Movie Review: 'Elio' a Shooting Star in the Pixar Galaxy
- Pixar released its 29th animated feature, Elio, on June 20, 2025, featuring an 11-year-old boy whisked to a peaceful alien UN called the Communiverse.
- The film follows Elio, who lives with his aunt Olga on a military base after losing his parents, as he sends messages to outer space hoping for abduction.
- Elio's quest leads to an intergalactic adventure emphasizing family, friendship, empathy, and parental acceptance amidst colorful and inventive alien settings.
- The movie includes standout visuals, a PG rating for thematic elements and peril, and features voice actors Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, and Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon.
- Elio offers Pixar a hopeful rebound from recent mixed successes, delivering a succinct, moving story that connects emotionally with both children and adults.
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16 Articles
Domee Shi on Elio, aliens and one-dimensional moms
The Oscar-winning Canadian animator and director Domee Shi (Bao, Turning Red) is back with a new Disney-Pixar movie, “Elio.” It’s about an 11-year-old who’s obsessed with getting abducted by aliens. Domee joins guest host Talia Schlanger to share how her own childhood inspired aspects of the film, why the theme of alien abduction is a great way to explore loneliness, and why it’s nearly impossible for her to write a one-dimensional mother figure…
Dazed and amused, ‘Elio’ is Pixar on a spaced-out psychedelic trip
“Elio” is a breezy Pixar adventure, the studio’s pivot back to making original, rip-roaring children’s yarns. Launched by “Coco” co-director Adrian Molina and steered to completion by Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi, it’s got a setup simpler than whatever credit negotiation happened behind the scenes. An 11-year-old boy, Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), looks at the sky and wonders who’s up there. This classic plot hook harkens back to “Close En…
An eleven-year-old boy is considered by aliens to be the leader of the Earth. In Pixar's new film, Elio must not only prevent an intergalactic crisis but also find his place.


Movie review: 'Elio' a shooting star in the Pixar galaxy
The new Pixar animated film “Elio” takes up a question famously posed by astrophysicist Carl Sagan: “are we alone?” It’s in reference to the search for extraterrestrial life, but the idea, according to Sagan, is “the deepest of human concerns.” It’s a question both existential and intimate; galactic and earthbound. It dictates our day-to-day experience and our wildest dreams, motivating our every action and reaction. For our hero, Elio (Yonas Ki…
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