Review: Pixar’s ELIO is a galactic adventure with interesting twists
ELIO surprised me. Disney and Pixar’s 2025 summer release is imaginative, heartfelt, and aims to answer the burning philosophical questions, “Where do we belong? Are we alone? What’s the meaning of life?” Though it begins with several age-old tropes, the plot takes several interesting twists, and by the end I was completely invested in Elio – a lost little boy desperately searching for his place in the universe.
Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) is a space fanatic with an alien obsession. In grand Disney tradition, he has lost both his parents and is currently being raised by his overwhelmed Aunt Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldaña). The story is partly her journey as well – coming to terms with being a mother figure for Elio. Co-director Domee Shi (TURNING RED) explains, “Elio is an unusual kid who’s obsessed with getting abducted by aliens. He feels like a lot of us feel sometimes – lonely, unwanted, like no one understands us. Elio feels like there’s nothing for him on Earth – he dreams of going to another world where he’s accepted for who he is.”
So, when he’s beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide, Elio takes it in stride. He doesn’t fit in on Earth, but he gets along great with crazy and weird aliens of every color, shape, and size. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s leader, Elio must navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions when Lord Grigon (voiced by Brad Garrett) threatens to take over the Communiverse. Will Elio finally discover who he’s meant to be and where he fits in?
ELIO explores similar themes to CONTACT (1997), and pays homage in a few scenes when the aliens send a message to Earth. CONTACT asks the question, “are we alone in the vastness of the universe?” ELIO answers emphatically, “no!” but follows up with another question, “if we’re not alone, where do we (or I) belong?” The film shares these messages in a way kids can understand and relate, all while casting a colorful, imaginative spell on the entire audience.
The aliens Elio meets are bright and colorful. Live action movies and TV shows are relegated to creating humanoid aliens due to budgets, but an animated film can get away with casting a larva-like creature with no eyes – Glordon (voiced by Remy Edgerly) – as Elio’s new best friend! This character is immediately likeable, and the film really takes off when Glordon and Elio meet.
Space Easter Eggs in Elio
As a huge sci-fi nerd, I noticed several Easter eggs to “space” films and TV series.
- “Elio” is two letters away from “Elliot” – the boy in E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL, who meets an alien looking for his home. Elio and Elliot, if they should ever meet, would be best friends!
- The Communiverse aliens in ELIO contact Earth by sending back a message Earth sent first – essentially saying “I come in peace”. This is exactly what happens when Ellie Arroway in CONTACT receives a “message from Vega” and it turns out to be Earth’s first TV broadcast from the 1936 Olympics in Berlin.
- When Elio wanders into a space-related museum exhibit, the exhibit narrator’s voice sounded so familiar. A quick glance at the credits revealed that this is Kate Mulgrew – Captain Janeway on STAR TREK: VOYAGER.
- Gunther Melmac works at the military base where Elio and his Aunt live. He is named after the planet Melmac from the NBC sitcom featuring an alien – ALF.
I gleaned these from only one viewing, and I’m sure there are a few more, as ELIO is a love-letter to these space exploration films and TV shows. Another reason to love this movie.
I encourage you to see this film in 3D. I am not a big 3D fan – usually it makes the screen darker and puts me to sleep. But in this case, ELIO uses the 3D so imaginatively that I loved it! It makes the vastness of space feel gargantuan, and the film is so bright and colorful that it counteracted any brightness issues.
ELIO releases in U.S. theaters on June 20, 2025 with a run time of 1hr 38min. Will you see the film? Let us know what you thought @skywalkingpod.
