Three years ago, Pixar tried to make a sci-fi movie, but someone forgot their Big Pixar Playbook, and Lightyear felt like a rough approximation that never really justified its own existence. Fatally, it lacked the company’s usual charm, and the appeal to kids was so questionable that most left wondering why Andy would ever have fallen in love with Buzz in the first place. 2025’s long-delayed Elio is almost the polar opposite of Lightyear, and it’s nice to imagine someone at Pixar refused to give up on the bountiful opportunities of space to get us this little wonder.
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Elio is a triumph of imagination, heart, and emotional resonance, tapping into that rare childlike awe of the unknown while delivering the studio’s very familiar blend of humor, beautiful visuals, and profound humanity. There’s a splash of Spielberg’s Amblin spirit in there, too, and if there’s any justice, Pixar’s bravery to be original will see Elio do well enough at the box office to encourage more of that. Right now, it needs positive word of mouth as much as it deserves it.
Because this is Pixar, Elio, of course, has universal trauma at its center. It’s as much about loneliness and grief as it is about a weird little kid finding his tribe. But even as Pixar’s beautiful world-building draws the attention, it’s grief and pain — how we carry it, how we hide it, and how we eventually grow through it — that poke holes through the scenery every now and then. But rather than dwell in sadness, the film is surprisingly life-affirming, as death so perversely often is. It’s a film that celebrates eccentricity, while also reminding that it’s often a coping mechanism, and it’s all clever enough never to become overwrought. Inevitably, that makes the laser-focused moments of melancholy all the more effective.
It almost goes without saying that Elio is stunning, but I’m going to do it anyway, because there’s more to Pixar movies than just impressive technology. As I’ve already said, the world-building here is some of Pixar’s most inventive to date, but it’s not because of a commitment to hyperrealism: there’s still the usual visual familiarity of the Pixar universe. Some of the alien council members are wild, but they still all feel like Pixar creations, and the space scenes are beautiful and remarkably clever. It’s easy to understand why Elio spends so much time looking up.
The character design is generally great, and no example better encapsulates this than Glordon, the razor-toothed, eyeless slug who, against every instinct, manages to be both endearing and sympathetic. That Pixar once made toys come to life is one thing — but making an eyeless, vaguely phallic alien genuinely lovable? That takes a special kind of magic.
As always, the voice cast is also very good. Yonas Kibreab, as Elio is curious, pained, and charming, and his performance has a broad appeal that makes him a good match for young audience members, but with an emotional accessibility for adults too. Zoe Saldaña plays Elio’s aunt and guardian Olga (he’s another Disney orphan after some unknown tragedy off-screen), and she’s a good and necessary human anchor. Because the best parts of the cast are the aliens, with highlights from Remy Edgerly as walking liability Glordon, Brad Garrett as his booming father, Shirley Henderson as super computer Ooooo (and bringing back her Moaning Myrtle vibes). There’s also a great turn by Ted Lasso’s Brendan Hunt.
Tonally, Elio feels a little like Pixar channeling their inner Spielberg: think Flight of the Navigator meets E.T.: a wholesome look to the stars, but with the right amount of jeopardy. What the story does best is smash together the infinite possibilities of the universe and the tiny bubble of loneliness of not belonging. It’s deft and subtle enough that it might look like Elio forgot to explore the vastness of the universe it teases, but the whole point is that it’s a small, deeply personal story.
Importantly, Elio doesn’t overstay its welcome. At just under 100 minutes, it’s long enough to explore its world and themes without becoming bloated or losing younger viewers — my own eight-year-old remained spellbound all the way through, and he is, sadly, at the knife’s edge of Generation Brain Rot. That’s not something every animated feature can claim, particularly in an age where run time inflation often works against the attention spans of the audience they’re trying to reach.
There’s a lot to love — the soundtrack too (anything with Talking Heads scores extra points) — but it’s not entirely without its flaws. The film does lean on a somewhat tired kids’ movie trope — a fake-out death scene that feels a bit rote now. Maybe it’s just that the last three major family movies I’ve seen with my son in theaters in the last month have all done it? It is still sad, but the reason it’s sad isn’t the thing itself. Spoilers forbid further discussion, but you’ll see what I mean.
Elio is one of Pixar’s best stand-alone films in a long time — in fact, if it wasn’t for Coco, I’d be quite confident in saying it’s the best since Up back in 2009. If you’re looking for an answer to whether Elio is going to entertain your 6-to-10-year-old kids, the answer is a resounding yes. It’s not just beautifully animated or well written; it has a very important message. It reminds us of the bravery it takes to be different, to feel deeply, and that the challenge to connect with others can sometimes feel more daunting than bridging millions of intergalactic miles. Pleasantly, I can see a world where there’s more from Elio, as the mid-credits scene hints, so let’s just hope it does as well at the box office as it deserves to.
Rating: 4 out of 5
Elio is in cinemas now.
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Image courtesy of Netflix.
