The titular Elio finds himself pretending to be Earth’s leader after he’s beamed up into space.Pixar/The Associated Press
Elio
Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina
Written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer and Mike Jones
Featuring the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana and Remy Edgerly
Classification PG; 99 minutes
Opens in theatres June 20
Like many, I was charmed by the trailer for Pixar’s new film, Elio. A young boy who feels like a misfit on Earth wants aliens to abduct him. An alien who feels, well, alienated from his father needs a friend. The two outsiders meet somewhere in distant space, and they connect.
Disney and Pixar’s latest outing delivers on some frontiers, but puzzles on others. There’s a lot going on in the storyline, as Elio lurches from one plot point to another, just like the spacecraft that the eponymous character tries to navigate. Several moments such as the central theme of a budding friendship hit the payload, but then the movie meanders, adding unnecessary complexity along the way.
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It all starts when Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) becomes orphaned and needs to live with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana). Olga dreamed of being an astronaut, but is currently working on a military base observing space debris while navigating the sudden responsibility of caring for her nephew. A space nerd obsessed with aliens, Elio prefers sending messages to outer space versus making an inner circle of friends. One day, his plea to be taken is heard, and he’s beamed up into the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies with a mission to foster peace and harmony.
Pretending to be Earth’s leader, Elio finds himself negotiating with Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), in a bid to join the Communiverse. During this mission, Elio befriends Glordon (Remy Edgerly), a creature who looks like a squishy version of a scary slug. The two almost get away with their plan to deceive Lord Grigon and get Elio admitted to the Communiverse. But a series of misadventures test a number of alliances.
It may well be that with three directors at its helm, Elio got more than a little lost in translation – besides space. Other than missing his parents, we never get a sense of what makes Elio so despondent with people who want to engage with him. The candy-coloured world of the Communiverse offers sensory pleasure but confounds when it cowers behind Elio, while dealing with Lord Grigon. A whole cloning subplot seems added in for minor character development.
Elio co-director, Canadian Domee Shi, says she related to the main character of the new Pixar animated movie, a ‘lonely artsy kid.’
The Canadian Press
As the central characters, Kibreab and Edgerly bring energy and joy to their roles. Sometimes it’s a little hard to root for Elio, who can be a bratty kid. Glordon, on the other hand, is a total delight. His line about how he’s viewed by others will resonate with many who find themselves misunderstood. If only we could all keep calm and take challenges in our stride like Glordon – or maybe slide, given his corporeal form.
The characters in the Communiverse are voiced by a diverse set of talent, so why are intergalactic missions these days usually helmed by British-accented women? Especially when Elio boasts such talents as Atsuko Okatsuka and Naomi Watanabe, but does little to harness their comedic talents beyond a few seconds of audio presence. Saldana gets a little more screen time as Elio’s aunt, but it’s hard to be invested in her role when she’s missing for most of the second act.
We also don’t get a sense of what brings about Elio’s change of heart towards his aunt, after making her life miserable at the outset. Is it jealousy? Does being in over his head make him yearn for guardianship? Or does his time in space just afford him a wisdom he didn’t start out with? It’s not clear.
None of that will matter to young audiences. The animation is charming, as one would expect from a Pixar production, and the characters are likeable enough to spawn off merch. The swell of music at appropriate times keeps you hooked into the action and emotions.
Alien-obsessed Elio is beamed up into the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization.The Associated Press
Elio likely aspired for loftier ambitions. The movie opens and ends with one of astronomer Carl Sagan’s lectures, about the possibility of extraterrestrial life – as does the recently released Life Of Chuck. Sagan seems particularly relevant at a time when the world we know appears to be on fire, and many Earthlings are trying to figure out how best to deal with its potential wreckage.
Similarly, when Elio goes to negotiate with Lord Grigon, there’s an indirect reference to Donald Trump’s Art of the Deal. That might have been a fun footnote when the movie was in production, but now becomes a metaphor oddly resonant with recent political grandstanding.
These divergent threads don’t quite come together to form a cohesive story, though there’s enough connective tissue there to hop on for this space ride. But it’s likely just a one-time mission.
