Elio (film)

Elio is a 2025 American animated science fiction adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina,^[a] and written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones, from a story developed by Molina, Sharafian, Shi, and Cho, the film stars the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Young Dylan, Matthias Schweighöfer, Brandon Moon, Brad Garrett, and Jameela Jamil. It follows an eleven-year-old boy named Elio Solís (Kibreab) who is mistaken for the intergalactic ambassador of Earth after being beamed up to the Communiverse by aliens for making contact, and must navigate a crisis that involves the warlord father of an alien he befriended.

Elio
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Madeline Sharafian Domee Shi Adrian Molina[a]
Screenplay by	Julia Cho Mark Hammer Mike Jones
Story by	Adrian Molina Madeline Sharafian Domee Shi Julia Cho
Produced by	Mary Alice Drumm
Starring	Yonas Kibreab Zoe Saldaña Remy Edgerly Brandon Moon Brad Garrett Jameela Jamil
Cinematography	Derek Williams Jordan Rempel
Edited by	Anna Wolitzky Steve Bloom
Music by	Rob Simonsen
Production company	Pixar Animation Studios
Distributed by	Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[b]
Release dates	June 10, 2025 (2025-06-10) (El Capitan Theatre) June 20, 2025 (2025-06-20) (United States)
Running time	98 minutes[1]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$150–200+ million[2][3][c]
Box office	$148 million[4][5]

Elio was conceived by Molina as a story about childhood and social isolation and was inspired by growing up at a military base and his eventual enrollment at the California Institute of the Arts. The film was officially announced in September 2022, with Molina attached to direct. Molina later left the project to work on Coco 2 (2029), and in August 2024, it was announced that Shi and Sharafian would replace him as the lead directors. The production team devised a process, titled the "College Project", to create the look of the space setting, Communiverse. The film was shot with a virtual anamorphic lens and Pixar's new Luna lighting toolset was used to quickly define lighting and the overall aesthetic. Its musical score was composed by Rob Simonsen.

Elio premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 10, 2025, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 20, 2025. The film has received positive reviews from critics, but has performed poorly at the box office, grossing $148 million against an estimated budget of $150–200+ million.^[6]

Plot

After the death of his parents, young Elio Solís is orphaned and lives with his aunt Olga, an Air Force major who gave up her dreams of becoming an astronaut to raise her nephew. Elio wanders into a closed exhibit on the Voyager 1 spacecraft, where he is awed by the idea of discovering other life in space.

Years later, Elio wishes to be abducted by aliens. Every day, he lies on the beach waiting, but without result. One night, a kid named Bryce and his bully friend Caleb tamper with his ham radio, leading to a fight that injures his left eye. This forces Elio to wear a patch over his eye for two weeks. At Olga's workplace, Elio sneaks into an emergency meeting where conspiracy theorist Gunther Melmac claims to have found evidence of aliens responding to Voyager, suggesting they send a message back, but is dismissed by Olga and her colleagues. Elio uses Melmac's device to send his message, causing a power outage at the military base, nearly costing Olga her job. Angered by Elio's actions, Olga decides to send him to a youth camp, which he dreads, as Bryce and Caleb are also there.

At camp, Elio escapes from Bryce, Caleb, and two other bullies one night as they attempt to scare him. Back at the military base, Olga receives strange outer space messages in response to Elio. Just as Elio faces a beating, an alien ship arrives and abducts him. Inside the spaceship, Ooooo, a liquid supercomputer, welcomes him to the Communiverse, a place where aliens from different worlds share their knowledge. Other ambassadors mistakenly declare him a candidate for Earth's ambassador, thinking he created the Voyager spacecraft. Before Elio can clarify, they attend an emergency meeting with Lord Grigon, a rejected warlord threatening to take the Communiverse by force. The ambassadors plan to return Elio to Earth, but he chooses to negotiate with Grigon for immediate induction as an ambassador. Ooooo creates a clone of Elio to take his place back on Earth. Olga brings Other Elio home from camp after hearing about the prior fight.

