I'm trying to fix
it ;) On my terms :)

Originally the brothers were going to be more similar to Scanlon and his own brother, as Ian was going to be the leader, whereas Barley was going to be more sweet and shy. However, it made Ian too unlikable, so therefore Ian's personality was traded. Originally the brothers were going to be more similar. The idea of magic being forgotten in the film is a metaphor for the loss potential we all face as the world advances, according to the filmmakers. The idea is not to say that technology or progress is wrong, but to remind is that sometime conveniences lead to losing a little bit of potential in yourself.

I'm two shades of grey ;)

The crew discarded spells that would give the boys unlimited power. Such as allowing them to control the weather. And having spells that would have them meet their father in a weird way, as stopping time. It was deliberately decided that there would be only good magic in this story, in order to make Ian a better person. It took a while to find the character of Ian, because he wasn't playable. While Ian was supposed to even look cooler at one point. Originally Ian was more into magic and wanted to meet Dad so he could get better at magic. Barley was easier to design than Ian, because the crew members instantly knew who that character was.

I'm so adorable, despite that
I've tasted your clothes :)

Blazey, the dog-like dragon, was added in order to have a doglike character and it made sense that the doglike creatures in this world would be dragons (though he was a difficult to animate). But he was based on Scanlon's dog, Carol and was added to create more chaos to the family. The blue-skinned elves provided somewhat of a challenge to the lighting team due to their cooler-toned skins. Overall, there were 85 animators on the film. And there were 13 species of elves, cyclops, sprites, satyrs, dragons, bugs, and more which were created to populate 240 individual characters with an additional 100 variants of those characters to support the film.

Onward`s Tearjerking Moments, Premise, Trailers, Pixar Tropes, Sibling Relationship, Actors & Manticore Comics

We're more fish than
humans :) So we'll become fish
at the end, because of our
fins on our ears :)

I'm Papa Smurf in disguise :)

Since Pixar has practically been perceived as synonymous with the big tearjerker and heart-tugging scene (certainly with their last films from their Golden Era). Onward certainly fills that bill. Due to it's premise, which takes the trend of reaching out the dead one quite literally. And sure, most of the elves looked like they've could come straight from The Smurfs or Avatar. Yeah, I know it's a shallow comparison, but it's overall not a bad thing At least the mashup of mermaids and unicorns are appealing, since both lends perfectly to the grenre (still fortunately none of the mermaids resembles Ariel, which would've created an outrage, hahahaha). Originally characters were originally going to have a more realistic look. Austin Madison, an story artist on the film, tweeted that Onward was a Tolkien story as told through a John Hughes lens.

This is what Following the
Leader should've been like :)

At least the first teaser that was released in late May 2019, showed the glimpses of a fantasy setting that appears in the prologue. And also having The Cars' Magic within it. It debuted during ABC's broadcast of the 2019 NBA Finals. The second trailer that came in October 2019 wasn't particularly different. While the fantasy genre setting makes it instantly comparable to the aforementioned Brave, at least Onward doesn't feature something that has been Disney's true staple lately: A Princess. And for all the rants of Pixar and Disney recycling the buddy-trope formula, this movie also relies on that trope as well. However, it's remarkable that Pixar still happens to get less flack for this trope than Disney. And while this Revival formula has usually been about one from each gender, the buddy is aroud two males (while of course Onward is far from the first film to rely on the buddy trope between two of the same gender).

We're trying to have the
"freeze" gaze :) But aren't we
adorable? :)

It would be easy to pan Frozen for the sibling formula, since Frozen became perceived for it. But hey, the sibling formula existed prior to the Revival era. Despite that a brother relationship was still a first for Pixar (at least in terms of being the main focus). And of course the dynamic is about two polar opposites: An outgoing, happy-go-lucky brother and a shyer and more self-conscious brother. And yes, the movie centers around Ian' general teenage angst and insecurity, which becomes his main obstacle (Ian's introductory scene was hard to figure out). Barley was originally going to be way more into music and was a bard. And he was made to deliberately annoy Ian. The team had a great time coming up with the band names on the badges of his jacket.

Onward had big names as Chris Pratt, making his first job for Disney Animation. Barley is so classically gung-ho in a way Pratt is known for. But that was the reason for casting Pratt, as someone who's wild, chaotic and out of control, but in a very charming and infectious way (still it took five years before Pratt was even assigned on the project). And the choice of Pratt was random, without the knowledge of his friendship to Holland. Holland, on the other hand, was cast because of his skills at being a little awkward. Yet having a genuine sweetness to make the audience really root for him. And also because of his ability to mumble.

