Movie Review: ‘Elio’
Last year, Pixar caught lightning in a bottle and possibly even saved the company with its release of Inside Out 2.
That film, like the best of Pixar, dealt with the struggles we all face when dealing with our emotions.
Photo: Disney
Remarkably, Pixar’s newest film may tell an even better story as it deals with all the feels.
Here’s my review of Elio, a slight film that embodies the purity of Pixar storytelling.
About Elio
A while ago, The Walt Disney Company meticulously examined its upcoming release schedule and decided on something.
Three of its upcoming releases at the time simply weren’t up to snuff. So, Disney delayed all of them by a year.
Walt Disney Company
Two of the films in question were Captain America: Brave New World and Snow White, both of which received mixed receptions upon arrival.
Now, the third of those titles, a Pixar release named Elio, has finally entered theaters to minimal buzz.
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The box office expectations for Elio are low, which is interesting in the wake of the studio’s most recent release, Inside Out 2.
That movie earned $1.7 billion, making it the top film of 2024. So, Pixar is ostensibly riding a wave of momentum.
Image: Pixar
However, Elio was the film that the studio buried by delaying it for a year, and the marketing has been modest at best.
The lack of full-throated support from Disney would suggest that it lacks confidence in Elio.
Elio
That’s unfortunate because I can assure you that Elio is brimming with all the Pixar magic we’ve all grown to expect from their movies.
The Story of Elio
Two years ago, almost to the day, I wrote a review of Elemental, and I described it by saying the following:
“No, this film isn’t perfect, but it’s really good and extraordinarily well-intended.” This blanket statement applies to Elio as well.
Wade and Ember
The story explores one of Disney’s favorite topics: a child who has lost a parent.
Alas, this one dives headfirst into that archetype, as Elio has lost his mother and his father, a point driven home at times during the film.
‘Elio’
Pixar sneaks in the occasional picture of a younger Elio happily hugging his parents in the before times.
Now, this too-young boy lives with his aunt, a major employed at a military facility.
‘Elio’
She dreams of being an astronaut, but has needed to place those plans on hold to be Elio’s guardian.
The result of this parental dynamic is that Major Olga Solis feels like she’s in over her head, while Elio feels unwelcome and unwanted.
D23
At its core, Elio is a movie about isolation and the need to find acceptance among your kind, even if your kind happens to be a divergent group of aliens.
When we meet Elio, he learns of the path of the Voyager spacecraft, which is currently exploring unknown regions beyond our solar system.
‘Elio’
Elio wishes he were onboard, as he’d rather be anywhere than in his current home.
Right around this time, his aunt decides to send him to a military camp for the summer, as it’s where she went as a kid.
‘Elio’
A desperate Elio notices an opportunity to send a message to outer space, and he capitalizes on it.
Alas, the message gets mixed up, causing aliens to believe that this small, lonely boy is the leader of Earth.
The Warmth of Elio
This elevator pitch about Elio has been its main selling point for several years now.
Even as the project struggled behind the scenes and required a change in directors, a rarity for Pixar, it still had that strong selling point.
‘Elio’ at Merchant of Venus
And I’m happy to tell you that the alleged turmoil is barely present in the film.
Movie experts may notice a couple of harsh cuts, places where scenes were obviously edited or deleted.
‘Elio’ merchandise
Otherwise, Elio is brimming with warmth and imagination, the kind we all expect from Pixar.
In truth, I sat in the theater and found myself thinking of Elio as a spiritual successor to WALL-E, which is HIGH praise from me.
WALL-E
Pixar’s staff liaised with therapists in hopes of learning the best way to represent children dealing with grief and loneliness.
That bit of homework pays tremendous dividends here, as Elio is infinitely easy to root for. How could we not?
‘Elio’
This poor little kid has lost every element of the only world he’d ever known. Now, he’s a stranger in his aunt’s home.
As someone who has built a stable career for herself, she’s had zero preparation for living with a sad child. Who could?
An Inverse Stitch?
In that way, the film’s story works symmetrically with Disney’s other big hit, Lilo & Stitch, which covers the same ground.
In a way, Elio functions as the inverse of Lilo & Stitch. In the latter film, an alien comes to Earth.
Photo: Disney
With Elio, a little boy talks his way into being transported to an outer space governmental collective.
Elio IS the Stitch character here, the one who disrupts the lives of the creatures onboard that vessel.
Photo: Disney
I suspect Disney realized this, which explains the modest promotion of Elio. Now, here’s where I shock you.
My wife and I are Stitch superfans. In fact, I left the theater this afternoon with a new Stitch t-shirt and this video game controller holder.
Photo: Disney
Longtime readers of MickeyBlog know that my house is inundated with Stitch merchandise.
So, please consider the weight of these words when I say that Elio is a better movie than the live-action remake of Lilo & Stitch.
Photo: Pixar
I just asked my wife, and she agreed. We are Lilo & Stitch superfans saying that Elio is the better Disney release in the summer of 2025.
That statement packs a wallop, even if you don’t know us. And I feel this way because Elio gets its core concept right.
Photo: Disney
We watch an alienated boy become an alien. During his exploration, he makes some refreshingly novel characters.
The Power of Friendship
Along the way, Elio befriends one of them…and frankly, the least likely one at that.
What follows is a race to undo the accidental mistakes a person makes while covering up a lie.
Photo: Disney
Best of all, the friendship between Elio and the alien is legitimately one of the most wholesome things I’ve seen in a movie in ages.
Somehow, that’s not even the best part, though. Elio provides a brief yet profound demonstration of proper parenting.
Photo: Disney
Two different creatures, one human and one alien, do things they would NEVER even consider if their child weren’t in danger.
Thus, Elio teaches children and parents alike about how to deal with the complexities of life.
‘Elio’
I felt warm inside while watching Elio, and that’s what great Disney movies do.
If you weren’t planning on watching Elio, I implore you to reconsider. Like Elemental two years ago, it deserves to be seen.
‘Elio’
Elio gets a solid A from me, and I expect to re-watch it often on Disney+.
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