Meanwhile, Elio attempts to negotiate with Grigon, but after unintentionally angering him, he is imprisoned. While trying to escape, he comes across Grigon's son, Glordon, and decides to use him as a bargaining chip to get Grigon to leave the Communiverse alone. They head back to the Communiverse, where Elio gives Glordon a disc that modulates his body temperature. Grigon agrees to leave them in peace in exchange for Glordon's safe return.

Elio and Glordon confide in each other; Elio feels alone and misunderstood by his aunt, while Glordon resists becoming a war machine like his father. Elio devises a cloning plan to keep them together. He puts the real Glordon on an escape shuttle and gives Grigon the clone. Grigon notices the switch and turns to ambassador Questa, whom he uses her mind-reading powers to locate them. Grigon sends troops to find his son, while Questa, disappointed by Elio's deception, returns him home to evade Grigon. Meanwhile, Glordon accidentally activates the shuttle, heading toward Earth.

Back home, Elio is devastated but soon spots his aunt on the beach looking for him with Other Elio, whom she had already suspected was not her real nephew. After reconciling, they head to the military base, where Elio's shuttle has been contained. Other Elio sacrifices himself to distract the military, while Elio and Olga sneak into the base to find Glordon in the shuttle, dying from hypothermia due to his disc breaking from the impact of the landing. They pilot the shuttle back to the Communiverse, calling Bryce, Melmac, and worldwide orbital scientists for help traveling through a debris field.

Reaching the Communiverse, they return Glordon to Grigon, who rips his suit open to swaddle him, saving his life, and apologizes to his son and the ambassadors. Elio is welcomed back into the Communiverse, but he declines the offer, deciding that Earth is his home, and bids his friends farewell before returning to Earth with Olga.

Voice cast

• Yonas Kibreab as Elio Solís, an eleven-year-old boy with an injured left eye who is mistakenly identified by the aliens as Earth's ambassador^[7]
  • Kibreab also voices Other Elio, a clone of Elio. Kibreab suggested recording both versions of the character simultaneously "without a break".^[8]
• Zoe Saldaña as Olga Solís, Elio's aunt who is an Air Force major.^[7] Solis was originally written as Elio's mother and set to be voiced by America Ferrera.^[9] However, because the directors wanted to "deepen Elio's motivation for wanting to be abducted by aliens", the character was rewritten with Ferrera leaving the project due to scheduling conflicts in August 2024.^[10] Sharafian stated that "it felt like a relationship with a mother and son was a bit too much."^[11]
• Remy Edgerly as Glordon, a worm-like alien whom Elio befriends.^[12] His design was influenced by studies of larval insects and microbiotic creatures, including the tardigrade. Animation supervisor Jude Brownbill described Glordon as "sort of mysterious, creepy, off-putting, a work with a bunch of teeth".^[11]
  • Edgerly also voices Other Glordon, a clone of Glordon
• Brandon Moon as Helix, an alien ambassador^{[citation needed]}
• Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon, a bulky, worm-like alien warlord and ambassador in high-tech armor who is Glordon's father^[7]
• Jameela Jamil as Questa, a radiodont-like alien ambassador^[7]
• Dylan Gilmer as Bryce, a boy who shares the same fascination in aliens as Elio
• Jake Getman as Caleb, Bryce's friend who becomes a bully of Elio
• Matthias Schweighöfer as Tegmen, an alien ambassador.^[13] Schweighöfer will also voice Tegmen in the film's German dub.^{[citation needed]}
• Ana de la Reguera as Turais, an alien ambassador^{[citation needed]}
• Atsuko Okatsuka as Naos, an alien ambassador
• Shirley Henderson as Ooooo, a blue gelatinous liquid supercomputer.^[7] Described as "a Swiss Army knife made of droplets", animation supervisor Travis Hathaway stated that "she can become a screen, she can become a vinyl player, she can become a projector, she can manifest as a pen for Elio to write with".^[11]
• Brendan Hunt as Gunther Melmac, an Air Force analyst who is a conspiracy theorist^[14]
• Naomi Watanabe as Auva, an alien ambassador.^[15] Watanabe will also voice Auva in the film's Japanese dub.^{[citation needed]}
• Anissa Borrego as Mira, an alien ambassador^{[citation needed]}
• Shelby Young as Diplo Ship
• Bob Peterson as Universal Users Manual
• Kate Mulgrew as the narrator of the Voyager 1 Museum Exhibit; Mulgrew previously portrayed Kathryn Janeway, captain of the fictional future starship USS Voyager in the Star Trek franchise.^[16]
• Tamara Tunie as Colonel Markwell