Both actors recorded some sessions together. “They are clearly friends,” Scanlon says of Pratt and Holland. “They’ve worked together before and hung out together. It was fun to sit back and watch them make each other laugh. Their schedules were so insane that getting them to record at all was a challenge". Pratt says that Holland is like a little brother to him, and it’s great that they can play brothers together in a Pixar film. And Pratt called Holland to say "that he was his Brother" when he got the part. Even their reaction to the trailer was posted on YouTube in late October. Holland also recorded a little in London. But the idea of reuniting Pratt and Holland wasn't intentional by the creators. And Holland didn't see the movie until it's premiere, unlike Chris Pratt. Who brought 20 people, who mostly were children. And Pratt lost his voice several times during this movie.

I've been to much
with the Hydra :)

I'm trying to imitate
the Hercules VHS
cover :)

Octavia Spencer voices Manticore (who's part lion, part bat and part scorpion, yes, belive it or not). A character who's based on a Persian mythological creature which has combined various animal elements throughout its history. Yett Pixar has landed on combining a lion, scorpion, bat, and a human. Despite that Scanlon had never heard about one before. But Scanlon has cited to love the awkward nature of that. It lent itself to comedy really well. Dark Horse Comics released an Onward-inspired graphic novel about Manticore with the same name 2020. The whole cast was revealed in December 2018, yet producer Kori Rae states that it was a challenging film to cast.

Music & More Behind the Scenes Information

To talk about the music, Life of Pi, The Good Dinosaur and Sanjay's Super Team's composers Mychael and Jeff Danna were brought back to score. What they heard astonished them, having lost their father at a young age themselves. The composers had to design music that complemented the spells and effects. So their score featured folk and early music instruments, including folk guitars, the plucked-string psaltery, and a crumhorn. Five-time GRAMMY® Award-winning singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile wrote and performed Carried Me With You for the end credits. The soundtrack was been available digitally from Walt Disney Records on February. 28 2020.

Yes, we've taken too many
cues from raccoons :)

All in all, Onward took six years to make. For the title, some story people pointed it out as a potential title. Yet the director loved it because it was so positive and felt like a journey. Being a coming-of-age movie, and also about moving on from tragedy and tough stuff. It encompassed both the emotional part of it and just the big fun journey. Pixar usually holds their screenings every three months to screen their films. 97,759 storyboards were created and the crew were even able to incorporate 3D sets into their storyboards. Pivotal Pixar stars as Andrew Stanton and Pete Docter, as well as Pixar's newer talent like Adrian Molina (Coco) and Domee Shii (Bao), were among the Brain Trust.

Just give it time... at least
they won't smell yet :)

This is for the Smurfs :)

Yet the storybuilding process for Onward was a little different than most Pixar properties. Head of Story Kelsey Mann was among the storybuilding crew from the beginning. Which is unusual for Pixar, as the director and producer normally work on the initial story. Scanlon wore a "green man suit" and a pair of khaki pants, flailing around with his arms behind his back, mimicking the movements of Wilden's legs for live action reference. Still the team digitally removed his "green-screen" torso to see what legs would truly look like moving on their own. But sometimes it was ruining the emotional moments, since it was harder to get the emotion right with the pants. While the pants were fun to design for the crew. That Wilden wears purple socks was to recognize him, but also in order to have an uniqueness to him. Originally Wilden was going to be appear with more clothes, but the crew realized it would be funnier with the pants only.

At least it's not Quest
for Camelot :)

At least I'm not
a librarian :)

A group of fantasy experts were consultants on the movie, affectionately referred as the Fellowship. Despite it's genre, the directors wanted to make the movie accessible to all demographics. The crew had a deep love for unicorns, sprites and centaurs. And due to the fantasy premise, the crew saw the opportunity to mix several characters in a creative way. Originally Ian was going to be a real fantasy expert and wanted to meet his father because he had the answer to how to become a wizard. It was quite a challenge to figure out how much modern, and how much fantasy would be.

