Elio (PG)

98 minutes, opens on June 19
★★★★☆

The story: Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), an 11-year-old boy obsessed with space exploration, finally gets his wish: an alien ship takes him to meet the Communiverse, an organisation of peaceful species from across the galaxy. His guardian, Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana), is unaware that her nephew is now in orbit. Elio faces a problem – the aliens have given him a warm welcome only because they believe he is Earth’s planetary leader. He has to think fast or risk getting sent back to a home and neighbourhood that has labelled him a misfit. 

“First contact” shows like Netflix’s 3 Body Problem (2024) depict the arrival of extraterrestrials as cataclysms. Pixar’s Elio falls squarely in the opposite camp – when the aliens come, they will usher in a new golden age, but only if humanity proves itself worthy of their gifts. 

Put this one in the camp of the studio’s animated films like A Bug’s Life (1998) and Cars (2006), which were movies aimed mainly at children. This is not a knock on its quality – Toy Story (1995) and Monsters, Inc (2001) might lack the sophisticated storytelling of The Incredibles (2004), Soul (2020) or Turning Red (2022), but are excellent nonetheless. 

The template is a familiar one, used in many children’s stories: A misunderstood kid yearns for escape, then finds a magical kingdom whose inhabitants celebrate the qualities that have made him an outcast at home. 

Pixar, through Elio’s co-directors Domee Shi (Turning Red), Madeline Sharafian and Adrian Molina, has added an American fake-it-till-you-make-it twist to the story. 

Unlike tales about “the chosen one” or heroic kids with extraordinary gifts, the titular boy is as ordinary as they come. His only edge is his courage, coupled with a willingness to make friends and try new experiences – qualities that emerge in scenes that smoothly blend the poignant with the comical. 

Like the girl Sen in Studio Ghibli’s Oscar-winning Spirited Away (2001), Elio is thrust into the company of creatures from other worlds and discovers that the scariest-looking among them can be the sweetest.

However, that is as deep as it goes – no alien in the Communiverse matches the levels of grotesque found in the Japanese work of animation or even the nightmarish dolls of Pixar’s own Toy Story franchise. Again, probably because of the creative decision to skew young. 

What Elio lacks in scary monsters, it makes up for in whimsy. The aliens are a beautifully imagined and rendered set of creatures resembling arthropods, iridescent blobs and toothy amoebas.

Besides Elio, the other protagonist in the story is the late American astronomer and science communicator Carl Sagan, who died in 1996. Soundbites from his celebrated documentaries about space punctuate the film. Sagan famously asked: “Is mankind alone in the universe?”

Elio’s adventures answer that question. Sagan’s sonorous tones fit surprisingly well into the story, anchoring this kid’s tale in a message about the stewardship of Earth resting on everyone’s shoulders. 

Hot take: Elio carries plenty of charm, whimsy and a positive message about friendship and courage. 

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