It’s hard not to be fascinated by outer space. Few things are both existentially calming yet cosmically terrifying as staring into the night sky. Witnessing the stars, planets, and the inky blackness of the infinite void can teach you how small you are in the grand scheme of things, but also remind you of the endless possibilities of life and the universe.
With all the possibilities, it’s hard not to imagine what other kinds of life forms must be out there. If you believe in aliens (I very much do), it can be fun to imagine what first contact with an intelligent extraterrestrial species might be like. In Disney and Pixar’s newest animated feature film, Elio, this escapist fantasy becomes one boy’s literal means of escape from his less-than-stellar life on Earth.
When we first meet the titular Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab), he is feeling incredibly isolated and lonely, having recently been orphaned and sent to live with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) on an Air Force base. After a museum exhibit about space introduces him to the size and scope of the universe, Elio becomes obsessed with getting abducted by aliens so that he can find a place in the cosmos where he feels accepted and at home. Of course, his wish comes true, and he is beamed up into space by the Communiverse, an intergalactic organization of peaceful life forms who see Elio as a candidate for Earth’s official ambassador after mistaking him for the leader of the planet. In a bid to win his acceptance to the Communiverse, Elio volunteers to negotiate a peace with the hostile Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), only to botch the negotiations and end up befriending Grigon’s son Glordon (Remy Edgerly) and taking him as a willing bargaining chip to press for peace.
Hollywood is in a tumultuous place, and the industry seems caught between investing in theaters or streaming platforms, taking risks with original stories or playing it safe by pleasing investors with remakes and sequels of previously successful franchises. Disney’s latest live-action remake of Snow White is nothing short of disastrous. While it would be generous to call the new Lilo & Stitch remake divisive among fans, Pixar has recently released further news about its upcoming Toy Story and The Incredibles sequels. Amid all of this, it’s refreshing to see that the studios are still willing to take risks on new stories and IP. All that being said, is Elio an instant classic among the ranks of Up and Ratatouille? No. But is it still an adorable and fun adventure worth seeing in theaters? Absolutely.
Though it is an original film, I still feel like Elio is an amalgamation of other influences, which may be due to the massive shift in plot and tone since the first trailer was released. At its core, Elio is just a kids’ version of the 1999 sci-fi comedy Galaxy Quest: an unwitting Earthling is mistaken as an authority figure from our planet, horribly mishandles intergalactic diplomatic negotiations and is then forced to clean up his mistakes and discover the beauty of his humanity and his allies along the way. Though 2008’s Wall-E ranks among my least liked Pixar films, I still admire how gorgeous its representations of heavenly bodies and the cosmos are, and that sense of wonder and beauty is on full display here as well. At times, I felt as though I was at an observatory, looking through a telescope or in a science textbook, and I would have loved more time to marvel at the animated scenes of Earth and space. The movie nails the sense of wonder and fully justifies why Elio is inspired by space. At other times, I feel like it takes inspiration from the abstract void of the afterlife from another Pixar film, 2020’s Soul. Some of the time spent in the Communiverse feels too abstract and devoid of detail, which only makes me miss the hyperrealism of the space scenes even more.
My favorite scenes and what I found most unique about Elio were the unexpected horror references. While not overtly scary enough to likely cause any young viewers nightmares, these couple of scenes managed to strike a balance between sincere and well-done creepiness and also being incredibly funny. They’re not randomly injected, either, and they fit in perfectly with the plot. Looking at this as both homage to iconic sci-fi horror and independently as a film, these scenes fit the weirdness of Elio’s story perfectly, and I would have loved to see what Pixar could have done if it swung even further into the kid-friendly comedy horror direction.
Thematically, Elio is a story about both finding one’s place in the world and recognizing that the people around you might have different ways of showing love, which may seem contradictory but ultimately complement each other by the end of the film. The sense of loneliness instilled in Elio, and how the story explores it, is probably when it’s most successful, along with how it sheds light on how family members might not always see eye to eye, a well-established staple of Disney movies.
