Elio (2025) Disney/Sci-Fi-Adventure RT: 99 minutes Rated PG (some action/peril, thematic elements) Director: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina Screenplay: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer and Mike Jones Music: Rob Simonsen Cinematography: Derek Williams and Jordan Rempel Release date: June 20, 2025 (US) Cast: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, Shirley Henderson, Dylan Gilmer, Jake Getman, Brendan Hunt, Matthias Schweighofer, Brandon Moon, Naomi Watanabe, Ana de la Reguera, Anissa Borrego.
Rating: ** ½
There’s nothing actually wrong with the new Pixar film Elio; it’s just that it recycles a lot of the same themes as some of the studio’s other movies- e.g. family, loss, loneliness and self-isolation. It’s utterly predictable right down to the schmaltzy ending. I’ll give it this though; its heart is in the right place. It’s not one of those cynical cash-grab deals made for the sole purpose of drawing kids to cinemas with their unenthusiastic parents in tow. It’s better than that albeit not by a whole lot.
The young protagonist of the title is a boy (Kibreab, Sweet Tooth) living with his Aunt Olga (Saldana, Avatar) after the death of his parents. Feeling isolated and alone, Elio becomes obsessed with the idea of being whisked away by aliens to live on another planet. He’s doesn’t fit in with his peers and he doesn’t feel close to his aunt. He wants to be anywhere but here. He writes messages in the sand on a beach inviting aliens to abduct him. He acquires ham radio equipment in an attempt to contact them himself. He’s one determined lad.
Aunt Olga happens to be a major in the Air Force. Elio is at her workplace when one of the computer techs, a conspiracy theorist named Melmac (Hunt, Ted Lasso), claims that aliens have finally responded to the message sent into the reaches of space by the Voyager 1 spacecraft in 1977 (the same one from 1984’s Starman). His colleagues think he’s crazy. Elio overhears it all and responds to the message when nobody’s looking. Not long after, he gets his wish granted when aliens show up and take him to another planet.
When he arrives, a council of aliens known as the Communiverse welcomes Elio to their ranks. They think he’s an Earth leader and the boy doesn’t correct them. Looking to impress his new friend, he agrees to negotiate with Lord Grigon (Garrett, The Pacifier), an evil warlord threatening to annihilate them if they don’t grant his membership to the Communiverse.
When negotiations fall apart, Elio decides to use Grigon’s son Glordon (Edgerly, T.O.T.S.) as a bargaining chip. Glordon is a peaceful sort who’s afraid to tell his dad he doesn’t want to be a war machine when he comes of age. Elio kidnaps him and agrees to return him only if he promises to not attack the Communiverse. Along the way, the two form a friendship.
Elio is directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi (Turning Red) and Adrian Molina (Coco). It’s written by Julia Cho (Turning Red), Mark Hammer (Shotgun Wedding) and Mike Jones (Soul). They’ve made a decent movie albeit one that covers familiar themes and beats. There’s the whole disconnect between Aunt Olga and Elio. She’s put her own dreams of being an astronaut on hold to raise Elio. She doesn’t get Elio which frustrates them both. Consequently, he acts out. Didn’t we just see something very similar to this in Lilo & Stitch? Then there’s the whole father-son thing between Grigon and Glordon. We just saw that last week in How to Train Your Dragon. I know, it’s not a Pixar movie, but still.
Two things save Elio from failure, the visual and emotional palettes. The alien design is quite striking. Same goes for the alien world. These scenes teem with color and vibrancy. Emotionally, it hits all the right marks. You will feel Elio’s sense of loss as he tries to cope with a world that seemingly wants nothing to do with him. His isolation is palpable, especially to those who ever felt like they didn’t fit in. Yes, I was definitely feeling it.
The voice talents do a fine job bringing the animated characters to life. Kibreab makes you feel for his traumatized character, a boy who alienates others in his quest to find his place in another world. You can feel the love and frustration in Saldana’s voice as her character does her best to care for her nephew despite having no clue how to communicate with a child. Garrett sounds like he’s having fun as the villainous Grigon, really just a dad who loves his son but doesn’t know how to show it. Edgerly is also very good as Glordon.
I didn’t mind Elio. It’s a decent enough matinee movie for children. Parents won’t mind it so much, but they might understandably mind the cost of tickets and concession stand. I can tell you this, it doesn’t need to be seen in 3D. Now all you have to do is convince your kids of this. In any event, it’s a good movie, but it’s nothing to write home about. It’s good not great Pixar.
