Disney/Pixar released this image showing Elio, voiced by Jonas Kirebreb, in a scene from Elio.
Elio centers on an 11-year-old boy grappling with loneliness and searching for life’s bigger answers. Having recently lost his parents—his only true supporters—Elio clings to a hopeful belief that humanity is not alone in the universe. In Pixar’s latest release, debuting this Friday, Elio orchestrates an alien abduction attempt. Most of the time, he lies on the beach waiting, his hourglass running out, until finally, his plan succeeds.
The film’s solid foundation features many hallmarks of a classic Pixar movie. It’s existential yet endearing, capable of bringing viewers to tears while charming them with a cuddly alien named Glopdon—a toothy, eyeless creature resembling a slug voiced by Remy Aegeli—who befriends Elio (voiced by Jonas Kibrebreb).
From a more cynical perspective, however, Elio treads familiar ground. It tells the story of a child discovering that his mysterious powers make him different, expressed here through an exaggerated, fantastical lens. The film is safe and predictable, occasionally bordering on dull. The opening is unusually grim for a family-friendly space adventure: Elio loses his parents but sheds only a single tear, unlike other protagonists whose trauma is less direct.
We see Elio living with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana) at a military base, struggling to make ends meet. Olga has given up her astronaut dreams to care for Elio, who is a difficult subject—immersed in grief he cannot express, fixated on communicating with aliens. Olga tries to help but feels overwhelmed; Elio, in turn, feels like a burden. Worse still, he frequently lands in trouble, either of his own making or defending himself against local bullies. No wonder he dreams of escaping to a world filled with infinite knowledge, voice-activated anti-gravity devices, and vibrant colors.
But life in the cosmos is no easy ride. Elio soon finds himself caught in a web of lies as he tries to convince supposedly wise aliens from the Communist Universe that he is Earth’s leader. A typical Pixar disguise: can you really live up to that? He is sent to negotiate with Lord Grigon (voiced by Brad Garrett), a warlike leader vying to control the Communist Universe. Elio learns the art of negotiating from a position of power and using leverage. Like many Pixar films, Elio delivers a message of empathy, yet for a long stretch it also teaches the transactional nature of such skills.
Elio is a collaborative effort with three credited directors—Adrian Molina (who left the project but retained credit, known for Coco), Madeline Sharafian, and Dom Shi (Turning Red)—and three credited screenwriters. The story’s many threads create a somewhat disjointed and tense viewing experience. The film is at its most enjoyable when it preserves the innocence of its young characters, especially during scenes where Elio and Glopdon play in the Communiverse. However, it takes considerable time to reach that point. Dazzling visuals alone cannot carry the film that far, though they are fun and serve as irreverent homages to various film genres. One notably tense sequence involves body cloning horror, likely a projection of adult fears onto what children might find intriguing.
The film conveys beautiful messages about parental acceptance and unconditional love, which are ever-present. However, Elio’s narrative is too conservative and predictable, lacking the spark of Pixar’s trademark whimsy and mischief.
Disney’s Elio is rated PG by the Motion Picture Association for “thematic elements, some action and perilous scenes.” The runtime is 99 minutes, and it earns two and a half stars out of four.
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