Archival recordings of Carl Sagan are also used.^[17][18]

Production

Development

In September 2022, during the D23 Expo, Pixar Animation Studios announced a new original film titled Elio, with Adrian Molina set to direct and Mary Alice Drumm set to produce.^[9] It would have marked Molina's feature-length solo directorial debut after having co-directed and co-written Coco (2017). Molina and Drumm talked about the film and posed the question, "What if I told you we're not alone in the universe, and everything you've ever heard about aliens is true?" Shortly after the announcement, there was a planned screen glitch delivering a message with alien text saying, "Bring us to your leader."^[19]

The film was conceived by Molina as a "personal coming-of-age story about youthful alienation."^[11] Molina was inspired by his childhood growing up at a military base and eventual enrollment at the California Institute of the Arts when developing the film's story. Director Madeline Sharafian described his feelings on the private art school by saying "he felt like he'd found his people there, he'd found his world".^[20] After working on the project for a couple of years, Molina felt like he "ultimately wasn't the one to see it to the finish line," exiting the film in order to work on Coco 2 (2029).^[21]

In June 2024, Pixar's chief creative officer Pete Docter revealed that Turning Red (2022) director Domee Shi was working on the film.^[22] She was officially announced as the new director at the D23 fan event in August 2024, alongside Madeline Sharafian, who previously worked on storyboarding the film.^[11][23] The screenplay was written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones; Cho previously co-wrote Turning Red, while Jones previously co-wrote Pixar's Soul (2020) and Luca (2021).^[24] During production, when researching the topic of loneliness, the directors talked to psychologists, including Vivek Murthy, about children's loneliness and grief.^[25][26] Sharafian said that "everybody's feeling it, and as we were learning more about it as a crew, we started to realize, we're like, 'Wait a minute. I'm really lonely right now'."^[27]

In June 2025, multiple insiders, who worked at Pixar, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the film. They noted that characterizations of Elio as a "queer-coded character" were removed as the film moved through the production process, with a push by Pixar executives to make Elio "more masculine," removing examples of his love of fashion and environmentalism, including after Adrian Molina departed the film as director, replaced by Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi. Some expressed disappointment at the first-cut of the movie shared by Sharafian and Shi, feeling that it "destroyed this beautiful work"; reports that some employees left after Molina departed were disputed by another Pixar source. One former artist told the publication that executives were "constantly sanding down" moments which alluded to Elio's queer sexuality, engaging in "obeying-in-advance behavior" and said that the film's production was "something of a cautionary tale" to them, wondering if the "rewrite was worth it." One former employee felt that these changes to the film made it about "totally nothing" and that Elio felt "much more generic" as compared to previous versions. Some sources told the publication that America Ferrera left the film's cast, despite recording lines as Olga, after being called back to re-record lines due to changes to the script, because, according to a former artist; "there was no longer Latinx representation in the leadership" of the film.^[3]

Casting

In September 2022, during the D23 Expo, America Ferrera and Yonas Kibreab were announced to have been cast in the leading voice roles of Olga Solis and her son Elio, respectively.^[9] When Kibreab originally auditioned for the role of Elio, he recorded his audition in his parents's closet and received an email a month later for a scratch role.^[28] While recording his lines, Kibreab stated that "it was Elio who really helped me. I just had to think of Elio’s story. There were so many deep things for me." and added that he relates to the character's loneliness.^[8][28]

In June 2023, with the release of the first teaser trailer and poster, Jameela Jamil and Brad Garrett joined the film's voice cast.^[29] In August 2024, Docter stated that Ferrera had withdrawn due to scheduling conflicts; parts of her voice acting still remain in the first teaser trailer. As a result, the character of Olga was rewritten as Elio's aunt and Ferrera was replaced by Zoe Saldaña.^[30][31][32] In November 2024, with the release of the second teaser trailer and poster, Remy Edgerly and Shirley Henderson joined the film's voice cast as Glordon and Ooooo, respectively.^[33]

