‘Elio’ receives 7.5 out of 10 stars.
Opening in theaters on June 20th is ‘Elio’ which is the latest animated adventure from Pixar.
Directed by Adrian Molina (‘Coco’), Madeline Sharafian (‘Onward’) and Domee Shi (‘Turning Red’), the film features the voices of Yonas Kibreab (‘Sweet Tooth’), Zoe Saldaña (‘Avatar’), Remy Edgerly (‘Sing 2’), Brad Garrett (‘Everybody Loves Raymond’), Jameela Jamil (‘The Good Place’) and Brendan Hunt (‘Ted Lasso’).
Related Article: Movie Review: ‘Inside Out 2’
Initial Thoughts
Have you ever looked up at the night sky and dreamed of life that exists on worlds beyond our own? That’s the basic concept that Pixar’s latest movie takes as the jumping off point for the story of a young man who feels he doesn’t fit in, and longs for extraterrestrials to whisk him away.
‘Elio’ finds the animation studio on solid form, but does it compete with the best that the company has to offer, especially in the wake of giant box office success with ‘Inside Out 2’?
Script and Direction
‘Elio,’ as with many animated movies, features a batch of writers, including all three directors plus Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones, Jesse Andrews and Hannah Friedman. Yet for all the worries you might have about scripting by committee, the film has a remarkable coherent feel –– again, not too shocking from Pixar.
There are some conventions in place here –– Elio is an orphan (well, Pixar is an arm of Disney, after all!) and the lessons he learns are relatively basic, going from alienated loner to alien-aided more rounded individual. But as with any movie of this type, it’s how you get there. And this one certainly has an interesting, welcome journey.
Several lovely touches make it all work well –– this is catnip for space enthusiasts, including nods to the Voyager space craft and clips of astronomer Carl Sagan talking about Earth reaching out to the stars. And one or two clever riffs on the likes of ‘Alien’ and other sci-fi classics.
On the storytelling front, there are some familiar challenges for our young hero, who is looking for his place in the world (and the universe), and if the dynamic between Elio and young alien Glordon is using established ideas, but the interaction between the two is so watchable that you never mind that.
On the directing side, Molina (who proved his mettle with ‘Coco’), Sharafian (making her directorial debut after years at Pixar) and Shi (who last brought us the inventive, funny ‘Turning Red’) make the most of their galactic canvas, presenting some wonderful visuals all brought to life to a suitably sweeping score by Rob Simonsen.
Cast and Performances
As Elio, Yonas Kibreab carries the weight of the story, and he’s enthusiastic and full of life, coming across as a relatable kid with a big heart who is dealing with a lot in his world. Kibreab is able to handle all sides of the performance, including Elio’s excitement at meeting aliens and his worry when things aren’t going well.
Zoe Saldaña, no stranger to galactic adventures in live-action, is soulful and determined as Elio’s Aunt Olga, introduced having to deal with the newly orphaned boy and the impact on her own life. While you initially suspect she’ll be effectively left behind once he is taken into space, some clever story ideas keep her rooted in the narrative.
Remy Edgerly voices Glordan, a young alien creature that Elio befriends. Effectively a slug-like creature, he has his own family issues (indeed, the theme of expectation placed on young people sits heavily across the story, but is handled effectively), and makes for a great foil for our hero.
Brad Garrett is a repeat Pixar voice by this point, and here he’s on good form as Lord Grigon, a warlike creature who threatens the “Communiverse” who initially bring Elio to their colorful world. But this being a Pixar movie, he’s more than that, and has some fine moments.
Around the main characters is a good collection of supporting voices, including the likes of Jameela Jamil, Brandon Moon and Matthias Schweighöfer as ambassadors of the Communiverse who bring their own comic value and emotional to the story.
Shirley Henderson has a small role as Ooooo, a supercomputer who proves very helpful to both Elio and the narrative. She doesn’t get lots to do, but is memorable.
Likewise Pixar veteran Bob Peterson –– who has voiced the likes of Dug in ‘Up’ and Mr. Ray in ‘Finding Nemo’ in addition to work as a director and story artist –– is excellent as a high-tech user manual who just wishes people would listen to him. Finally, credit to ‘Ted Lasso’s Brendan Hunt for making the small role of Gunther Melmac, an alien-obsessed tech genius who ends up being helpful to Elio and Olga, pop.
Final Thoughts
Is ‘Elio’ going to trouble the top tier of Pixar output? Probably not, but it’s certainly no misfire from the studio.
Heartstrings will be plucked, funny bones tickled and there are some inventive alien creatures. What more could you want from family entertainment?
nych8Y2Kfdm5g4LKNmJR03What’s the story of ‘Elio’?
Elio (Yonas Kibreab), a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.
Who is in the cast of ‘Elio’?
- Yonas Kibreab as Elio
- Zoe Saldaña as Olga Solís
- Remy Edgerly as Glordon
- Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon
- Jameela Jamil as Ambassador Questa
- Young Dylan as Bryce
- Jake Getman as Caleb
- Brendan Hunt as Gunther Melmac
- Shirley Henderson as Ooooo
- Bob Peterson as Universal Users Manual
Other Movies Similar to ‘Elio’:
- ‘Toy Story 2‘ (1999)
- ‘Finding Nemo‘ (2003)
- ‘The Incredibles‘ (2004)
- ‘Cars‘ (2006)
- ‘Toy Story 3‘ (2010)
- ‘Cars 2‘ (2011)
- ‘Monsters University‘ (2013)
- ‘Inside Out‘ (2015)
- ‘Finding Dory‘ (2016)
- ‘Cars 3‘ (2017)
- ‘Incredibles 2‘ (2018)
- ‘Toy Story 4‘ (2019)
- ‘Turning Red’ (2022)
- ‘Lightyear‘ (2022)
- ‘Elemental’ (2023)
- ‘Inside Out 2’ (2024)
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