Even though Pixar has proved they can essentially print money with sequels like Inside Out 2 and Toy Story 4, thank god they’re still dedicated to putting out original films that made them such a powerhouse animation studio to begin with. While Pixar might not still be the unstoppable studio that could do no wrong as they were for the first 15 years they were making feature films, their original movies have still been impressive. Elemental became a surprise hit after a rocky start at the box office, and while films like Soul, Luca, and Turning Red might have struggled due to COVID, they also represented the type of unique ideas that made Pixar great to begin with. And with Pixar scheduled to release original films like Hoppers and Gatto alongside sequels like Toy Story 5 and Incredibles 3 over the next few years, it’s great to see the studio continuing to push for these more uncertain projects alongside the sure things. Pixar’s latest original project, Elio, reminds me of the imagination, inventiveness, and emotion that the studio has become well-known for, but in a way that speaks to the “mass appeal” that Pixar’s chief creative officer, Pete Docter, said the studio would be leaning into going forward. Yet even though Elio might not quite hit as hard as something like Up, Inside Out, or Toy Story 3, it’s still proof that Pixar can tell original stories in a way that speaks to a larger audience, while also telling a personal, moving story, with a creative and playful scenario that has a lot of fun with its concept.
What Is ‘Elio’ About?

Elio begins with our title character (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), a young child who has moved in with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) after the passing of his parents. Understandably, this change has been a difficult transition for both of them; Elio is distant and quiet, while his aunt struggles to make a connection with her nephew, who is now in her care, while also coming to terms with the fact that her dreams of becoming an astronaut are now likely only to remain dreams. While at a museum, Elio sneaks off and learns about the Voyager space probe, which was sent into space to find out if the people of Earth are actually alone in this universe. Maybe it’s this mention of loneliness, or perhaps it’s the wonders of space – or some combination of the two – but this moment ignites a love for space in Elio that can’t be stopped. A bit later, we see that this passion has only grown in Elio. He often spends his days on the beach, where he leaves huge messages in the sand that say “ALIENS ABDUCT ME,” in the hopes that he’ll get taken away. While he attempts to leave Earth, his aunt has only become more frustrated with Elio, reading books like “Parenting Your Spirited Child,” while trying to maintain her job looking for debris in space on a military base. After Elio gets in a fight, Olga tells her nephew that she’s sending him to a military school, hoping it will sort him out. But before Elio goes, he sneaks onto a computer at the base and sends a message out to space. Soon after, Olga receives a communication stating “Bring Us Your Leader,” and in the middle of getting bullied at camp, aliens finally abduct Elio. He’s beamed up to the Communiverse, a group of the universe’s smartest aliens, one thing leads to another, and Elio makes this group think that he’s the leader of Earth. To be accepted by this alien group, Elio offers to help these space ambassadors and become a candidate to their group by confronting a wormlike warlord named Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), who also demands acceptance into this group of space’s finest. While trying to appease this warlord, Elio also meets Grigon’s son, Glordon (Remy Edgerly), and makes his first friend out in the far reaches of space.
‘Elio’ Gives Pixar a Great Sandbox to Play With

While Pixar has explored space before, be it through the space rangers of Lightyear (and here and there in the Toy Story films), or the pristine perfection of the Axiom in WALL-E, in Elio, we find Pixar truly having fun with the potential of finding extra-terrestrial life. These creatures are delightfully strange and playful, unusual life forms that Pixar clearly must’ve had a blast bringing to life. Like Elio, it’s easy to get sucked into the possibilities of this intergalactic group and its members, as well as the wonders on this ship, whether it’s a creature that holds all the knowledge of the world, or a room dedicated to quick cloning. Naturally, they still have fun with the clichés of sci-fi, such as just calling things weird names like “glorp” or just adding an “L” to Gordon to create Glordon, but it’s mostly an opportunity for the team to play in this new sandbox. The possibilities are endless, and it’s great to see Pixar testing this type of inventive freedom and exploration of this concept once again.

