From 2008’s WALL-E to 2022’s Lightyear (and 2020’s Soul, if you count The Great Beyond as a qualifier), Pixar started a tradition of traveling into the beautiful outer space cosmos. In 2025, they continued this tradition with Elio. The film follows its eponymous title character (Yonas Kibreab), an 11-year-old outcast obsessed with intelligent life beyond Earth who lives with his Aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) on a military base, his aunt choosing to raise him after the death of his parents. One day, after communicating a message to aliens to take him away to the stars and beyond, Elio is transported to a committee called the Communiverse (a committee where different aliens from different worlds share knowledge) and is mistaken for being the intergalactic ambassador of Earth. While Elio juggles getting himself out of this mistaken identity situation while also clashing with an intimidating, self-conscious warlord (Brad Garrett), he must also discover what it means to be yourself and build self-esteem. Elio delivers the standard Pixar formula in its characterization and themes but it distinguishes itself with its dazzling visuals of space, providing beautiful family entertainment and an enjoyable ride.
Elio voiced by Yonas Kibreab in ELIO. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Elio’s characterization may be typical Pixar fare but it’s still not without its potential for compelling depth. As the character of Elio may feel a little too similar to other outcast characters like Lilo from Lilo & Stitch, the film pitches its story well as a young boy who is just looking for connection. As a younger Elio lays down staring at the sky of an auditorium, we see him ponder with wonder as he is shown many galaxies and planets and is introduced to the idea about intelligent life. It’s a fitting emotional plot for a young boy who has lost his parents and can’t emotionally connect to anyone to want to be abducted. Or, in a deeper sense, a young boy who feels like an alien in his own world wanting to be taken up, up, and away. Again, there’s potential in characterization here that never quite breaks the generic Pixar mold and provides something as transcendent as Soul or as deeply moving as Inside Out (2015). Instead, the film leans on its humor, its dazzling extended universe, and its colorful extra-terrestrial characters — not that these are bad things to lean on, but it just seems like a deeper, more resonant film is hidden within Elio.
L-R: Elio voiced by Yonas Kibreab and Aunt Olga Solis voiced by Zoe Saldaña in ELIO. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
The chemistry and charm of Elio lies within its characters and their dynamics. The surprise friendship between Elio and Glordon (Remy Edgerly), the son of the warlord Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), brings a fun, relatable energy to the film that is sorely missed from the film’s first act. Elio works better when its main character is interacting with others, even his obedient clone (also voiced by Kibreab). That leads us to Lord Gorgon himself, a typical misunderstood Pixar villain that is elevated by Brad Garrett humorous, imposing vocal performance. His delivery makes Gorgon a welcome antagonistic presence, even if his characterization is not entirely original. His menacing, threatening dialogue with Elio brings a fun, frantic energy as our young protagonist starts to increasingly understand just how in over his head he is while posing as Earth’s ambassador.
L-R: Elio voiced by Yonas Kibreab and Glordon voiced by Remy Edgerly in ELIO. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
Elio’s direction, courtesy of Madeline Sharafian (We Bare Bears: Goodnight Ice Bear), Domee Shi (Turning Red; Bao), and Adrian Molina (Coco), delivers a visually sumptuous ride that wears its influences on its sleeve. The design of Gorgon’s ship echoes the architectural designs of Star Wars (1977) and Blade Runner (1982) while the insertion of voiceovers from astronomer Carl Sagan paired with the theme of parental loss echoes Robert Zemeckis 1990s hit Contact. Elio hits the usual story beats of other Pixar films but it still doesn’t lose its fun factor. There’s even an inspired needle drop of Talking Heads’s “Once in a Lifetime” blaring during a hilarious montage where Elio attempts to set up a sign on the beach for aliens to abduct him. While its romanticism of aliens might make skeptics roll their eyes, Elio doesn’t fail to keep the story of building self-esteem and identity entertaining and visually spectacular.
L-R: Elio voiced by Yonas Kibreab and Glordon voiced by Remy Edgerly in ELIO. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
The features on Elio’s 1080p HD presentation are simple and immersive. There’s a behind-the-scenes featurette that explores the design and development of the characters as well as the story’s universe and a Q&A between two of the film’s young actors and a real-life astronaut as they discuss space travel and possible alien life. In addition to a gag reel and easter eggs, there’re also a few deleted scenes, adding more layers to the story. Elio may not go down as one of Pixar’s best outings, but it’s definitely a must-have for collectors of alien family-friendly entertainment.
Elio Special Features:
- Inside the Communiverse: The World and Characters of Elio – Launch behind the scenes with the cast and crew to get an in-depth look at the design and development of our meteoric main characters, as well as the making of all the celestial environments that make up Elio‘s universe.
- Out of This World: An Astro Q&A – Calling all space enthusiasts! Voice actors Yonas Kibreab (Elio) and Remy Edgerly (Glordon) meet with a real-life astronaut to discuss space travel, possible alien life on other planets, and why it’s important to study space.
- Astronomic Art Class: Ooooo and Glordon – Join Nicolle Castro, the lead story artist, as she shares her role on the film and guides viewers through drawing a couple of the film’s interstellar characters, Ooooo and Glordon.
- Extraterrestrial Easter Eggs and Fun Facts – Uncover the references and characters from some of your favorite Pixar films hidden throughout Elio, along with other fun facts.
- Galactic Gag Reel – Discover the fun inside the recording booth with the starry voice actors from Disney and Pixar’s Elio as they bring their characters to life with some entertaining laughs.
- Five (5) Deleted Scenes
Available on digital August 19th, 2025.
Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD September 9th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Walt Disney Studios Elio website.
Share this:
Categories: Home Video, Reviews, streaming
Leave a Reply