Initially, Elio was not the main character in Pixar’s new film. The release date is June 20, 2025. Some feared the film would be canceled, but it moved forward as planned. The director of Coco is Adrian Molina, who worked on the script together with the writer. He has a big but kind heart, and the film is reminiscent of The Iron Giant, written by a child who loves to draw. Elio Solis is an eleven-year-old boy. He is voiced by actor Jonas Kibreaab, and his nervous and stuttering speech reveals his true feelings. Elio lives on a military research base because his mother, Major Olga Solis (played by Zoe Saldana), is the head of a secret communications project. On one boring day, Elio receives a bad signal and ends up in a wormhole. It is a huge place in space inhabited by alien creatures resembling scaly sea animals created by modern artists. When Elio responds to the call, the aliens consider him an ambassador sent from Earth.

Story and tone

Molina tells the story in as simple a way as possible so the characters can grow. Elio doesn’t need predictions and laser guns. The only special thing about him is an old sketchbook that he carries around everywhere. He draws and tells stories and when danger comes he tells a joke. The funniest part of the movie is when Elio teaches them about the culture of the Earth using a flip book puppet show made of the cereal mascots. The aliens appear surprised and clap. This combination of awkwardness and sincerity establishes a childlike, friendly, never skeptical mood.

Visual imagination

Elio is almost the brightest and most colorful Pixar movie if you judge by that. The assembly hall in Communiverse resembles a crystal cathedral. Curved pillars penetrate the floating clouds in space with gigantic mobiles the size of a moon hanging above. Each creature has his own physical rules. One ambassador looks like flickering stained glass by the side of a campfire. Another bounces similar to memory foam. Against richly detailed backgrounds, Elio’s softer hand-drawn lines stand out clearly and never get lost in the noise. This is a good way to keep the audience’s attention.  

I watched the film on an IMAX screen. The neon dust particles and star clouds in the distant background are still supposed to look sharp when the film is streamed online later this year.

Voice performances

Kibreab brings real middle-school rhythm to every line—half bravado, half “please don’t notice my voice just cracked.” Zoe Saldaña gives Major Olga the calm gravity you’d expect from a career officer, yet there’s a brittle edge whenever her son’s safety enters the chat. Pixar hasn’t advertised the full cast, but the supporting aliens hit the right notes, from soothing baritone to squeaky helium squeals. The thing is that all of them do not sound like they came in out of a cartoon on Saturday in the morning. Even the most general comic turns seek personality as opposed to parody.

Music and sound

Composer Pinar Toprak blends strings of an orchestra with 80s synth sounds. He discusses old space movies, but he makes it fresh. Elio uses a short three note whistle to calm himself and is heard all over the music. It begins with a solo flute, then increases in size and volume with horns later. Foreign languages have different channels. Clicks are done by the left, murmurs are heard on the right, and they are clear enough for kids to get the jokes. In one scene, deep bass rumbles play the role of a jellyfish diplomat’s voice. The theater seats shook and Elio’s quiet “Uh – uh” elicited the most laughter at the afternoon show I watched.

Themes

Break the hard parts into simpler bits and Elio’s story is about translating. He uses the film to make real communicating from rough drawings, and shows that it’s braver to be a listener (to really listen) than to be bold. At the same time Major Olga is forced to soften up her rules and entrust her son to improvise. Families who speak two languages, or who are from two cultures, experience the pressure of trying to represent everybody or of just trying to explain themselves. Pixar has worked with identity before, but Elio keeps the story to himself and personal; the film never turns into a lecture.

How to watch Elio online

Disney hasn’t announced a release date for Disney+ yet, but typically it takes about three months after a movie closes for the weekend for it to come to the service. Once a film has begun streaming on Disney+, you can count on the film appearing on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and YouTube Movies at the same time. Those services usually allow you to watch in 4K, download the film to watch offline, rent or buy the film. The specific dates for each service will be announced nearer the date of the digital launch. So check the social media of the studio if you prefer watching online rather than going to the theater.

Pros

• New alien settings which feel fresh for real.
• Yonas Kibreab does a great job balancing confidence and doubt.
• Humor is not derived from popular media; it is derived from actual shame.
• Children and adults learn how being empathetic is the key to leadership.

Cons

• The rules on, said halfway through the film, slow down the pace.
• A subplot on rivalry hardly leaves any trace.
• The emotional climax depends on a speech rather than a good visual payoff.

Final verdict

Pixar still creates amazing visuals that feel like a beating heart, and Elio demonstrates this clearly.  The film is short and the jokes are from the characters, especially the relation of a scared child with a strong mother, which makes the story important.  Even when there are moments of the film where it slows down a bit, it still makes you smile when you leave the theater.  Watch it on the largest screen available to you, and put it on your watch list the moment it becomes available from your favorite streaming websites.   This movie is fun for all ages- from eleven to forty-five, the world is big and bizarre, and hears what you say.