Two years ago, Elemental became the first original Disney-Pixar movie to come to theaters after the COVID-19 pandemic. The second movie is recently revealed as Elio.
Pixar movies have touched on monsters, robots, personified emotions, etc. Hence, it is no surprise they center on aliens here. Elio uses aliens to address the universal question "are we alone?" If taken literally, Christians (especially children and immature believers) can have a problem with the substitution of aliens for Jesus Christ. However, the film can also be an allegory illustrating what's beyond this earthly life.
As with many Pixar movies, Elio has well-developed characters and a solid three-act structure. The titular protagonist, a preteen boy, faces the universal internal conflict of loneliness. Because of his loneliness, Elio (Yonas Kibreab) desires to be abducted by aliens-and eventually gets his wish. Elio has employed the hero's journey structure previously seen in Up and Inside Out.
Like Elio, many of us long for something beyond this earthly life (though, of course, it probably doesn't involve aliens). From a Christian viewpoint, the alien world serves as an allegory for the existence of Heaven (of course, except for the conflicts in the alien world).
Through the alien world, Elio takes on new concepts never addressed by Pixar before. One such concept is cloning; Elio sends his replacement clone back to his Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) on Earth. Thankfully, such cloning does not turn out well in the end.
One critique I have for the story, though, is that the action drags on during the climax. There have also been critiques that, as with many recent animated features, the concept lacks originality. Regarding Elio's loneliness, I get it, but the film explores the theme freshly (loneliness leading to interest in space).
Regarding the character designs, the "bean mouth" can be another point of criticism. While I understand how repetitive it's gotten in modern animation, I do not mind it much. Besides, not all the characters have "bean mouths"-think the alien Glordon (Remy Edgerly). I find Glordon (and his father outside his battle suit) the cutest character in the film because of his eyeless, caterpillar-like look.
Alongside Glordon's looks, it has been enjoyable watching him befriend Elio, ailing his loneliness. Elio even sacrifices himself to save Glordon once, an illustration of Jesus' sacrificial love for us. There's also a cute scene involving Glordon and his father towards the end of the picture.
The visuals, as always in Pixars' films, are stunning with rich textured animation and an inviting pastel color palette. Of course, there is also a well-composed score and believable vocal performances.
In an age mostly dominated by animated sequels and live-action remakes, it is not surprising Elio has not performed as well as the box office as How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo and Stitch. Hence, I encourage everyone, especially families and animation fans, to catch Elio at theaters while they can.
SCORE: Great (9/10)
AGE RATING: 6+
Have you seen Elio? What do you think about it?
