Elio Review: Pixar's Biggest Flop Does Serve Us Some Originality For Once
Title: Elio
Director: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Release Date: June 20, 2025
Just a year after Pixar made a box office success with Inside Out 2, it is a shock to see that they have made their biggest flop yet. Of course, the animation is still beautiful as expected, but almost no one watched it because of the "loss of originality" excuse. Today's film is called Elio, the Pixar film entry of this year. The approximately bloated $150-200+ million, consisting of too many rewrites and reanimations to get things right, caused this movie to unbelievably flop at the box office with $154 million worldwide. To add insult to the injury, the $21 million opening weekend was the worst for Pixar, and Disney barely advertised this movie anywhere other than just a hated trailer. Even if it did flop at the box office, it did get good reviews from critics for its imaginative appeal, but audiences were divisive for its lack of originality. It may be a Pixar film that has a positive reputation, but the box office performance will not make this a Pixar hit, especially when Disney puts money first and heart last. Although the character and story writing both have their flaws, Elio is a space treat with the hugest family-friendly appeal possible.
Summary
"Elio, an underdog with an active imagination, finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth's ambassador to the rest of the universe, he starts to form new bonds with eccentric aliens while discovering who he's truly meant to be." - Google
Reasons
The most galactic parts of Elio are the likable characters, colorful animation, and inspiring message. All of these characters are quirky personalities with emotionally resonant arcs that connect with the story. Elio is the imaginative misfit, Glordon is the gentle friend, Olga is the concerned parent, Lord Glorgon is the misunderstood villain, Ooooo (yes, that's her name) is the calm gatekeeper, and the Ambassadors are the other friends with personalities of their own. Just like a lot of the gentle animation movies, it doesn't have a villain who gets beaten out of the box. As expected from Pixar, the animation is flexed with creativity. Unlike the Disney live-action remakes, this one has as much color and design as Inside Out and Coco. When you look at the Communiverse, color is used as a narrative tool, like green to evoke alienation and purple to evoke friendship. For children to learn something, the message may be a derivative, but it is still enough to feel like a personal moral. It starts with loneliness, but it becomes a journey about friendship, self-acceptance, and found family. In an era of iPad kids, friendship should be essential for a current kid to have a good childhood.
Other galactic qualities of Elio are the family-friendly appeal, the realism, and the voice performances. Almost all of Pixar's films are for the whole family, but when it comes to this era, this appeals to the youngest age range of kids. Albeit the fact that Hollywood is abandoning the G rating, you can tell that the synopsis is enough for an elementary school kid to enjoy. It does not have any sexual jokes or questionably edgy points to start a controversy. For adults to connect as well, the realism is on point for emotion. It's not just Elio's loneliness and identity we are focusing on. Olga gave up being an astronaut to raise Elio, and that is a relatable character arc for a parent who has a lonely kid. Speaking of realistic, the voice performances are what you would expect from a real person as well as from kids' show characters. The biggest highlight would be Yonas Kibreab, the voice actor of Elio, who brings the heart to the film's core. Zoe Saldaña (as Olga) and Remy Edgerly (as Glordon) also make their roles sound sympathetic.
Like what everyone else said, Elio does mute things with the studio meddling, predictability, and the climax. This movie had rocky development from changing the protagonist to changing the major story. Thanks to poor test screenings, the film had to be reworked for a wider audience appeal, and this is what caused some originality to slip out. Although this one is an imaginative film, predictability still lingers in the story. It's like Lilo & Stitch, except it's a remix, and it shows why Pixar should not use this overused formula. Finally, the climax did not end well. It's an overall solid climax, but when we get to the end, the resolution is rushed to end the film.
Conclusion
Yes, the box office journey was the hugest disaster for Pixar, but Elio is a colorful adventure that is filled with fun and friendship. If Pixar did do studio meddling for two years straight, let's hope they don't do this next time with Hoppers releasing theatrically in the following year. You all wanted original films, so be grateful for this one, along with Turning Red, Elemental, and Luca. For those who are looking for the actually good Disney movies, give this one a try. It's going to be more than what you expect.
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