Animation, design and cinematography

Elio marks the final Pixar film from veteran production designer Harley Jessup, who collaborated with visual effects supervisor Claudia Chung Sanii to create the look of Communiverse.^[11] The goal was to create a version of space unlike any other put on screen, one made of translucent and luminescent qualities and loosely defined gravity to accommodate the different alien species.^[11] Jessup referred to the creative process the two conceived to settle the look as the "College Project". VR and macro photography in water tanks were used in the process, with one test shot recorded in a drinking glass at a Pixar studio party. Another shot saw oil and water being put in a glass bowl that rested on top of a sheet of sequins and glitter.^[11]

For the aliens, the team researched microscopic plants and animals to capture an odd but believable vibe.^[11] Glordon's design in particular was influenced by larval insects and microbiotic creatures like tardigrades. The biggest challenges with the character was finding a balance of cute and creepy, and making him expressive without eyes. Animation supervisor Jude Brownbill said that Glordon's contrasting design and personality was pivotal in making him work.^[11] OOOOO, a liquid, shapeshifting super computer, was a particular challenge for the technical artists due to her dynamic effects. Her fluidity was defined through 2D animation tests. Facial rigging and techniques learned from Win or Lose (2025) were leveraged.^[11]

Pixar's new Luna lighting toolset allowed for the Elio team to define lighting and camera at the same time and pinpoint the aesthetic early in production. In CG animation, lighting is traditionally the last step in the visuals, unlike with live-action where camera and lighting are done simultaneously.^[11] Sanii said of the technology: "We got that pre-alpha of a look at that, and that’s when we discovered this universe could really work: all the luminance and the translucency that Harley was putting in there".^[11] The directors worked with cinematographers Derek Williams and Jordan Rempel to create a visual language inspired by classic Steven Spielberg science fiction films such as E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), as well as R-rated horrors from the same period like Ridley Scott's Alien (1979) and John Carpenter's The Thing (1982).^[34] This included the calculated use of dark shadows, in addition to mist and glow to bring about a dreamy atmosphere.^[34] The film was shot using a virtual anamorphic lens. Sharafian said of the decision that they used "real cameras the same way a live-action film would", adding that little touches, for example, "a red ring around a light" shining at the audience, may be observable.^[34]

Music

Main article: Elio (soundtrack)

In November 2024, Rob Simonsen was announced to compose the score for Elio.^[35] This marks the composer's first animated film.^[36] Simonsen was brought in to work on Elio about two and half years before the film's release. Pixar shared with him the story of the film, and Simonsen strongly resonated with it.^[36] Each major setting of Elio was given a unique musical identity.^[36] The soundtrack album was released by Walt Disney Records on June 20, 2025, the same day as the film's theatrical release.^[37]

Release

Elio premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, on June 10, 2025,^[38] and was theatrically released in the United States by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures under their Walt Disney Pictures banner on June 20, 2025.^[39] It was originally scheduled to be released on March 1, 2024,^[9][40] but on October 27, 2023, the film was delayed to June 13, 2025.^[41] Pete Docter said on August 9, 2024, that the film's delay was due in part to the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike as well as the change in leadership on this film and other projects at Pixar.^[30] On February 14, 2025, Elio was delayed one week later to avoid competition with How to Train Your Dragon (2025).^[39]

Marketing

Following the project announcement, the first look concept art of the film was released on September 9, 2022.^[9] Joshua Meyer of /Film said it "sounds like the kind of fresh, original storytelling that Pixar built its brand on."^[19] The first teaser trailer was released on June 13, 2023, featuring "Good Feeling" by Austin French.^[42] Ethan Anderton of /Film said "Adding some charm to this story is the fact that Elio isn't exactly the most confident kid. Though he's artistic and creative, he's also more of an indoor kid who doesn't fit in with his peers. But perhaps being among a group of aliens who aren't human will allow him an opportunity to make a connection without any societal pressure. This just might be the opportunity Elio needs to come out of his shell."^[29] Pauli Poisuo of Looper says while it "obviously doesn't give too much of the story away, it certainly looks gorgeous and intriguing."^[43]

