ELIO (2025)

“Are we truly alone?” Elio, an alien-obsessed 11-year-old, is starstruck by this idea when he stumbles into an exhibition on the probe, Voyager 1. Of course, this question has fascinated us for decades. But the notion of being alone is so much more than our solitary planet, rather it speaks to our own belonging in the universe. Pixar’s Elio is an emotional, entertaining sci-fi adventure that sends us off into space to explore what it means to feel like we belong down here.

Having recently lost his parents, Elio (Yonas Kibreab) is under the guardianship of his Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña), an orbital controller in the US army with dreams of becoming an astronaut. Despite reading every parenting book to take care of him, Olga is struggling to connect with Elio, who feels alone. Learning about the potential existence of aliens and feeling alone on Earth, Elio sends ham radio signals into outer space for aliens to abduct him. He skips school and spends his entire time waiting for any aliens to collect him. When the alien-obsessed tech, Melmac (Brendan Hunt), sets up the army base’s entire satellite array to send out a message to any extraterrestrial life, Elio sneaks in to send his plea. When an alien ship beams Elio up, they believe he’s the leader of Earth.

Elio is introduced to the scientifically advanced Communiverse, where ambassadors from many planets live and share their own inventions and knowledge with each other. Before Elio is able to be inducted as Earth’s ambassador, the blood emperor of a slug-like species, Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), threatens the entire Communiverse for not accepting him as an ambassador. Elio volunteers to act as diplomat with Lord Grigon so that he can stay and leave Earth behind. Truly feeling alone on Earth, Elio hopes to find a connection among the stars.

Directed by Adrian Molina, co-director of Coco (2017), Madeline Sharafian, and Domee Shi, director of Turning Red (2022) and the Academy Award-winning short, Bao (2018), Elio showcases some of the best characteristics that have come from Pixar’s films. The universe of Elio is vividly imagined and realised. The dark, gloomy realism of Earth’s wilderness clashes with the heavenly look of the Communiverse. And the fantastic animation helps communicate so much and gives depth to this fantastic world Elio finds himself in. Each alien species has its own unique quirks and communication. And the world is lit so beautifully, with Lord Grigon’s ship feeling like a spaceship out of the Halo series instead of a Pixar film. Much of the film’s visual style feels deeply rooted in the sci-fi genre’s deep catalogue of art, nodding to what makes these films fun and imaginative. In 98 minutes, Elio has to convey so much information and the animation team did a fantastic job finding so much detail in the world, drawing on inspirations like E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982) and Contact (1997) but making it its own. I wish we had a lot more time to explore the world, but the tight screenplay keeps a laser focus on the more emotional aspects of the story.

Something impressive Elio delivers is an accessible thematic story for all ages with assured subplots. The script, written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones from a story by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Julia Cho, has a beautiful exploration of family, parenting, and loneliness, the kind of whip-smart emotional development that brings a tear to the eye. That’s Pixar’s black magic. But, there’s a very touching smaller discussion on language barriers and the importance of connection across countries and, of course, planets, and even an ode to air traffic control that feels very prescient in the current American air transportation sphere. There’s not a wasted space in this film.

There’s a whole wealth of fun characters in Elio, from the mind-reading Ambassador Questa (Jameela Jamil) to Bryce (Young Dylan), a ham radio enthusiast who is struggling with his own sense of belonging in a friendship with a bully he doesn’t fully believe in anymore. Glordon (Remy Edgerly), the son of Lord Grigon, is an immediate favourite for his cheerful demeanour and selflessness in the face of such cruelty from his dad. But, the relationship between Elio and his aunt Olga is what elevates the film to a new level of craftsmanship. Kibreab and Saldaña are excellent in the roles, providing those lines of loneliness so well. The orphan child and out-of-depth guardian tropes are well-played out in films, especially in Disney films, but Elio gives such specificity to these characters, not letting them be afraid to be themselves, that it reaches the right level of universality to make an impact on kids and adults alike.

For a PG-rated family film, Elio isn’t afraid to play with genres. There are multiple moments ripped straight out of a horror film, with excellent musical cues from composer Rob Simonsen and funny and horrifying jump scares. Another strength of the teams working at Pixar is their ability to craft films that don’t talk down to their audiences. They have the right amount of fun and heart to appeal to children without losing mature audiences. Elio is another example of a Pixar film that is prime for all ages.

Elio isn’t particularly revolutionary. There are very familiar story and character beats. But it’s the film’s confident assurance in these character developments and emotional moments that far outweigh the familiar territory it treads. With a good comedic sense, excellent emotional development, strong characters, and a fantastic needle-drop from the Talking Heads, Elio is an absolute blast. It’s almost a miracle it works so well. Director Adrian Molina infused the film with his own memories of growing up, but the film was reworked with Shi and Sharafian when Pixar tried to market to more mass audiences. Perhaps it’s the culmination of deep emotional truth imbued by the filmmakers with that strong sense for cinematic storytelling that makes Elio such a fantastic adventure.

USA | 2025 | 98 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

directors: Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian & Domee Shi.
writers: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer & Mike Jones (story by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi & Julia Cho.)
voices: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, Young Dylan, Brendan Hunt, Shirley Henderson, Matthias Schweighöfer, Naomi Watanabe, Brandon Moon, Ana de la Reguera, Anissa Borrego & Bob Peterson.