Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be. (from IMDB)

It's puzzling as to what exactly happened with Pixar. While they don't exactly turn out bad films by any means (although I'd dare to say Turning Red comes close to earning that descriptor), they seem to have lost the magic along the way (then again - the same could be said for Disney in general). If I had to pinpoint the time when the studio seemed to begin to slip, I'd say it was probably around the release of their 2015 film, The Good Dinosaur, which just seemed to fall short from the norm (2011's Cars 2 could support the argument that this happened a few years sooner). Finding Dory the following year was a decent sequel, but 2017's Cars 3 was proof that you could do worse than Cars 2. Coco, although I missed seeing it when it released, was an odd one from Pixar, but proved to be a bright spot, but The Incredibles 2 and Toy Story 4 both served as relatively disappointing sequels, and then it seemed like Pixar hasn't known what in the world they're doing since 2020's Onward and, well, onward... (Soul and Luca were OK, but Turning Red, Lightyear and Elemental were pretty awful). Last year's Inside Out 2 was a surprise for sure, and 2025's latest effort, Elio is a surprisingly good original story. But, with its box office response being pretty pitiful, one must wonder: have the general public lost faith in Pixar?

I'm tempted to say "yes," with the exception being the actually-good follow-up to Inside Out that released last summer. Pixar has been known for its charm, memorable characters, and innovative animation and stories, so the last decade stretch of Pixar vehicles has seemed really out of character for them. Personally, I used to hold Pixar in very high regard, but they have lost my interest after a steady stream of disappointing movies. (Honestly, I think I get more excited about DreamWorks Animation releases these days - although they are hardly a perfect studio either.)

With all that said, the previews for Elio were largely turn-offs for me. I just saw nothing of interest. And what in the world is up with the eye patch? Or the colander on his head? It just all seemed too corny. I was surprised to hear from my teenage son that, when he saw it with a buddy on the big screen, he liked it. So I figured I'd definitely give it a fair shake when we were sent a digital copy for review. And I have to say - it's kind of a delightful movie!

Apparently the film did have some production issues, but the end result is actually a decent Disney/Pixar tale. It seems to borrow some noticeable elements or traits from other alien-centric movies like Lilo and Stitch and E.T., but the filmmakers appeared intent on honoring the sci-fi world in general, even by casting the most successful box office actress on the planet, Zoe Saldana, as Elio's aunt and caregiver, Olga. The film also offers subtle nods to other sci-fi favorites, most surprisingly the television show ALF! A scientist obsessed with the study of aliens is named Melmac, which is also the planet where ALF is from. Our favorite little Alien Life Form even often used a ham radio to try to contact his home planet, and this becomes a key element of Elio.

The heart of Elio isn't only the relationship with our title character and his aunt, but also with his newfound alien buddy, Glordon. The theme of a kid struggling to fit in at home finding where he belongs in a foreign land is not a foreign theme. It's a theme as old as storytelling, really. But Elio does it in an endearing way. And although the finale (involving Elio and Olga) feels eerily similar to - believe this or not - last year's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - it still works here. There's this odd "feels fresh-but-familiar" vibe throughout the movie that never really tips in either direction more so than the other, leaving it falling short of greatness. Still, in the end, Elio ends up being a heartwarming and endearing family tale nonetheless.

Content-wise, Elio is relatively family-friendly. There are a few visuals that surprised me at how disturbing or creepy they are - particularly for a kids' movie. (Some moderate SPOILERS ahead!) For example, a series of weird things happen when Elio sends a clone of himself back to Earth to take his place while he stays in space. After Olga picks up the clone (not knowing he's a clone), we see him riding in a car with her when some blood drips out of his nose and he licks it away with a flick of his tongue, maintaining a blank look on his face. In another scene, we see the clone accidentally lop one of his fingers off while clipping the hedges outside Olga's house. Without flinching, the boy reaches down, picks it up, and reattaches it. A little bit later, when Olga suspects something is fishy with this version of Elio, while he's asleep, she lifts up his eye patch to find just a flat surface with no eye underneath. The clone suddenly opens the other eye and grabs her arm for a jump scare. Later, the clone is seen about to start his decomposition process and his mouth opens wide as he starts to look all distorted. Later, we see him walking like a zombie to intentionally creep-out and disturb some people, and we then see him just melt into a pile of goo, getting really deformed in the process (although it's played for laughs). Elsewhere in the film, some of the other creatures might scare some of the younger viewers, but overall, those are definitely the most intense moments. Thematically speaking, Elio is shown feeling depressed about the loss of his parents, and he's also bullied by some other kids, so that could be sensitive subject matter for some viewers.

While Pixar has definitely lost some of their filmmaking mastery mojo in recent years, it's modest efforts like Elio that can help regain a little faith in the studio. Visually, it's a beautiful film, too, and further proof that Pixar can still amaze us as an animation studio. (But that's easy enough for animation studios to do these days, so we need to be given more than "pretty" animation to make a movie worthwhile.) Hopefully this is just a hint of greater things ahead for Pixar, as 2026 looks to bring us two new Pixar films: the long-awaited Toy Story 5 and Hoppers.

Elio is available now at digital retailers. It comes with a decent amount of extras, including a pretty good making-of featurette, a spotlight on Pixar-specific Easter Eggs, and almost 20 minutes of deleted scenes:

EXTRAS

1. The Making of Elio (9:53)
2. An Astro Q&A (10:01)
3. Astronomic Art Class (5:07)
4. Extraterrestrial Easter Eggs (4:03)
5. Galactic Gag Reel (2:47)

DELETED SCENES (18:58) [Play All]

1. Bike Chase
2. Garden Party
3. Carver Legend
4. Questa's Second Test
5. Home Visit