Elio

Eight out of ten!!!. I really enjoyed this film & i didn't expect two aliens to have me teary eyed leaving the theater!! Yall should take y'all kids to see!! I seen a lot of grown adults complaining about this film when it's not for them, it's for children. I'm sure the kids will enjoy regardless of what you ppl are talking about. My nieces and nephews enjoyed every second of ELio !! I honestly don't have any complaints whatsoever, the storyline was great, it teaches kids about true friendship with anyone or anything no matter what, it shows how you can overcome bullying and even make friends w those who once bullied you. It's all around a lot of positive messages being sent in this film.

There's something deeply satisfying about sitting down for a film and realising - thank god - it's not a reboot, not a sequel, not a reimagining of an 80s toy you forgot existed. 'Elio' is a brand-new Pixar original, and I liked that. The concept? Brilliant on paper. An 11-year-old boy accidentally becomes Earth's ambassador to an intergalactic council. It sets the stage for something wild, emotional, and full of imagination.

And it's cute. It really is. The alien designs are charming, the colours pop, and the relationship between Elio and his mum is genuinely lovely. There are moments that tug at the heart, and Glordon (his gooey alien pal) is an absolute standout.

But 'Elio' plays it painfully safe. It never fully commits to the weirdness or depth that the premise begs for. It follows a very familiar Pixar formula and never strays far from it. You can see every emotional beat and plot point coming a mile away.

This kind of story - kid feels like an outsider, gets whisked into a cosmic adventure, discovers they're more than they thought - has been done too many times, and better. Think 'E. T.', 'The Iron Giant', 'Lilo & Stitch'. 'Elio' doesn't quite hit those emotional highs or carve out a voice of its own.

That said, if you've got kids, take them - they'll have a great time. It's sweet, wholesome, and easy to watch. But if you're expecting something truly new or memorable, this one's probably fine to skip until it hits streaming.

Final Verdict: 🌟 Lovely to look at, but plays it too safe.

👶 Great for little ones.

📺 Best saved for Disney+.

A very entertaining film that's not just for kids - adults will find a lot to appreciate, too. The main character is incredibly sweet and deals with relatable, everyday issues in a heartfelt way.

Visually, it's beautifully animated as you'd expect from Pixar. It definitely resembles ,Luca' regarding its looks.

More importantly, the story touches on timely and meaningful themes: loneliness, grief, and how people from different backgrounds can come together when it really matters. It's thought-provoking without being heavy. Definitely worth watching, even if it's not among Pixar's absolute top-tier films.

Elio ends up feeling like Pixar at its most generic with so many recycled beats and supposed emotional moments taken from any one of their other movies without any of the impact. The film just feels like it's trying to get those tears out of you from the very first scenes and it actually started to annoy me very quickly and annoying really is the main word I associate with this viewing experience. It feels so emotionally manipulative and as a result most of the beats fall completely flat. The script just seems to be allergic to subtlety and there wasn't a single resolution I didn't see coming from a mile away after the first 20 minutes. It got the odd chuckle out of me but for the most part I found the characters to be complete non-entities and outside of the main aunt-nephew relationship I don't think the film took enough time to build up it's dynamics. Even the visuals, which are admittedly impressive, still feel close to images we've seen in better Pixar movies but without any of real spectacle. This movie bored me and it annoyed me but for the most part I felt nothing whilst watching it and those my least favourite kind of movie watching experiences. It's abundantly clear at this point how good Pixar can be so that makes it even more frustrating when they make as much of a nothing movie as Elio as turned out to be.

I do appreciate that it isn't a remake nor sequel to an existing IP by Disney and Pixar. It's nice to see a new story and original idea without having to constantly be slammed with remakes and sequels.

To begin with, the concept of Elio is pretty good as a story about venturing through the new world, UFO's, alien adventures and mishaps sound is pretty cool. Throughout, once again, the animation is rich of colors, vibrate lights, and the designs are cute and well-structured. Pixar never fails to impress with their high quality animation style and designs. Especially with the alien designs, I really loved their movements and structures. Alongside with the sound designs, the colorful vibe atmosphere, and there is a good sense of humor as it does balance out with some of the emotional levels together.

However, despite the good concept, the writing unfortunately doesn't fully take advantage with the creative concept as it thinks. There are certain moments in the story that felt cliches with modern children animation tropes, and emotional and complex moments that seemed interesting, but the execution comes off as it plays a bit too safe. I understand that it's for children, but in the past, Pixar has been able to put good complex themes within their works and it makes it a great emotional experience. Because of this, it didn't felt as impactful nor connectable as I would have liked.

The character of Elio is okay as his development offers a good insight with the setting and atmosphere. But the other characters weren't really as interesting, as they felt undeveloped and uninteresting to observe. The voice performances, surprisingly, was pretty mild as despite some strong voice performances, some felt a bit awkward and out of place.

I'll be honest, it's a bit disappointing because I love to support more original new stories from Disney because they need to continue to bring out new worlds and stories. Unfortunately, Pixar and Disney has been falling into the "play safe" path, and it effects what made Disney in the past amazing. Overall, Elio is a okay popcorn Disney movie for the children but it's quite forgettable.