Pixar have had a few hits in recent years, but most of the films they’ve put out have been received with a lukewarm reception. Their sequels, like Cars 2, Finding Dory, and spinoffs, like Light Year, haven’t exactly been what fans of this animation brand have come to expect over the years.  With Turning Red, Inside Out,  and now Elio, I can honestly say they’ve gotten back on track. They are showing why they have been the most popular animation studio the last thirty years or so. It is genuinely a moving/ touching and entertaining movie the whole family can enjoy.

Elio Selis  (Yonas Ascunsion Kibreab) is a young boy who has been through a recent tragedy in his life. This causes him to become reserved and not very outgoing. His aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana) tries to do the best she can, but she has an important job and can’t put in the time she needs to help him. Inadvertently, the boy starts to have an interest in extraplanetary activity. This takes up a lot of his time but puts him in an odd position regarding the other children at his school. He’s bullied for his interests. While using his ham radio and getting in trouble with his mother, he ends up sending out a message to whoever will listen to it. This gets him abducted by the Communiverse, where he pretends to be the ambassador of Earth. He meets some strange new aliens and makes friends with them. This gives him a whole new lease on life. It has become the adventure of a lifetime for him, and it brings him closer to his aunt, who is now his primary caregiver. 

Pixar has always infused their films with themes and plotlines that discuss various topics in humanity. This time out, a group of writers who include Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones use single parenting and child loneliness as their basic premise to get across to the general public. Along, of course, with the alien story, that is .These are popular themes in many movies that have come out in the past. Pixar, though, always puts a spin on popular themes we can all relate to. The alien and single parentage stuff reminded me of one of my all-time favorite films. ET the Extra-Terrestrial.  Obviously, while watching this, I could see that classic Spielberg film at the forefront. Of course, they have to make this movie for a new younger audience, though. Even as an adult, I loved it.

One of the things that is known about the Pixar movies is that they have some amazing villains. Lotso (Ned Beatty) and Syndrome (Jason Lee) are a couple of iconic villains that come to mind. The latest villain that Pixar fans will remember in years to come is Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett). He is an alien dictator who wants to join the Communiverse. When he doesn’t get his way, he plans to take over. Garrett is amazing as this dictator who isn’t happy when he doesn’t get his way. Even he has a soft spot, though. Viewers get to see even villains be sad and / or have an empathetic side to them. When it comes to children, people tend to have different personalities.  He definitely changes his stripes in this regard. It was very emotional to behold. I had a tear in my eye at these scenes. Hopefully, audiences will have a similar feeling. 

Zoe Saldana is having a moment right now. She’s coming off of her first Academy award win for Best Supporting Actress in  Emelia Perez. She has a successful streaming show with Lioness, and she’s part of one of the biggest franchises of all time with Avatar.  I didn’t expect he to be the voice of a struggling parental figure in this movie , but she is. She is finally playing a straightforward human being even though she is animated. Saldana gives her typical fantastic performance in a voice-over role. Once again, her role as this single parent/°aunt trying to take care of a mischievous child reminded me of ET the Extra-Terrestrial. She’s definitely channeling Dee Wallace. I’m glad she was playing a regular person even though she’s animated. I want her to play more roles like this as a struggling mother or in a similar vein.  I think she’d be good at it like she is here.

Pixar and Disney have tried to be diverse in their cast and writing characters. Elio is not any specific ethnicity,  but he and his aunt seem to be Latino in nature.  Making these characters Latino doesn’t differentiate them as far as the story goes. These characters could be Black, white, or Asian for that matter. These characters are supposed to represent a specific culture, and I don’t think the story as a whole tries to do that. It’s more about the sci-fi nature of the exploration of the stars. Teaching kids about this sort of thing is universal.  It doesn’t need to be geared towards a specific race of people.The writers and directors achieve that goal. Whether they tried to or not. 

Elio is a fantastic film for kids of all ages, which includes adults.  Pixar is great with creating themes both kids and adults can relate to. This one has both in spades. There are humous goofy alien characters kids will enjoy, and parenting themes adults will gravitate towards. Is this the best Pixar movie to date? No. Is it the worst? Not even close. The animation is beautiful, and the voice-over cast, specifically Garrett and Saldana, were memorable to me.  The sci-fi elements reminded me of one of my favorite films of all time, ET the Extra-Terrestrial.  Exploration of the stars is always going to be a universal topic for writers and filmmakers. This one is another you can add to the list of terrific movies with story points we all can relate to.

4 stars

Dan Skip Allen