‘Elio’ Sneak Peek Dazzles With Emotional, Imaginative Storytelling

I was incredibly excited for my first press junket at Pixar Studios in Emeryville, California. Not only was it pure magic stepping foot in the hallowed halls of Pixar, but it was also an amazing experience having access to the behind-the-scenes process behind Disney Pixar’s upcoming Elio. Besides seeing the studio and behind-the-scenes details, I met a lot of interesting journalists in my field, so all in, the experience itself was great fun. With that bias out of the way, what we saw of Elio looked very impressive, and I’m hopeful that Pixar has something exciting on their hands when the film drops on June 20. 

Pixar’s 29th feature film, Elio returns the studio to the science fiction genre. In the film, Elio (Yonas Kibreab) is an 11-year-old boy who aliens mistake for Earth’s ambassador after he makes an elaborate call to outer space. Elio finds himself beamed up to the Communiverse, sort of a United Nations for galaxies far, far away. There, he makes friends with eccentric aliens in a touching journey of self-discovery. Zoe Saldaña and Brad Garrett are among the talented voice cast. 

While at Pixar, we saw the opening scene, and Pixar’s ability to elicit emotion from the audience is still going strong. We learned what makes Elio feel alone and why he thinks being abducted by aliens is the answer to his problems. You immediately feel for both Elio and for his Aunt Olga (Saldaña), who is obviously trying her best but has been thrust into the role of parent when she was originally a career woman. She wants to help and wants to be the parent he needs, but parenting is, of course, very difficult. We also see a great emotional moment with her later that I don’t want to spoil but, with context, may be the second moment you will all cry.

Elio’s feeling of loneliness isn’t just to get us emotionally at the start but something that directors Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, and Domee Shi really were interested in exploring. It is a universal idea to which any child can relate with Elio not just being lonely but also thinking the people around him do not want or would be better off without him. We then see Elio’s humorous attempts at abduction to show that this is still going to be a fun movie, not just a tear jerker. 

Based on the presented material, Pixar is still a master of creating beautiful animation. Many space scenes are presented at the diplomatic area called the Communiverse, with four different spheres as environments in which the different species of aliens are comfortable. It was one of the most gorgeous animated designs I have seen in an animated movie in a while, with each sphere a different color, blending together with a great balance of constant movement yet without distracting from our main characters. This creative approach continues with the aliens all having different designs and movements that are taken from many things in nature that give them a distinct feel and personality. That includes a liquid supercomputer Ooooo that was inspired by metaballs with almost unlimited movements available to it.

But if there is a standout among the aliens it is Glordon, a character with no eyes, a mouth full of sharp teeth, and slug-like motions. From the movements the animators showed us to the quick scene we had with him, he appears to be one of the most lovable characters in the film. He is a child and the first friend Elio makes, and the exuberant energy they have feels like two young boys just having fun with each other but on an alien diplomatic station and one is a giant bug. Glordon also has a sense of isolation, uncertain if he wants to follow in his father Lord Grigon’s warrior footsteps and has just as much of an innocent charm to match Elio’s.

Overall, this event made me want to see the full film. The beautiful animation and the use of great emotionally resonant moments gave me a lot of hope that we have something interesting here. While some of the lessons seem universal that we have seen before in films, this looks to be an imaginative and emotional take that, while familiar in theme, is different in execution.

Also, we never learned why Elio has an eyepatch on later in the film, and I need to know why!!

Elio opens in theaters only nationwide on June 20.