I miss the days when a new Pixar film felt like an event. Don’t get me wrong—the animation studio is still capable of producing instant classics. Soul and Turning Red are two of the best films of the decade. But the consistency and originality that defined Pixar’s first few decades seem to have faded. Lately, the studio feels stuck making sequels. In fact, three more sequels are in development at the time of writing.
As for their newest original film, Elio, it’s far from Pixar’s worst (looking at you, Cars 2), but it doesn’t come close to reaching the heights of the studio’s earlier triumphs.
Eleven-year-old Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) is going through a lot. After suddenly losing both of his parents, he now lives on an army base with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña), an Air Force major working as an orbital analyst. Feeling unwanted by his aunt and disconnected from the world around him, Elio becomes fascinated with the Voyager 1 space probe. His growing obsession with space leads him to attempt something unexpected—getting abducted by aliens.
Lo and behold, one of Elio’s attempts actually works. He’s whisked away across the galaxy to the Communiverse—an intergalactic society filled with thousands of alien species who want him to join their ranks.
“I miss the days when a new Pixar film felt like an event.”
However, the Communiverse mistakenly believes Elio is the leader of Earth, and he ends up trying to prevent a hostile takeover by Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), an alien warlord furious about his own rejection from the society.
Now, if you had only watched the original teaser like I did, some of this might come as a surprise. Originally scheduled for release last spring, the teaser portrayed Elio’s abduction as a complete accident rather than the result of his determined efforts. Even Lord Grigon was shown as a member of the Communiverse.
Elio’s troubled production—which included the SAG-AFTRA strike—led to major changes not only in the story, but also behind the scenes. Original director Adrian Molina was replaced by Madeline Sharafian and Turning Red director Domee Shi, though Molina still retains a director credit. This likely explains the film’s brighter, sillier tone, but the result noticeably feels like patchwork.
Naturally, the one thing that’s a given with Pixar films is that the animation looks great, and Elio is certainly no exception. I loved the variety of alien designs—each one looked unique and visually distinct. Later in the film, Elio meets Grigon’s son Glordon (Remy Edgerly), and the two quickly become best friends. Glordon, who looks like a mix between a xenomorph and a caterpillar, is nothing short of adorable. Their friendship becomes the heart of the film, and both Edgerly and Yonas Kibreab have great comedic chemistry together.
“Where Elio ultimately loses me is that much of the film feels like a case of ‘been there, done that.’”
However, my favourite aspect of Elio was the surprising bits of horror sprinkled in courtesy of the Elio clone the aliens place on Earth while he’s off on his mission. It plays like a child-friendly version of Invasion of the Body Snatchers or The Thing. It’s mostly played for laughs and is genuinely hilarious, but I can see it being an effective entry point for younger viewers interested in horror.
Where Elio ultimately loses me is that much of the film feels like a case of “been there, done that.” I admire how it addresses children’s grief and the search for belonging, but those themes have been tackled more effectively in other Pixar films, like Coco. Zoë Saldaña gives a solid performance as Elio’s aunt, but she’s sidelined for a significant portion of the film, and her character feels underdeveloped beyond a few mentions of failed dreams. Additionally, Lord Grigon is a bland antagonist—it feels like he was added simply because the story lacked one too far into production. There’s noticeable subtext about his struggle to connect with his son, but even that goes mostly unexplored.
At the end of it all, Elio is harmless and great for kids, but anyone hoping for Pixar’s next game-changer will be sorely disappointed. It’s a pleasant homage to classic sci-fi adventures like E.T. and The Last Starfighter, but it feels much more tailored to young children rather than offering the broad appeal Pixar is known for. With DreamWorks, Laika, Aardman and a host of animation studios around the world stepping up their game in recent years, Pixar can’t rely on its old pedigree anymore.