The creators came up with a rule that things would be like 70% modern and 30% fantasy (a rule that was similar to Treasure Planet, just the opposite way). On the technical side, the story didn't demand the crew to do any groundbreaking new technology for the film. While a new simulation was challenged for the hair and cloth. The ending of the film was settled from the very beginning, from an screening in October 2016.

Controversy, Deleted Ideas, Visuals, Cameo Voices, LGBT Character, Easter Eggs & Simpsons Short

I'm trying to scare ya all off :)

However, Onward haven't escaped controversy. An artist named Sweet Cecily Daniher sued Disney for creating an animated doppelganger of her one-of-a-kind van without permission. Still Pixar rented her vehicle for a special event in September 2018. she was told "the Vanicorn would be used for an event limited to "a one day music festival/activity day for Pixar employees and families". That it would not used in any way other than a visual prop. Onward's producer called her to to apologize. An earlier version of the Manticore's Tavern had a more traditional English design. But it felt "too fantasy" when you placed the characters in the scene and was out of sync with the rest of the world which was created. Since all fantasy quests begin in a tavern, the crew wanted a modern equivalent of a tavern, a family restaurant.

Take this item as gift. It's free,
which is a rarity nowadays :)

The team took a research trip to Los Angeles to survey houses in the neighborhoods of Los Feliz and Frogtown and also looked at parking lots and power lines. The look of the magic was inspired by Japanese anime and videogames, due to how none of them are particularly graphic. Julia Louis-Dreyfus isn't the only star from A Bug's Life in this movie, as Dave Foley has a little cameo. Another famous voice actor has been Wilmer Valderrama as Gaxton, a college friend of Wilden (who's received surprisingly little attention about it).

And yes, Onward also has the first openly LGBT character in Pixar history. In Officer Specter, and she’s a Cyclops cop voiced by openly gay screenwriter and actress Lena Waithe. “It’s a modern fantasy world and we want to represent the modern world.” has Scanlon said. Unsurprisingly, Russian distributors have censored Spencer from their viewings, swapped out the word “girlfriend” for “partner”. Even several Middle Eastern countries has banned the movie for same reasons. The crew didn’t want to make a big deal out of a lesbian character, yet it came late in the process, and there wasn’t a huge discussion about it.

We can be badass,
regardless of being
in pink :)

There were originally going to be talking trees in the movie, but they were cut. Originally there was going to be a villain, but the crew didn't knew what to do with it. Originally the story wouldn't start out with the fantasy prologue, but the crew realized that they needed it to have the contrast. Lightning the elves were a challenge, since they looked like they could become sick if they were blue. Yet the choice of making them blue were due to how to differentiate them from humans. The internal production code name for Onward was Trio, since there originally was going to be a third character named Jenny. Who was going to be a character the brothers confided in, yet constantly crticizing their faults (and the original owner of the van Guinevere). Originally Laurel was going to be more overprotective than she ended up being.

This is just an disguise.
This ain't the real me :)

We had to stop to
pose for this selfie :)

To make Laurel's love interest, Colt, a centaur, was a deliberate choice. Cause a centaur can bump into things and that's what a stepparent can feel like. Director Scanlon wanted to include all the classic fantasy elements, yet also be diverse. Originally there were going to be Giants, but they were cut because they felt distracting. On the cutting room floor, there was a minotaur's maze in the form a shopping mall and a junkyard guarded by dragons. Originally the climax wasn't going to be at New Mushroomton, but in a national park with floating rocks and face off against a technologically-inclined phoenix. The fact that the dragon was made from school buildings was a deliberate idea, since school represented Ian's biggest fear.

Let's pretend that
we're millionaires :)

And yes, since Pixar is practically synonymous with Easter Eggs, Kori confirmed that there's a nod to Soul hidden within the sets of Onward. A Simpsons short debuted in front of Onward called Playdate with Destiny, starring Maggie Simpson. Which has certainly been a first for a Disney/Pixar property, to include a Simpsons' short in front of a movie of theirs.

Epilogue

This wand can
change the weather :)

At least the

criticial reception of Onward was good. While some reviewers have been mixed if the movie truly lived up to Pixar's standards, at least some of them have done it. While other users have ranted about the trailer not looking enough Pixar and being was a mix of Dreamworks and Pixar. While the story relies on certain familiar tropes, at least it`s still inventive by Pixar's standards. According to Box Office Pro, Onward was expected to have an opening weekend of around $50 – 70 million and was listed as one of their top 15 Movies with the biggest Box Office potential in 2020. Onward was also screened at Berlin Film Festival in late January, 2020.

