Title – Elio (2025)

Directors – Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian & Domee Shi

Cast – (voices of) Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett

Plot – Alien obsessed boy Elio (Kibreab) finally gets to live out his dream of being abducted by an extra terrestrial force as he is taken on a journey that spans the universe, getting to meet Glordon (Edgerly) who will change his life forever.  

“Since the dawn of time, humans have gazed at the stars and wondered… are we alone?”

Review by Eddie on 28/11/2025

Quickly becoming known as one of the greatest flops yet in the prestigious history of beloved animation studio Pixar, earning an extremely disappointing $153 million worldwide off a reported budget of $150-$200 million when it was released earlier in 2025, Elio may on paper have all the hallmarks of a quality Pixar outing but sadly this science fiction infused family adventure lacks the special charm and imagination that would’ve made this outing stand out.

Enlisting the support of three directors, including some of the brains behind Pixar outings Turning Red and The Good Dinosaur, Elio had a lot of chefs in the kitchen trying to manage all the ingredients going into this melting pot of many familiar and well-trodden tropes that are clearly inspired by the heydays of 80’s adventure films and prime Steven Spielberg but the final dish that gets served up to us is one that never feels completely at peace with itself as its heartfelt moments, comical hijinks and coming of age elements come and go without much too hold onto.

Oddly marketed on its way to release, a very strange occurrence for a big screen Pixar outing, it seems as though even Disney wasn’t sure on how to sell Elio to the masses and when watching this 98 minute film take place it’s easy to see why as the story of alien loving boy Elio being taken on an intergalactic journey that takes a solid 40 – 50 minutes to take shape is a strangely uninvolving narrative that shows glimmer of wonder and comedic potential but fails to grasp any of its concepts confidently or intelligently.

Potentially too mature in story and concepts for young viewers and too tame and uneventful for those older children, it’s also hard to see who Elio is aimed at with Pixar’s frequent ability to be able to craft animated films that magically transcend age and backgrounds not on show here, giving Elio a tough task of trying to make up for its confused and messy identity and reason to exist.

Another flaw in this colourful and well-intentioned slice of forgettable animated pie is the animation itself.

In a climate where we’ve just had eye-capturing animated features such as Flow, The Wild Robot and Inside Out 2 hit big screens and streaming services in recent times, Elio stands out for the wrong reasons in the aesthetics department as while there’s a lot happening in front of us, nothing stands out from the bland lifeless depiction of Elio himself through to the otherworldly surrounds of deep space, Elio fails to inspire in its creative endeavours, creating an overall feeling of blandness that was usually non-existent in prime Pixar worlds.

Final Say –

There’s little chance that Elio makes up for its disastrous cinema run now it’s available for viewers at home, as while it’s all very inoffensive and harmless, there’s little reason to encourage anyone to track down this forgettable outing when they’d be better off picking out their favourite Pixar classic instead.

2 1/2 eye patches out of 5