Ian Lightfoot
Costume Debut: Halloween 2020
Costume Reprised: November 2023
The coronavirus well and truly derailed Halloween in 2020, but since it's Irvin's favorite holiday, he would not let it go uncelebrated!
Back in March of that year, Irvin was emotionally victimized watched Pixar's latest movie Onward, the last movie he saw in theatres before they shut down. As soon as he wiped away all the tears, Irvin determined to dress up as the protagonist of the movie for Halloween... not knowing it would be the first new costume he'd craft since that day in March.
The costume itself proved quite easy to assemble, since all that was needed was the elf ears and the wig. Irvin even had the right color of make-up left over from Dr. Drakken. While unplanned, it also worked out because Halloween was positively freezing in 2020, and Irvin was happy not to have a bare midriff for a change.
As usual, the related props offered the opportunity for Irvin to indulge in the level of detail he usually pours into Halloween costumes. He had "CAKE" and other smudged instructions on his hand, a notebook with both lists than Ian writes, and even procured a small figurine of Barley for when the elder brother got shrunk in the movie.
Once the costume was figured out, Irvin turned his attention to the much more pressing issue of what to do with it. All the usual Halloween amusements - parades, parties - were unavailable. But then came an idea: in a meta twist on Onward, Irvin could do a quest around New York City to rediscover the lost magic. It was simply too fitting!
When Irvin brought up the idea to his friend Amber, she took it and ran with it. She planned a full-blown quest around NYC, with puzzles and clues and everything, in one of the most extra things Irvin has ever witnessed!
Once it became clear this Onward NYC Quest was going to be A Thing, Irvin and Amber recruited friends to join them. Thus, the entire Lightfoot family went on this quest together! Amber was Barley, appropriate given she was the quest leader and knew what we were doing. Maya served as the mother, Laurel. And Sara, outfitted mostly in Irvin's clothes, served as the dad, Wilden.
The quest took them around New York City. Among the highlights, they began at the Manticore's Tavern - erm, Ellen's Stardust Diner. They made an appearance at the Disney Store (the place pixies hang out in NYC), where the employees were nothing less than thrilled to see the group costume. Instead of statues of ravens, they followed the statues of lions at NYPL, where Barley got to protest at a fountain. On the Highline, Ian got to practice magic, suspended at a huge height over the streets of NYC. And once they got all the map pieces, it pointed them to where most Halloweens started: the fountain at Washington Square Park.
Along the way, they got a chance to recreate some really special moments from Onward...
Barley protesting at the fountain
Leading Dad by rope tied around him
The Lightfoot brothers roughhousing
Barley helping Ian with his spellcasting
Communicating with Dad using their feet
Barley and Wilden having a heart-to-heart
And, of course, the Lightfoots doing some goofy dancing (there's video too!)
The Lightfoots spent all day on Halloween on the quest... and, yes, rediscovered some of the lost magic of New York City along the way. It was definitely a Halloween like no other, but one of the most memorable Irvin's ever had - truly, the best-case scenario for 2020! And there is a whole host of photos available from the quest.
Since Irvin liked the costume so much, he brought it back at CONjuration 2023 - where it turned out that though the movie was beloved, not a single person remembered the name of his character! Any opportunity at a con to be in jeans and a plaid shirt was definitely a win, and attendees are always impressed to see someone paint themselves weird colors.