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| REVIEW Pixar's Elio (2025) |
Pixar Animation Studios Actors: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, Shirley Henderson Score: Rob Simonsen
Cinematography: Derek Williams Jordan Rempel Production
Company: Mary Alice Drumm
Running Time: 98 Minutes
Screenplay: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones, Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi Director: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
"Being unique may feel like being alone, but you're not alone."
Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) is an intelligent eleven-year-old boy still recovering from the loss of his parents. Now under the care of his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña), a top orbital analyst in the U.S. Air Force, Elio is confused and frustrated, giving his aunt a hard time and causing problems for other children. He is too focused on wanting to be abducted by aliens to leave this planet forever. After being sent to boarding school, Elio contacts Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from distant galaxies who mistake Elio for the leader of Earth. The Communiverse transports him (and drops a clone of Elio in his place on Earth), and at first, Elio feels he has found a new home, away from his despair and isolation. However, the Communiverse is being threatened by an intimidating alien warlord known as Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett). But Grigon has a gentle and loving son by the name of Glordon (Remy Edgerly), whom Elio befriends due to many of the shared similarities they have as children.
Elio attempts to bargain with Lord Grigon using Glordon as a "bargaining chip" so he can find his rightful place in the universe. Elio is in way over his head, trying to pass himself off to these various alien creatures as the Supreme Leader of Earth, but Elio's motivations are personal as he feels he doesn't belong on Earth; his entire world was taken from him when his parents died, and while he may think his grief is special and that no one can understand what he is going through, he will eventually realize that is simply not the case as no one is immune to grief or tragedy no matter where you come from or are from.
Pixar Animation Studios injects itself with a good dose of emotionality, nostalgia, emotions to the surface in this treatise on acceptance, pain in the face of misfortune, empathy, friendship and finding a place to belong; Pixar knows exactly how and when to strike the most accurate blow in our hearts to irremediably submerge us in a sea of inconsolable tears (it's the house specialty).
As always, on a visual level and in a state of grace, Pixar never disappoints with the creation of these universes and their colorful cosmic characters, Elio generates enough joy as well as concern for each of his steps, Glordon is nice (although his design is somewhat grotesque to tell the truth), perhaps it is on purpose in intention of what the characters go through in the development of the plot and that their differences unite them, OOOOO is a quite positive addition to the canon of creations of the company, the original music plays an important role in the emotions that Elio will transmit us (another specialty of the house).
Pixar's “Elio” (2025) is the balm the company needed, reconnecting with their ‘roots’ that made them who they are, deftly handling the threads that as a viewer you need to connect with the story they show us on screen. Once again we are faced with a Pixar touching strong themes (not in a literal sense) for the masses, with intelligence and emotionality just like how they handled menstruation in “Turning Red” (2022) or life and death in “Soul” (2020) to name a few.
“Elio” is hope in the midst of darkness, he is in search of it, no matter where he has to find it; I have no doubt that this film will rank among the best they have made (it will make it in time; not so fast and not so easy).
RATING FOR PIXAR'S “ELIO” (2025): EXCELLENT AND AVERAGE.
★★★★1/2