Pixar has taken audiences on trips to space many times before. Buzz Lightyear has been doing it since 1995, both in toy and “human that toy is based on” form. The most notable space adventure from the classic animation studio, 2008’s Wall-E, purposefully took a lot of the human element out of the equation. Those two robots fell in love, and we fell in love with them, as their naivety diverted them from the cataclysm of humanity’s selfishness. As great and ultimately adorable that movie is, it is also very cynical about our role in the universe. Elio, the latest Pixar original, is much more open to depicting mankind as a positive impact on the extraterrestrial universe, though it helps that an adorable middle schooler is our official representative in this story.
Elio is the latest Pixar original to deliver all the goods of the studio’s classic formula. The days of the genre-redefining golden era, of which Wall-E was a part of, are clearly over, but the studio time and time again has proven that they have plenty of great ideas left in the tank. Elio is a perfect example of that, a simple story that is given a boost by a strong, unique yet relatable emotional hook. In the case of this film, young Elio isn’t looking towards the stars just to meet some aliens. Really, he’s looking to find a place where he doesn’t feel like the outsider himself.
There is a classic Disney/Pixar trope at the heart of Elio, and that’s the offscreen dead parents. This is the second Disney movie this summer that has used dead parents as a driving force of the story, though to be fair to the Lilo & Stitch remake, the original did it over twenty years ago. But Elio uses the trope to tremendous effect, creating a unique conflict between Elio (Yonas Kibreab) and his well-meaning but frustrated Aunt Olga (Oscar-winner Zoe Saldaña). She’s a military woman who has long yearned to train as an astronaut, but she must devote her attention to Elio’s needs, so she’s stuck at a desk scanning satellites for debris fields. As you may expect, orphaned children have their idiosyncrasies. Elio is obsessed with space, and for years has been trying to contact aliens in the hopes of getting abducted. Through a series of events on their military base, Elio is able to make contact and gets his wish.
Elio is whisked away on an adventure to the Communiverse, which is basically a farmer’s market for ambassadors of all of the different species of the galaxy. Pixar animators have a lot of fun with the creature designs of the Communiverse, with infinite variations on blobs, rocks, clouds, squids and insects. In a classic family film misunderstanding, Elio is believed by the Communiverse to be the leader of Earth. To be fair, they don’t know any other humans, and Elio is surprisingly confident when he’s asked to defend them against Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), a violent and intense crustacean who is upset that he was passed over for Communiverse membership. His son Glordon (Remy Edgerly) couldn’t be more different from his dad, and he and Elio bond over their frustrations with their parental figures.
There are three directors credited on Elio, which might signal dysfunction to the outside eye (that perception isn’t helped by the more than year delay in the film’s release date). But these are three talented veterans of the company who have all made quality work in the past. In particular, the participation of Adrian Molina (co-director of Coco) and Domee Shi (director of Turning Red) feels notable, as they both have made films for the company that center around the complicated emotions of children. That’s something that Elio beautifully portrays, particularly in the third act, where you really root for Elio and Olga as they try to work through their baggage. Like all the best Pixar movies, it will be really hard for anyone to watch this and not get a little choked up.
But it’s not just tears that Elio evokes, as this is a really fun film as well. The side characters are a good mix of adorable and funny, particularly Glordon, who I think will be a favorite with the children who see the film. There are plenty of jokes for both kids and adults, but nothing truly inappropriate. You can’t say this is the most original movie that the studio has made, but where it differentiates itself is how it really embraces the cosmic part of the adventure. The directors make good use of archived audio from legendary astronomer Carl Sagan through the film, and I was a big fan of Rob Simonsen’s electro score.
It feels like Elio is not getting a ton of attention right now, even from the might of Disney’s marketing machine. Sandwiched in between Thunderbolts*, Lilo & Stitch and The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a tough position to be in, but there was a time where the newest Pixar film was the centerpiece of the year’s slate. It feels like this movie is going to have to scratch and claw to get attention from families, which is a shame, as Pixar has delivered what I believe is their most satisfying film since Turning Red. Elio’s not quite out-of-this-world, but it’s worth all the stars.
Elio opens in theaters on Friday.
