This week, moviegoers have the chance to beam up into a new, fantastical galaxy crafted by the artist and storytellers of Pixar. The studio’s 29th animated feature, Elio, hits theaters on Friday, June 20 through Disney, and charts the incredible journey of a lonely young boy overwhelmed with fears of not belonging anywhere, who calls out to the universe — and is answered by a society teeming with alien life beyond his wildest dreams.
Directed by Madeline Sharafian (Burrow SparkShort), Domee Shi (Bao short, Turning Red) and Adrian Molina (co-screenwriter/co-director of Coco), and produced by Mary Alice Drumm (associate producer of Coco), the film features the voices of Yonas Kibreab as Elio, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil and Shirley Henderson.
You can read more about the making of the out-of-this-world adventure in Animation Magazine‘s feature story here.
Following the preview of the film’s first half-hour at Annecy Festival, reviews are rolling in for Elio ahead of its official launch. The film currently rates an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes from 50 critics’ reviews, and 62 on MetaCritic (20 reviews). While many write-ups praise the visual magic and emotional notes fans have come to expect from the studio — especially the expansive diversity of the aliens of the Communiverse, Elio’s friendship with the adorable (slightly scary) slug creature Glordon and his challenging relationship with his guardian, Aunt Olga — the film lost points with some reviewers for feeling too formulaic as it hit each item on the Perfect Pixar Movie checklist.
Here’s what some of the critics are saying:
“[Pixar] has ample ability to shine once the aliens appear. All of a sudden, the ship and all its inhabitants give the animators license to go wild. Elio experiences his new environment like a giant amusement park, and audiences ought to get a similar thrill from their whirlwind tour. Even the bathrooms are mind-blowing, while the exotic mix of species recalls Star Wars’ influential cantina scene.
“Because it’s Pixar, the comedy is balanced by moving emotional beats … Say what you will about Elio, but Pixar remains the leader in that department.”
— Peter Debruge, Variety
“Visually, it’s as spectacular as you might imagine, but somehow nothing feels terribly new: Elio’s ambassadorial spaceship looks like the Inside Out command module; Grigon bears more than a passing resemblance to Buzz Lightyear’s nemesis Emperor Zurg; and the Communiverse looks pretty traditional compared to Disney’s 2022 animation Strange World … Most disappointing of all, though, is the sense of compromise that hovers like a storm cloud over the film’s deeply unsatisfying, not to mention unconvincing ending, which seems to turn its back on everything Elio is into and has always been looking for. It’s hard to believe that this is the film Pixar set out to make, and all the evidence suggests it isn’t.”
— Damon Wise, Deadline
“There are few movies this year that contain a character as adorable and instantly lovable as Elio … [The film] only gets more delightful with the introduction of Glordon, the slug-like son of Grigon who would rather play than become a bloodthirsty warlord. Sure to be an instant hit with audiences thanks to his innocent disposition and infectious enthusiasm[.]
“In a few instances, Elio went in directions I wasn’t expecting, but that almost always led to a scene that was more emotionally satisfying than anything I could’ve dreamed up … It is just as big-hearted and imaginative as Pixar’s best, poignantly reminding us all that even when it doesn’t feel like it, we are not alone.”
— Rachel Labonte, ScreenRant
“If Elio’s plot points are predictable, they also check every box they’re supposed to, in a reasonably efficient 100 minutes. You’ll chuckle at Elio’s attempts to get abducted by parking himself next to a giant ‘Abduct me!’ drawn in the sand, and cluck sympathetically at his confession to Glordon that he fears ‘there’s nothing about me to want.’ You’ll probably get misty-eyed at the reconciliations and goodbyes you already see coming, and smile at a mid-credits glimpse into the characters living their best lives.
Where I never found myself, however, was surprised … It doesn’t make the film any less sweet, but it does make it register less meaningfully.”
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
“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.”
— Ross Bonaime, Collider
“Elio, which itself began as the baby of Coco writer Adrian Molina, only to then be ceded to directors Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian, plays like something that was imperfectly assembled from its component parts, as though its creative team couldn’t figure out a way to align its visions of candy-colored intergalactic diplomacy with its emotional themes of empathy and learning to think about what’s going on inside those around us.”
— Alison Willmore, Vulture
“There are, admittedly, some moments that work here, and Elio and Glordon have credible cartoon chemistry. But overall it is mostly inert, machine-tooled Pixar, conceived by the writer of Coco, Adrian Molina, who eventually, and tellingly, abandoned the project … Nothing here resonates and its slavish adherence to recent Pixar formula is ultimately deadening. Yes, Elio, you are unique and wonderful. Your flaw is your gift. Now, please, can we all go home!”
— Kevin Maher, The Times (U.K.)
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