One of the highlights of the film was seeing all the character designs of the different aliens in the Communiverse. Each species was very imaginative and unique, ranging from organic to robotic, and somewhere in between. It was fun watching all the little quirks of each alien and the subtle visual gags of their biology and anatomy. I would have been content to watch a whole film just exploring all the different members of the Communiverse, but unfortunately, we don’t spend much time with the alien ambassadors. Hence, we rarely get to see them in action. We also don’t get to explore any of their personalities or develop any meaningful characterization from almost any of them. I would have loved more scenes exploring the different aliens’ abilities. However, outside of Grigon and Glordon, the only alien that gets any significant story moments is the cuttlefish-like Ambassador Questa (Jameela Jamil), and that is only because one of her abilities becomes central to the plot.
Naturally, the film titled Elio spends most of its time focusing on Elio, though for about three-fourths of the movie, (and I hesitate to say this) I wished we were spending time with pretty much any other character. This isn’t a knock on Yonas Kibreab, who plays the role with a wonderful blend of youthful naivete, pained longing and adventurous exuberance. Like many child protagonists (and, I suppose, actual, real-life children), Elio is incredibly self-centered and singularly driven by his obsession with finding aliens, without acknowledging the consequences of his actions. His backstory is very sad and provides an adequate explanation and motivation for his behavior and isolation. However, it never reaches Up levels of emotional turmoil. Still, his continued “woe-is-me, nobody cares about me” attitude and self-imposed loneliness, despite people wanting to give him a chance, lose their shine very quickly.
Looking from the outside in, there were so many moments when I wanted to shake him and say, “What do you mean you’re alone? Dude, your aunt clearly loves you! That other kid is trying to be your friend!” However, that’s just how kids can be sometimes. Now, I work with children quite often and have done so for the past 11 years, so on one hand, I recognize that Elio is written and behaves like many children do, and he does undergo significant and satisfying character development by the end of the film. However, his downer attitude and unintentional troublemaking are what I would expect from a side character rather than the lead.
While I’m on the topic, the three primary side characters add a great deal of heart and emotion to the film and play a central role in Elio’s character development. The two parental figures in the film, Olga and Grigon, are two sides of the same hapless guardian coin. Saldaña’s Olga is so relatably frantic, having to put her career on hold to care for her nephew, but still trying her best to adjust her life to accommodate and show him love in whatever way she can. Grigon, who was poised to be the comedic relief sidekick in the original trailers but is now the primary antagonist, is similarly struggling to relate to his son. Garrett’s line delivery has the brash roughness one would expect from a warlord. However, a subtle hesitancy and tenderness are hiding just below the surface whenever he talks about Glordon, whom he knows doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps and become a violent conqueror. Both characters are clearly out of their league when it comes to being the primary guardians for their children. However, it’s clear that both of them are trying to do their best and want to be good parents. It’s a touching and refreshing take from Disney, who, up to this point, has usually portrayed them as wicked, killing them off, or (my personal favorite) as the source of all our generational trauma.
Glordon is by far my favorite character. Remy Edgerly’s bright and chipper performance serves as a much-needed foil to help balance out Elio’s character. His character design balances the scary elements of aliens, with his many sharp teeth, against the adorable side, via his plump caterpillar body, which also contrasts him with the rest of his species, which are sealed in mechanical carapaces sporting various weaponry. Glordon’s ability to shoot webs like Spider-Man and his fireproof body make for some fun scenes. In many ways, Glordon is written the way I wish Elio were: he’s engaging and fun to follow, but also nuanced, neither entirely defined by his sweet, youthful side nor by his resistance to following in his father’s footsteps.
After what seems to be a series of recent misfires for Disney, Elio will hopefully break that streak. Though it may feel very familiar and a hodgepodge of story and visual elements we’ve seen before, Elio still represents an original idea from Disney and Pixar in a Hollywood landscape that is increasingly becoming risk-averse, and I applaud them for that. The result is an exciting, funny and touching space adventure that is well worth a trip to the theater due to its gorgeous visual design and fun characters. Elio isn’t quite an out-of-this-world, blow-your-mind movie, but it does still meet that Pixar gold standard.
Rating: 7.5/10
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