Pixar’s latest, ‘Elio,’ feels like one of those gentle, well-intentioned films that wants to say something meaningful but doesn’t quite figure out how to. It’s got heart, imagination, and moments of warmth, but also a lingering sense of hesitation—as if it’s constantly holding back from the kind of emotional gut-punch the studio is known for. Directed by Adrian Molina (alongside Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi), the film follows Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), a shy artistic kid who spends more time thinking about aliens than talking to actual people. When he accidentally sends a signal into space from his aunt Olga’s (voiced by Zoe Saldana) government lab, he’s suddenly pulled into an intergalactic council—the Communiverse—and mistaken for Earth’s official ambassador. It’s a wildly inventive premise with clear emotional stakes, but one that never fully opens up.
An inventive world that moves fast
There’s a lot to admire visually in ‘Elio.’ The alien worlds are bursting with colour and strange lifeforms—sentient blobs and crystalline creatures that look like they belong to a sci-fi comic. The Communiverse itself is a chaotic, almost bureaucratic space opera setting that manages to feel both whimsical and oddly familiar. One can easily spot Pixar having fun here, especially with how language, diplomacy, and miscommunication play out between different species. And yet, for all its creativity, the film doesn’t give enough breathing room to its set pieces. Scenes feel truncated, transitions are abrupt, and the narrative seems in a hurry to move on. Still, in the midst of all this, Elio’s bond with Glordon (voiced by Remy Edgerly)—a hulking alien child who just wants a friend—is the emotional thread that keeps the film from floating away.
Touches of emotion but impact missing
But while Elio means well and certainly tries, it rarely lingers in the very feelings it sets up. It touches on grief (his parents are dead), belonging, and the quiet burdens kids carry when the adults around them are too busy or overwhelmed. Yet none of these ideas are explored with much depth. Elio’s emotional arc, for instance, feels like it’s been drawn in outline rather than filled in—there’s no real low point, no moment that truly shakes him or us. You keep waiting for a beat of stillness, a pause where the film dares to sit in silence and feel something heavy. Instead, it stays in the safer lane of pleasant storytelling, where nothing quite hurts and nothing quite heals.
The story has moments of honesty
That said, the film isn’t without feeling. There are quiet, human moments—like Elio trying to play brave in front of the aliens while silently panicking inside—that ring true. His relationship with his aunt, Olga, is marked by love, but also by a gap neither fully knows how to bridge. The film doesn’t spell it out. Elio, as a character, works best not when he’s delivering dialogue, but when he’s just reacting—taking in strange worlds, trying to make sense of who he’s supposed to be. That’s the quiet power the film occasionally taps into: the feeling of being a kid who’s been handed a job too big and is just doing his best to get through it.
Never digs as deep as it could have
Elio may not rank alongside Pixar’s most unforgettable films. It’s a tender, visually rich story that gently explores ideas of identity, difference, and acceptance. It’s about the small, hard-won victories—finding a friend, being heard, admitting you’re scared—and while it never digs as deep as it could have, there’s something to be said for a film that chooses gentleness over grandeur. It probably won’t leave you teary-eyed in the theatre, but it might leave you thinking about the kid you once were—the one who didn’t quite fit, who wished someone would listen, and who found safety in imagining other worlds.
Voice over: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Remy Edgerly, and Brad Garrett
Directors: Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, and Domee Shi
Rating: 3/5
(‘Elio’ is playing in theatres)
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