#REVIEW: “ELIO”

Review by Justin Waldman for Mr. Will Wong

In a world of reboots, spinoffs, sequels and the alike, getting an original Pixar film feels like a lottery ticket that is at *minimum* giving you back what you paid for it. Now knowing that it is brought to us by the same people who gave us Coco, Soul, Luca, and Turning Red, feels like winning the jackpot! Co-directed by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, and Domee Shi, and co-written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones, ELIO delivers an out of this world adventure! We feel this ranks among the top five original Pixar movies of all time, deserving a place alongside the greats like Toy Story, Wall-E, The Incredibles, and Up. ELIO is a marvel of the imagination, with themes of loneliness, belonging, striking the right chords to elicit a puddle of emotions from its audience. This is a masterpiece.

The story centers on Elio (Yonas Kibreab), who has recently lost his parents. He is now in the care and custody of his aunt Olga Solis (Zoe Saldaña) who is a military member and wants to be a space cadet, but due to her sister and brother-in-law’s unfortunate passing, she now finds herself as the primary caregiver to him. Elio is a huge space fan, and imagines being abducted by aliens and whisked away to a better life.  He doesn’t feel he belongs in the world, but wants to fit in. Be careful what you wish for, because other life forms discover the boy, receiving his messages via satellite – and the Communiverse (essentially the space version of the United Nations) beams Elio up, thinking he is Earth’s leader and representative.

They create a clone for Elio, so no one realizes that he is missing. Everything is going according to plan for Elio – he now has everything he wants, somewhere he thinks he fits in and a new-found life that he can settle into. However, before he can get sworn-in to the Communiverse, its members must have a meeting with Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), who threatens decimation. Elio offers to broker peace, and the leaders of the Communiverse welcome Elio – if he can ensure Lord Grigon does not carry out his plan of destruction. Elio is joined by a new friend Glordon (Remy Edgerly), in his efforts to convince Lord Grigon against destruction.

Aside from breathtaking stunning animation, and a complex, emotional story, Elio has has such depth and layers to it. In the face of extreme loneliness and tragedy, its message of finding oneself is a timeless, resonant one. The voice work though here, particularly by Yonas Kibreab and Academy Award-winner Zoe Saldaña is masterful and poignant. Brad Garrett also brings a level of deep darkness and is effective here, shining among a very talented Ensemble.

Elio is arguably the best and original films Pixar has done in years, without a doubt. It is a beautiful tour-de-force of a film reminding audiences reminding its audience of the studio’s lustre of yesteryear. Elio  truly is one of the best films of the year.

Walt Disney Studios Canada release ELIO in theatres  Friday, June 20, 2025.