Elio info:
Director: Adrian Molina, Domee Shi, and Madeline Sharafian
Writer: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, and Brad Garrett
Hello and welcome to another week here at 1guysmindlessmoviereviews.com. Is it just me, or is summer just flying by? School is almost back, and I know my kids couldn’t be more excited about it (well, at least one of them is). So, we only have a couple of weeks left to enjoy the non-hectic days before things start to get crazy again. So use this time to go out on an adventure together, play a game, or of course, catch a new movie.
This week’s pick is Pixar’s newest film, “Elio”. Even though our kids are getting older, the Pixar films have always been a big hit in my household. So, I was glad to take another bonding opportunity as my daughter and I spent the day together and made time to see this. There is a lot to discuss, and I have some thoughts, but let’s first get the spoiler warning out of the way. If you haven’t seen “Elio” yet and don’t want to know what happens, then you might want to go to my reviews page here and scope out something else to read about.
Alright, for everyone else, let’s get into it. “Elio” is co-directed by three people (Molina, Shi, and Sharafian). All three have been involved with past Pixar films in some capacity, and they each have a little directing experience as well. You can find all this information and more on the “Elio” IMDB page. That is where I get a majority of my stats, at least. It’s nice to see such a team effort put into this, along with the three writers who teamed up as well.
“Elio” tells the story of a little boy, named Elio (Kibreab), obviously, and his struggles as he tries to overcome the death of his parents. Unhappy in life and stuck living with his aunt Olga (Saldaña), who he thinks doesn’t want him. He has a passion for space and desperately wants to be abducted by aliens. His wish finally comes true when he secretly responds to an alien message at his aunt’s work.
I’m not sure if Pixar has ever made a bad film. Obviously, they are not all 10/10 movies, but for the most part, they have all been hits. I was reluctant to see this after reading about its poor performance, but then I read some reviews and became confused. This really is a solid movie, and it looks great. Pixar did another excellent job here, and it tells a fun story. So, I’m not sure why it’s struggling in theaters.
Anyway, after Elio gets taken into space, they think he is the leader of Earth, and he is extremely happy there. Eventually, they want him to join their society, but that is put on hold when Lord Grigon (Garrett) shows up and wants to conquer them. Elio then springs into action, trying to find a way to bring peace between the two sides.
What he finds instead is the child of Lord Grigon, Glordon (Edgerly). The two of them develop a quick bond and become friends. When their scheme to trick Grigon goes awry, Elion is sent back to Earth, and Glordon escapes in a ship that also heads to Earth. After he is reunited with his aunt, they work together to rescue Glordon, return to the alien world, and save the day.
This is a quick movie (barely over an hour and a half long), and parts of it seem to go by too quickly. The setup story moves fast, but it’s also easy to see what’s going on. Also, like most Pixar films, there are lots of Easter eggs to search for. A lot of which I missed. I will be on the lookout for them on my next time through it. But that’s how it is for most of them at this point. Lots to see and enjoy along the way.
Overall, this is a good movie, and if you are a Pixar fan, you will be happy. Sure, it’s not Toy Story 5 yet, but that will come soon enough, so enjoy what we have for now. In the end, I don’t have a lot of bad to say about “Elio”, other than I think it could be a bigger movie. They could have added more to it and stretched out the story to be a little slower, but not everything needs to be 2+ hours, so maybe they know what they are doing. With all that being said, I can happily give this a 7 out of 10. Good job, Pixar. Keep them coming.
That’s it for me this week. Now it’s your turn. Have you seen “Elio” yet? If so, what are your thoughts? Are you as surprised as me at how it’s under-performing at the box office? Did you find all the Easter Eggs? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and I will see you next week for what I hope is a Fantastic new movie review!
