Everyone, today, we review the latest entry in the Disney/Pixar library, as well as the first original one since 2023’s Elemental. It is the one, and only Elio, starring Yonas Kibreab as the title character, Zoe Saldana, and a few other people.
Plot: When eleven-year-old Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab), who hardly has any friends, and lives with his aunt (Zoe Saldana), gets abducted by aliens, and is mistaken as Earth’s ambassador, he is mistaken as Earth’s ambassador. Now, as he’s caught in the middle of a war in space that involves other aliens, Elio must decide if he can have peace with new friends in space, as well as any family, and friends on Earth, or if he should just live in space more with his new alien friends.
Seeing as this new Disney/Pixar movie has, thus far, been the company’s lowest grossing animated film, the question now remains, “Does this film deserve to have that reputation, or is this film just going to be yet another underrated animated movie?” Well, on the surface, Elio may, on the surface, look like an animated film that’s just geared for kids. However, much like a situation with say DreamWorks’ Madagascar (which was released 20 years ago, in 2005), Elio does well with also being geared towards even teens, and adults for it’s mature themes, and more. First of all, having themes about coping/dealing with loss, facing loneliness, and other challenges make this Disney/Pixar film very enjoyable. Although Elio may not be quite as memorable as other films from the Disney/Pixar film library, the film does have plenty to enjoy, like mature themes mentioned before, and what creativity, and heart that they did put into this film. In addition to this, there’s the score by Robert Simonsen. I mean his score is really good throughout the film, make no mistake about that. However, some of the points where his score especially does shine are scenes that include Elio being in space, or even a part of the film where Elio is in a space museum, and he explores certain places of the exhibit. I remember thinking to myself that it’s because of scenes like these that Elio deserves it’s own area at theme parks like DisneyLand, and DisneyWorld, for example, and should be a ride in TomorrowLand, and one similar to rides like Space Mountain, but a more improved version. But hey, with Elio not performing quite as well as the company had hoped, it’s not looking like that will happen anytime in the near future. But hey, one can still dream up, right? Anyway, Elio also has some fairly good character development, particularly where there needs to be, such as with Elio, and his relationships with his aunt Olga, the alien kid, Glordon, and some of the aliens that he meets along the way, and get fairly well fleshed out in the film. The visuals are also really beautiful to look at, especially when Elio is in space, and having interactions with the aliens that he befriends along the way. Oh, did I also forget to mention that there were some really hilarious lines in the script along the way? Yeah, that helps make this film fun too. There was also some really great action in this film too, particularly around the middle to end of this film. And the way that some of the action is handled, very well-handled beautifully. Elio will also be very relatable as well. Honestly, if Disney/Pixar makes more films like Elio, and develops them up a notch even more, I think that maybe kids will hopefully learn to grow up handling difficult situations in more healthy ways. Finally, Elio serves as a really creative metaphor for learning some valuable lessons in life, including coping with loss properly, and learning to truly appreciate people, and things in your life as much as possible.
Still, in a couple ways, Elio did have the potential to be a little better. Don’t get me wrong, Elio still is really good. Still, whether it was due to having some creative differences in the company, the Writer’s Strike a couple years ago, this film being pushed from last year to a release date this year, or other factors, Elio doesn’t quite reach the full potential that it could have maybe reached. First of all, Elio might have had too many alien characters. Some of them could have maybe been cut out, and the film maybe narrowed on those alien characters that were fairly well developed, and been developed a little better. The world building could have probably been done a little better too. One last thing! Some of the alien designs probably could have used a little more work. Yes, they’re still good, but could have been tweaked in some ways.
And that’s my review for Elio. Well, even if Elio could have had a little more work done in some aspects, it was still a fun film, and definitely did/does deserve more popularity at the box office. Is it because of former creative executives like John Lasseter not being part of Disney/Pixar, and Walt Disney Animation Studios, that some of these original films don’t seem to capture the same amount of magic that older films did before? Probably! Still, Elio is undoubtedly one of the better Disney/Pixar films to come out in recent years. Yeah, I personally would revisit films like Elio more so than at least recent films like Strange World, and Wish, for example. Though not quite one of Disney/Pixar’s best works, Elio does show that there is still hope for Disney/Pixar, and maybe even Walt Disney Animation Studios in terms of making good, or great stories without having woke, or political deals, or having to make sequels to films of either library in the process. Elio is creative, engaging, has a lot of heart, is memorable in many ways, and is an overall really fun film. I would advise you yo please not listen yo the naysayers for this film, and truly give this film a chance. Now, can upcoming original films from Disney/Pixar like next year’s Hoppers, and 2027’s Gatto improve from Elio, and help serve as proof that neither Disney/Pixar, nor Walt Disney Animation Studios, have to constantly make sequels in order to meet success? Boy, fingers crossed for that being the case. For now, definitely go out, and see Elio while it’s still in theaters, and/or if it’s still playing at your local theater. I’m sure you’ll be glad that you did in the end. But again, let me know what you think of Elio!
Final Rating: 8.5/10
Matthew’s Animated & Live-Action Movie Reviews 