Elio Review
Elio (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi, written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer and Mike Jones and starring Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, Young Dylan, Jake Getman, Matthias Schweighofer, Ana de la Reguera, Atsuko Okatsuka, Shirley Henderson, Naomi Watanabe, Brendan Hunt, Anissa Borrego, Shelby Young, Bob Peterson and Kate Mulgrew.
Elio is a kid-friendly alien movie from Disney/Pixar that feels like its creators borrowed a bit from every old movie that touched their hearts as kids. I don’t know how old directors Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi are, but judging from Elio, they’ve definitely seen at least a couple of friendly alien movies before.
Writers Julia Cho, Mark Hammer and Mike Jones steer the main character Elio (voice of the terrific Yonas Kibreab)’s actions, but imagine, for a moment, a family film like this one that actually took risks. Elio does, indeed, take some surprisingly big ones. That’s why the conventional ending feels like such a letdown. Why must every family movie wrap up its ending with a nice bow and migrate towards the conventions of the children’s films before it? Elio almost avoided that trap, but eventually caves in for an ending that doesn’t fit in with the tone of the rest of the picture.
This film opens with the story of Elio who is going to camp and gets picked on by some young folks who exploit Elio’s fascination with outer space and aliens and try to tease him. Elio is a well-developed character with a lot of heart, and he faces a lot of despair over a past tragedy that lingers over him. This movie doesn’t deal with these topics in a sad way, but rather a realistic one which is one of the film’s most admirable qualities. It doesn’t really help to explain too much of the film’s plot except to say that it is clever and takes Elio on some wild science fiction joyrides which help him come to terms with his dreams and, also, his reality. He yearns for purpose in his life which he will come to discover, and he’ll even make an alien best friend along the way.
Oscar-winner Zoe Saldaña superbly voices the character of Elio’s aunt, Olga Solís. Olga is a non-conventional character who wants to be an astronaut, but pushes her dream to the side to care for Elio who has lost his parents. Elio and his aunt have some quarrels, but seem to respect one another. Elio just has some lessons he needs to learn about love, sacrifice and life.
One of the best scenes in Elio comes when Elio is talking to the friendly worm-looking alien named Glordon (Remy Edgerly). Elio, who wears a patch over one of his eyes, wonders why he doesn’t fit in, but Glordon reassures Elio that he comes across just fine to him. It’s a touching and reassuring scene that sheds light on the human condition and how young people need to find their paths in life with people (or aliens) who understand them by their side. There are many standout scenes in this animated feature, so it’s a little hard to admit that the movie had so much more potential to be a different type of tearjerker then the conventional one that it ultimately becomes.
Meanwhile. Brad Garrett severs as the voice of Lord Grigon who mistakes Elio as the leader of Earth when the boy manages to make contact with the other worldly aliens. Garrett is humorous and lively in his meaty role here. Glordon is actually Lord Grigon’s son as the film juxtaposes the overbearing Lord Grigon to the kind and gentle Glordon with heartwarming results. There is also a slew of cute aliens who are all unique and very distinct, and add to the film’s themes of acceptance and the need to accept diversity. Glordon is most recognizable by the little teeth the character has sticking out of his mouth.
Glordon being the name of the alien who becomes Elio’s best friend couldn’t help but remind me of the 1980’s TV show “A.L.F.” where the gentle alien’s real name was Gordon. Sure, this time out, there’s an l after the G, so I don’t know if the filmmakers were influenced by that show, but it’s a possibility especially when Melmac (A.L.F.’s planet) is mentioned.
Where did I want the story line of Elio to go? I don’t know, exactly, but, perhaps, there could have been a sharper edge to the material that would have given Elio a chance to pursue a different life than the one he chooses to live at the end. Sure, he makes a positive choice and a touching one, but there were other possibilities that could have been explored in a film which took just a few more risks. I especially enjoyed the bond between Elio and his aunt, and the film does that plot thread the most justice out of all the story lines the movie incorporates into its running time.
If you grew up in the 1980’s, you couldn’t help but love E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, but that movie is a lot darker than Elio is. Elio successfully explores the possibilities of interactions with kind-hearted, otherworldly beings, yet in the end, it works only on the most basic levels. It hints at thought-provoking themes rather than tackling all of them head-on. Still, Elio will most likely delight family film audiences looking for a safe movie to enjoy this summer.
Rating: 7/10
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