Elio

Type: Animated Film

Subtypes: Kids, First Contact

Origin: Pixar (2025)

SCAN

Elio is the 29th (!) feature-length film from famed animation studio Pixar. It follows the story of an orphaned boy under the care of his aunt (who works for Air Force Space Command). Elio becomes fixated on the idea of the existence of extraterrestrial life and subsequently seeks to be abducted by aliens. One day he gets his wish, being transported to the progressive Communiverse and mistaken as the leader of Earth. Trouble brews when an alien warlord seeks revenge against the Communiverse for not allowing him to join, while Elio befriends his son.

There was a time that Pixar was a guaranteed hit-maker, not only raking in profits and accolades, but also creating cultural touchstones. Elio arrives in an era of Pixar that sees it diminished from the peak of its powers. Was COVID to blame, or did the troubles begin a decade earlier? Did other animation studios muscle in on Pixar’s market share? Did Pixar change, or did we? One thing that’s clear is that Elio is more in line with recent ‘personal stories’ (usually inspired by a director’s childhood) than the stereotyped Pixar template of, “What if ______ (toys, bugs, cars, fish, etc.) had feelings?”

This isn’t Pixar’s first foray into science fiction, with WALL-E and Lightyear having come before. You might also count the little green aliens and Emperor Zurg story elements of the Toy Story franchise.

ANALYZE

Elio is a perfectly enjoyable film that feels oddly small in scope given its concept of first contact and a veritable UN of advanced alien lifeforms under threat from a warlord. I would place it on the same tier as Luca, which is by no means an insult. Still, it somehow feels a lot less epic than WALL-E, perhaps by including elements of please-pay-attention manic slapstick instead of more careful pacing.

The main highlights are the visual and conceptual design of the Communiverse and its inhabitants. The visual design is psychedelic and eye-popping, reminiscent of what critics praised about the first Doctor Strange movie. The Communiverse is depicted as incredibly advanced and utopian, having mastered universal translation, casual cloning, FTL travel, the apparent ability to freeze time, and discovering the answers to every conceivable question (including the meaning of life). The welcoming, diverse, and egalitarian lifeforms even seem unconcerned by human lifespans; regarding Elio’s application status, one alien suggests, “Let’s check back in a few thousand years.”

The other highlight is the antagonist: “Grigon, Blood Emperor of Hylurg, Scourge of the Crab Nebula… and a Great Father!” The leader (delightfully voice-acted by Brad Garrett) of this race of lava-proof worms who encase themselves in flesh-piercing battle carapaces steals every scene he is in.

One gripe about the script is that we are TOLD that Elio feels like he is alone and doesn’t belong, which is why he so desperately wants to be abducted. However, we don’t necessarily SEE this. His parents die before the start of the movie, but we might expect grief and loss to be the main resulting theme. He is selflessly cared for by his supportive aunt, who even puts her own career ambitions on hold. His alienation (no pun intended) from his peers seems mostly self-induced. 

However, this thematic focus is solidified halfway through the movie when Elio states, “The only people who wanted me are gone. But I don’t know… what if there is nothing about me to want? I thought Earth was the problem. But, what if it’s me?” Other characters, including his aunt, Lord Grigon, and Glordon, also grapple with a lack of acceptance or feeling alone throughout the film. This thematic disconnect makes more sense when one reads reports about changes made to earlier drafts of the film and metaphors that may have been less subtextual.

ALERT

The film features light slapstick violence (overall zero bodycount), imbibing of unknown alien beverages, an incident of bullying, and the use of the term ‘butt’ used for humor. Elio is initially mistaken as Earth’s leader, but embraces and repeats this deception (which eventually is exposed and leads to consequences). There are several creepy nods to alien body horror through Elio’s use of a substance called cloning clay, but these sequences are bloodless and mostly played for laughs. Another element of concern may simply be in the wider real world context of ‘child abduction,’ an 11-year-old boy lying on the beach with a sign that says ‘please abduct me’ might not be behavior you would want your children emulating.

The film includes a direct quote from Carl Sagan not once but twice: “It’s an ancient human theme. You can find it in virtually every culture, in religion, folklore, superstition, and now in science. The search for life elsewhere is remarkable in our age because this is the first time that we can actually do something besides speculation. We can send spacecraft to nearby planets. We can use large radio telescopes to see if there is any message being sent to us lately. And it touches to the deepest of human concerns. Are we alone?” Carl Sagan was involved IRL in the Voyager Golden Record, which features heavily in the plot. Carl Sagan was also a noted skeptic and agnostic (*Del Tackett, in the Truth Project, interacts with some of Carl Sagan’s statements about the cosmos).

ENGAGE

The central message of this film is connection. The above-mentioned Carl Sagan quote, climaxing with the question, ‘are we alone?’ is seemingly answered by characters learning to love, accept, and rely on one another. Interestingly, the importance of connection is also the concluding message of the wildly different sci-fi film, Ad Astra. Contrast this with Ender’s Game, whose concluding message is empathy, and even the transcendent Christian theme of loving one’s enemy.

In Genesis, God declared that it is “not good that man should be alone.” In Ecclesiastes we are told that, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can easily defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” Even as an unrepentant introvert I acknowledge that human beings were designed (by God) to be social, with psychological and even physical survival needs requiring connection with others. Former United States Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has highlighted what he called a ‘loneliness epidemic’ and enumerated its negative consequences.

But beyond one another, to answer Carl Sagan who looked to the stars to answer one of the deepest human concerns… Christians should confidently be able to answer ‘no, the human species is not alone.’ From the trinitarian and/or Divine Council “let us create man in our image,” to the “great cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 12:1, to the sending of the Holy Spirit (described as a Helper, Counselor, Comforter, or Advocate), we are certainly not alone.