Elio is just Eli-OK
Pixars first attempt at the sci-fi/horror genres leaves much to be desired
Pixar's "Elio" is the newest film by the beloved animation company. Yonas Ascunsion Kibreab ("Sweet Tooth") plays Elio, a little boy who lost his parents in a terrible car accident.
Left with his aunt, who works for the military, Elio searches for acceptance among the stars. While touring her military base, Elio wanders off and discovers a transmission from another galaxy.
He answers the call and is soon abducted by beings from another world. From there, he's off on an adventure that will change his world and the universe forever.
I was very excited about "Elio," not only for its sci-fi plot, but because it's Pixar's first ever dive into the horror genre.
Did it deliver? Eh... not really.
I will say the voice performances were all solid. Kibreab did well as Elio, and Zoe Saldaña was good as his aunt Olga. Their arcs as characters were severely underwhelming, though.
I really liked extraterrestrial friend Glordon, voiced by Remy Edgerly ("Sing 2") and his dad Lord Grigon, played by Brad Garret ("Everybody Loves Raymond"). I'm a sucker for the misunderstanding dad trope, and I thought it was pulled off very well. Elio and Glordon's friendship was also cute and touching.
The rest of the alien cast is actually very underdeveloped, and we don't see them for very long. They're all a part of an alien United Nations-type planet, where ambassadors from each planet come to greet and make peace.
They don't have the backstories and great designs that Pixar is known for. They're just very bland and half-baked.
If you were expecting space travel, forget it. We stick to one planet for the entire movie ... except for a handful of visits to Earth.
I expect to see more than one main planet when the whole movie's gimmick is space travel.
The plot for why all the aliens are gathered is very bare bones and dare I say ... boring? I feel like Pixar needed more time to develop the ideas presented in the film and required at least another 30 minutes in length.
The movie just kinda ends and you're left sitting with "That's it??"
I will say the horror elements are cool. There are a bunch of references to classic sci-fi, ranging from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" to "The Terminator." These sequences were probably my favorite part of the film.
Overall, I was very disappointed with this movie. I remain confused about why people had such strong positive reactions to the film; to me it's one of Pixar's weakest.
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, of course, and I found myself being upset that I wasn't on the same level of hype as other critics. Unfortunately, I'd give "Elio" a 5/10.