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But Pixar has always been fantastic at mixing the expansive possibilities of their worlds with deeper, often heartbreaking themes that pack a wallop when they come to the surface. Elio is no different, as at its heart, this is a surprisingly effective look at loneliness and feeling entirely alone in the world. That fear of isolation and that worry that you don’t belong has been a core theme of Pixar’s work lately, as we saw in their last film, Inside Out 2, and in their first original TV series, Win or Lose. This idea is beautifully handled in Elio, as the relationship between Elio and Olga, and the struggle to find common ground, always hits hard. For example, there are times when Olga is talking to coworkers while in earshot of Elio, and when the coworkers suggest Olga try out for an astronaut program or some other opportunity that would be good for her future, with a sadness in her voice, she implies that she has more important things to worry about now. We can see a similar pain in Elio’s face in these moments, as he believes himself to be a burden by holding his aunt back, which only makes him feel more isolated in a world where he already doesn’t feel he belongs.
‘Elio’ Gathers an All-Star Team For Its Latest Original Concept

Image Via Disney

Pixar is no stranger to these types of deeper themes in a fun animated film, but Elio has united a quality team of some of Pixar’s best new voices to bring this story to life. Elio is directed by Madeline Sharafian, former story artist for Coco and Turning Red; Adrian Molina, the co-director and co-writer of Coco; and Domee Shi, the director and co-writer of Turning Red; and written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones, most of whom have a history of writing for recent Pixar projects. Together, this team captures the joy of exploring a whole new world of possibilities, like we saw in Coco, along with the personal fears and nervousness that were beautifully captured in Turning Red. Even though Elio might skew a bit younger than we’re used to from Pixar, the emotions and the moments that grab at your heartstrings still hit the way you would expect them to. Elio is also another great example of Pixar’s ability to find just the right actors to bring their characters to life. Yonas Kibreab and Remy Edgerly, who play Elio and Glordon, respectively, have plenty of credits under their belt, but they’re not exactly the biggest names to lead a massive animated film. Still, their performances perfectly fit these characters, and bring a realism to this kid and… young slug warlord. Especially with Kibreab’s Elio, there are many times when we understand Olga’s frustration, where we, too, find Elio to be a super annoying kid. But that’s just part of making Elio feel as honest and real as he can. As one would expect from Pixar, the entire voice cast here is excellent; from Zoe Saldaña as the exhausted Olga, Brad Garrett, who brings an anger and sometimes empathy to Lord Grigon, and a group of ambassadors that includes Jameela Jamil, Matthias Schweighöfer, and Atusko Okatsuka. It pays off that Pixar found the right voice, rather than the most popular voice, which isn’t often the case with big animated projects of this size. But despite how charming and fun Elio is, it still falls prey to some of Pixar’s occasional problems. Yes, this is a story of intergalactic adventures and a wide universe of possibilities, but it still can get a bit convoluted at times. And while the emotional moments do hit, this isn’t the type of Pixar film that’s going to leave you a wreck. That isn’t Elio’s intention, but people now have certain expectations when it comes to emotional Pixar films. Elio shows that Pixar still thrives in original ideas, playing with the possibilities of these grand worlds, and managing to add some emotional heft underneath it all. It’s both a playful space film aimed at younger kids that will still be enjoyed by people of all ages (as all Pixar films are), and an important discussion of loneliness and feeling like you don’t belong. On top of all that, it’ll make you fall in love with alien slug warlords known for fighting in the Blood Wars. Elio comes to theaters on June 20.

Elio

‘Elio’ is a delightful original film from Pixar, one that combines the possibilities of aliens and space with a very powerful message about loneliness.

Release Date

June 20, 2025

Runtime

99 minutes

Director

Adrian Molina, Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian

Writers

Adrian Molina

Yonas Kibreab

Elio Solis (voice)

Pros & Cons

Elio shows that Pixar still has an affinity for creating original concepts with an emotional heft.
The character and world design of Elio is fantastic.
Elio’s exploration of loneliness and feeling alone in this world is surprisingly powerful.

Elio can get a bit too convoluted at times in its space adventure.
It still doesn’t hit as hard as Pixar films have done in the past.