What is loneliness, and how do we combat it when it’s something we each feel to some degree? Pixar’s Elio explores this feeling through a tenderly transparent coming-of-age story that beautifully connects human beings and aliens. Feeling like he doesn’t quite belong anywhere, the titular character pretends to be the leader of the Earth in order to join the planet of the Communiverse. There, he befriends another child who’s also afraid of confronting his own destiny.
In true Pixar form, Elio is a story that’s all about underscoring how our differences make us unique and why that can sometimes feel like a bad thing. Because in truth, few things are worse than feeling like you can’t find your community of people to belong with, and nothing is worse for a kid than feeling like a burden to your guardian. Yet, for both Elio and Glordon, their guardians do love them, even if it doesn’t always seem that way. Slightly palliated, as most Disney films tend to be for younger audiences, Elio gorgeously emphasizes why communication matters, and how people—kids and adults alike—are braver when they’re open and honest about their feelings.
It delivers a sweet message about why softness isn’t a bad thing and that exploring our uniqueness is significant to growth. Most importantly, it’s one of the few original Disney films we have today that hit as hard as Luca or Inside Out, and it’s so gorgeously animated that the vibrancy is something I hope we don’t lose.
Now more than ever, animation is at dire risk. We’re losing artists left and right to the snares of AI, and it’s horrifying to watch it all happen when here, we have concrete proof of how beautiful the work is when it comes from a human being with heart and soul. Elio is vibrant, beautiful, and so greatly animated that between the aesthetic work and the thematic story, we’ve got a real winner at our hands. The visionary minds of Adrian Molina, Domee Shi, and Madeline Sharafian, paired with the vulnerable voice acting from the whole cast, make it the kind of film that kids growing up need more of.
Millennials had such incredible films to grow up with that it’s heartbreaking how we’re the ones holding on so intensely to original content created by real artists. We’re the ones running to the theatre to watch these movies on opening day because Pixar and Disney have shaped so much of our childhood that we want to watch it evolve for the better, not the worst.
That said, I hope Pixar’s Elio signals to the executives that we want more films like this. We want thoughtful narratives that touch a part of our hearts with stunning animation work that deserves to be seen on a big screen. I hope it serves as a reminder of how important original content is, especially when it allows people to feel seen and less alone. When it reminds us that our pain isn’t permanent and our uniqueness is a gift that we shouldn’t run or hide from.
Elio is now playing in theatres.
First Featured Image Credit: ©Pixar