Nate At The Movies

With each subsequent Pixar movie, I have become more and more nervous for the studio’s future. Between their newfound focus on sequels and a few lackluster original films, I’m starting to lose hope. Elio wasn’t a total failure or anything—I still enjoyed it decently—but it was a far cry from the classics I had come to expect from Pixar as a kid.

What I can certainly praise Elio for is its originality. It really sucks that moviegoers ask for original films nonstop, but when Pixar puts one out, they don’t go see it. Elio’s story was creative and a solid vehicle to explore single-parent households and belonging, and its visual language was stunning as well. I thought that the “Bring Us Your Leader” shot would be my favorite, but it was just one of a bunch of really pretty shots.

The central characters were good as well, but I did wish for a little more depth, especially with Grigon and Glordon. Their parent-child struggle was a bit basic, and Grigon was a pretty one-note villain, too. Elio and Olga’s relationship was much deeper and grounded, and their emotional payoff at the end was consequently more satisfying.

As for the side characters, the aliens at the Communiverse (solid name) felt pretty random and cobbled together. Most of them had odd designs or did nothing in the movie, or both. I get that there have been a million alien movies by now, and finding new designs for them must be tricky, but these were immersion-breaking to a degree. I wish they had been more involved, too—if you’re gonna get Jameela Jamil to voice a character, let her do stuff, do!

Despite the narrative unevenness, one of the very bright spots of the film was the score, which had a strong Close Encounters vibe with their alien message melody. The way that motif was utilized and reshaped in the score was very cool.

Elio was underwhelming, sure, but I still enjoyed the movie, if at the very least for its new story, lovely score, and pretty visuals. It won’t be a Pixar classic, but I still totally trust Domee Shi to deliver when she’s directing, especially considering how much this film had been passed around the studio.