Elio review

ELIO: 

PIXAR’S FAMILIAR BUT CHARMING COSMIC ADVENTURE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** out of 4

DISNEY/PIXAR

Elio and Glordon in Pixar’s Elio

 

            A young boy gets abducted by aliens and goes on a life-changing adventure in Elio, the latest film from Pixar Animation Studios. The film was originally set for release in 2024 and even had a trailer in 2023 but was delayed due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes that were going on at the time and Pixar releasing Inside Out 2 in 2024 instead. 

            I thought the movie looked fine by the advertising, just a cute little movie about a boy and his alien friend going on adventures in space while learning important lessons along the way. It didn’t seem like it was going to be of the same quality as other Pixar films like Toy Story, Inside Out, or Coco. 

            Yeah, that’s about what I got, a “Good” Pixar movie with a formulaic premise, but benefits from its strong world-building and the charm of its characters. In a summer that’s plagued with sequels, remakes, and IP-based movies, it’s refreshing to see something with a hint of originality even if the premise is very derivative of other stories. 

            The film follows Elio Solis (voiced by Yonas Kibreab in his feature film debut), an eleven-year-old boy who accidentally becomes the intergalactic ambassador of planet Earth after being beamed up to outer space by aliens for making contact. But he soon finds himself in the middle of a conflict involving a warlord known as Lord Grigon (voiced by Brad Garrett-Finding Nemo, Night at the Museum trilogy, Ratatouille) who also happens to be the father of an alien Elio befriends named Glordon (voiced by Remy Edgerly in his first film role). 

            The film also features the voices of Zoe Saldaña (Star Trek franchise, Avatar 1 and 2, Marvel Cinematic Universe) as Elio’s aunt and Air Force major Olga Solis, Jameela Jamil (The Good Place, Marry Me, DC League of Super-Pets) as Ambassador Questa, Ana de la Reguera (Nacho Libre, Eastbound & Down, Goliath) as Turais, Atsuko Okatsuka (Mel Brooks’ History of the World: Part II, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse) as Naos, Matthias Schweighöfer (Valkyrie, Army of the Dead, Oppenheimer) as Tegmen, Shirley Henderson (Topsy-Turvy, Trainspotting 1 and 2, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy) as OOOOO, Brendan Hunt (We’re the Millers, Horrible Bosses 2, Ted Lasso) as Gunther Melmac, Naomi Watanabe (Sailor Moon: Eternal) as Auva, and Tamara Tunie (The Devil’s Advocate, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Flight) as Colonel Markwell. 

Overall, Elio isn’t exactly a return to form for Pixar original projects, but I found it very charming and sweet with dashes of creativity and inspiration along the way. It’s sort of like Elemental which isn’t a great film to me, but there were a lot of things I admired about it and one of them was its world-building. 

            The same applies for Elio, the film itself isn’t all that original, but the worlds it creates and the creatures Elio encounters on his journey are so imaginative and a visual feast for the eyes. I was marveling at the alien world that’s practically a whimsical utopia inhabited by a bunch of crazy and unique-looking creatures and seeing how it works and what wild things Elio comes across next, it’s honestly worth seeking out on the big screen just by the visuals alone. 

            I also found the friendship between Elio and Glordon to be very sweet though similar to a certain other alien-themed Disney animated film, the relationship between Elio and his aunt is the true emotional core of the movie. Much like Lilo and her older sister in Lilo & Stitch, Elio and Olga’s situation is very relatable with Elio’s parents tragically dying and Olga giving up her aspirations of being an astronaut to raise her nephew who is also a bit of a handful. 

            It motivates Elio to want to get abducted by aliens and learn where he truly belongs over the course of the film. The Elio and Glordon stuff is done well and leads to some genuinely cute moments, but Elio and Olga’s relationship is what gives the film levity and the emotional weight that propels most of Pixar’s work. 

            The plot isn’t anything special and relies on a lot of tropes and clichés found in these types of movies, a kid who’s an outcast gets whisked away to a magical world and befriends another character there who is also an outcast while through their journey, they both learn about the importance of family and where they belong. We’ve seen this all before and it’s not even like the original Lilo & Stitch or How to Train Your Dragon where they take these familiar setups and craft something new out of them, it’s the same old stuff, but done well. 

            While Elio pales in comparison to Pixar’s best work, it’s a colorful and charming cosmic adventure that should make for an enjoyable time with the family. I guess between this and the live-action remakes of Lilo & Stitch and How to Train Your Dragon, this is the better film out for families right now and it’s not based on something, so rare!