Elio Review: An Emotionally Resonant and Charming Adventure About Loneliness and Finding a Connection

So, I went for the Elio screening with no expectations because the trailers released between 2023 and 2025 hardly entice me into anticipating this latest original Pixar animated feature. They look like cookie-cutter animation with all the usual suspects: colourful visuals, cute alien characters, and almost everything seen in the trailers made me think that Pixar chose to play it safe with the formula.

Not to mention the behind-the-scenes shakeup, resulting in script rewrites and even ending up with original director Adrian Molina of Coco fame, being replaced by Turning Red‘s Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian, where the latter made her feature directorial debut. Such a massive creative overhaul didn’t exactly inspire confidence, and I can’t help but notice Elio is strangely lacking in marketing for a supposedly major Pixar release, dated in the crowded summer movie season.

Well, just when I thought this was going to be nothing more than a typical animated feature about a boy who ends up in space dominated by aliens, the movie surprises me. Right from the onset, co-directors Domee Shi along with Madeline Sharafian and Adrian Molina (the latter still has his name retained in the credits) did a great job establishing Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), the 11-year-old titular boy who has lost his parents and now living with his aunt, Olga (Zoe Saldaña, originally meant for America Ferrera but pulled out due to scheduling conflicts).

Elio is shy and feels like an outcast with no friends, and his only meaningful connection is his obsession with space. He even goes as far as trying to make contact with aliens because he only cares about getting abducted. Willingly, that is, since there’s no point living on Earth. His aunt may have loved him, but she doesn’t seem to understand what he truly needs. Meanwhile, Olga is occasionally busy with her work as an army major working at the Montez Air Force Base. She also has a dream of her own — a chance to join the space programme to become an astronaut someday.

The story takes its deliberate time during the earthbound stretch, addressing everything from Elio’s underlying grief and sadness to his strained relationship with his aunt, and dealing with a bully. It’s hard not to feel sympathy for Elio, who remains persistent in dedicating most of his free time on the beach as he attempts to contact the aliens by sending out signals with a modified ham radio. Because to him, being up there is where he has a sense of belonging, rather than remaining on Earth trying to find a way to fit in.

Losing parents at such a young age is a bitter pill to swallow, which leads to significant emotional trauma. A deep sense of despair and particularly loneliness can be seen from Elio’s perspective, and despite having a caretaker like his aunt Olga, her lack of parenting skills only makes things worse. Clearly, the continuously overwhelmed Elio needs tremendous support both practically and emotionally, but Olga isn’t attentive enough to see this through.

It was a matter of time before Elio got his wish after he found himself beamed up to Communiverse. Think of it as a United Nations-like organisation, but instead dealing with interplanetary matters, and here is where the misunderstanding happens: These aliens think Elio is the Earth’s leader. But he doesn’t want them to send him back to Earth, so he just play along. For the aliens to accept him, Elio must find a way to negotiate with Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), a fearsome warlord from the planet Hylurg determined to rule the Communiverse. Trouble ensues when Elio does the unthinkable — makes friends with Grigon’s only son, Glordon (Remy Edgerly), before using him as a bargaining chip.

Elio and Glordon’s buddy comedy dynamic helps to balance the movie’s otherwise depressing subject matter with a lightweight tone. They may have been different species: one’s a human and the other is a slug-like alien. And yet, they manage to connect as friends. Like Elio, Glordon also suffered from loss and loneliness, and his problem equally mirrors the former’s dilemma. No doubt that Elio brings enough emotional weight as much as it strikes the right contrast with a satisfying mix of comedy and space adventure.

The voice cast is spot-on, and visually speaking, the movie looks stunning from the brightly coloured Communiverse to the distinct alien designs like the pink, leafy sea dragon of Ambassador Questa (Jameela Jamil) and the cute-as-button, squarish viscous liquid OOOOO (Shirley Henderson). Although Elio could have punched up with a higher-stakes scenario during the third act, the overall movie is a heartfelt and wonderful cinematic experience not to be missed.