Pegasus would've
been so proud :)

However, Onward earned $650,000 in a nationwide sneak preview. The film opened to a soft $40 million making it among one of the lowest openings from Pixar ever, alongside with The Good Dinosaur ($39.2 million) and A Bug’s Life ($33.3 million) and roughly $40 million for the long holiday weekend. Unfortunately, the sad reality is that Covid19 hampered Onward's Box Office numbers (having made $141,950,608 Worldwide). While some theories have been that it looked offbeat, we'll have to face the fact that Covid19 has hampered it's potential. Yet it's top 20 theaters were drive-ins. That`s why Onward came to the US on digital download and #DisneyPlus on April 3rd. And yes, Onward gained more popularity on Disney+ than it did theatrically.

Don't worry, it will be
documented forever :)

As for the movie itself, I happened to see a pre-screening of it. And I liked it. While it's not been one of my all time Pixar favorites, it still was a well-made and engaging film. Yet it's a pity that Onward haven't been able to truly draw an audience theatrically and we'll have to hope that it can receive a better fate in the future. However, producer Kori Rae and director Dan Scanlon haven’t dismissed the idea of a sequel. So perhaps a sequel can make up for the underperformance of it's predecessor?

At least it's not backwards :)

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https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2020/03/01/onward-pixar-my-hero-academia-impractical-jokers-wendy-weekend-box-office/#1a3d97a41858
https://deadline.com/2020/03/onward-ben-affleck-the-way-back-box-office-coronavirus-1202873492/
https://deadline.com/2020/03/disney-onward-banned-multiple-middle-east-markets-lesbian-lgbt-reference-1202876168/
https://thedisinsider.com/2020/03/08/pixars-onward-opens-to-40m-domestically/
https://www.fandom.com/articles/onward-pixar-sequels-live-action-remakes
https://twitter.com/ERCboxoffice/status/1237088253389328389
https://www.polygon.com/interviews/2020/3/11/21174435/pixar-onward-story-supervisor-behind-the-scenes-interview-kelsey-mann
https://deadline.com/2019/05/onward-disney-pixar-trailer-poster-1202624788/
https://animatedviews.com/2020/virus-scare-stops-onward-in-its-tracks/
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/mar/16/coronavirus-cinema-audiences-decline-film-industry
https://twitter.com/DisneyStudios/status/1240986597274685440
https://collider.com/onward-digital-release-disney-plus-details/
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/onward-the-hunt-invisible-man-box-office-coronavirus-1203534409/
https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a31659709/onward-box-office-bloodshot-coronavirus-cinemas/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/scottmendelson/2020/03/01/onward-pixar-my-hero-academia-impractical-jokers-wendy-weekend-box-office/#388783971858
https://deadline.com/2020/03/onward-opening-weekend-disney-pixar-coronavirus-invisible-man-1202876016/
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/03/pixar-onward-box-office-weekend-1202216191/
https://deadline.com/2020/03/vin-diesel-bloodshot-i-still-believe-the-hunt-weekend-box-office-coronavirus-1202882333/
https://deadline.com/2020/03/coronavirus-drive-in-movie-theaters-exhibition-shutdown-onward-1202890329/
https://variety.com/2020/film/news/onward-banned-lesbian-kuwait-oman-qatar-saudi-arabia-1203526359/
https://www.indiewire.com/2020/03/onward-banned-middle-east-gay-reference-1202216026/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmnlcQxVipg (Tom Holland and Chris Pratt on their movie 'Onward' being an emotional journey).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7DmmJrP2cE (Chris Pratt's brother tells him Tom Holland is his favorite Avenger | FUNNY & SWEET Onward Interview)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuiEg19b0Ko (Tom Holland and Chris Pratt interview for ONWARD)

My Own Personal Nerdy Disney and Animation Scrutinizing Analyses

tirsdag 10. mars 2020

"Onward" - The Pixar Fantasy Mashup That Was The Company's First Fantasy Property

Make sure to leave a comment if you like this site! And if there's something you think could be improved, please let me know. But in a constructive way, please. And just a note; I'm not a Native English writer, so my incorrect grammar may be notable.

And finally; If you haven't seen the films, beware of spoilers! And the funny lines aren't meant to be nothing than funny. So I hope you won't find them offensive. If so, I apologize

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