The second teaser trailer, revealing new changes such as a new logo, was released on November 21, 2024, featuring "Such Great Heights" by the Postal Service. Julie and T.J. of Pixar Post said the film "drew visual comparisons to past Pixar films like Coco, WALL-E, and Finding Nemo with colorful characters, movement, and lighting."^[33] A longer trailer was released on March 19, 2025.^[44]

On June 16, 2025, a cross-promotional short was made in which the titular characters of Phineas and Ferb contact with Elio and Glordon and Candace attempts to bust them as they get abducted.^[45]

On June 30, 2025, Pixar released in-universe bloopers for the film with the characters bantering with one another and flubbing their lines. The studio had previously created Bloopers for the credits of A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters, Inc.^[46][47]

Reception

Box office

As of August 10, 2025^[update], Elio has grossed $73 million in the United States and Canada, and $75 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $148 million.^[4][5]

In the United States and Canada, Elio was released alongside 28 Years Later, and was initially projected to gross around $30 million from 3,750 theaters in its opening weekend.^[48][49] The film made $9 million on its first day, including $3 million from Wednesday and Thursday previews, lowering projections to $20–22 million.^[50] The film went on to debut to $20.8 million, finishing in third behind How to Train Your Dragon and 28 Years Later,^[51] becoming the lowest opening weekend for a Pixar film.^[50] Deadline Hollywood's Anthony D'Alessandro, Pamela McClintock of The Hollywood Reporter, and Variety's Rebecca Rubin attributed the low opening to competition from How to Train Your Dragon and Lilo & Stitch.^[50][52][53] D'Alessandro, McClintock, and Rubin also acknowledged the challenge for original Pixar films succeeding at the box office during the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. However, they noted the film could show staying power in later weeks, similar to Pixar's Elemental (2023).^[50][52][53] The film made $10.4 million in its second weekend (a drop of 50%), remaining in third.^[54][55] In its third weekend, Elio made $5.8 million (a drop of 44.5%), finishing fourth.^[56] After the film made a further $4 million in its fourth weekend, and crossing the $100 million mark worldwide after a month of release, Rubin stated for Variety that the film will end up "a major money loser for Disney and Pixar".^[57]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 83% of 219 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Catapulted by its theme of building self-esteem, Pixar's latest cosmic wonder Elio boasts a fanciful world of original creations to dazzling effect."^[58] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 40 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.^[59] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale, while those surveyed by PostTrak gave it an 83% overall positive score, with 59% saying they would definitely recommend the film.^[50]

Ty Burr of The Washington Post gave the film three stars out of four, concluding: "The sugar highs of this rambunctious thrill ride are fun, in other words, but in the end Elio is most memorable when it eases up to celebrate the invisible ties of love and friendship that bind all of us aliens to each other."^[60] Peter Debruge of Variety wrote: "Elio is right at home in the Pixar catalog, but lacks those undeniable signs of intelligent life (wit, surprise and the capacity to expand the medium) that set the studio's best work apart." Nevertheless, he felt the film was at its "most fun once it becomes a buddy movie" and praised the emotional beats.^[61] Carlos Aguilar of IGN summarized, "With incisive humor, radiant, eye-catching animation, and peculiar alien characters, there's enough entertainment value in Elio to satisfy viewers who are the protagonist's age or younger [...] even if it leaves you wishing some of its imaginative concepts and creations would have received more screen time."^[62] Kyle Smith of Wall Street Journal explained that "Elio isn't a first-rate Pixar offering, but thanks to sumptuous animation and a warm spirit, it's a cute Wizard of Oz-style journey to the beyond and back. Outer space is cool, but there's no place like home."^[63] Laura Venning of Empire described the film as "Robert Zemeckis' Contact for kids. A slow start gives way to a charming, visually inventive adventure that might just inspire a new generation of astronomers to look to the skies."^[64]

Manohla Dargis of The New York Times called the film "a lackluster science-fiction adventure", writing "there's not much more to Elio once the kids become friends and this world's novelty wears off, giving way to banality. Feelings are shared, if largely for the viewers; minor family issues are raised (and resolved); clichés and contrivances pile up."^[65] Angie Han for The Hollywood Reporter similarly noted: "Elio is a perfectly nice kiddie sci-fi adventure that does everything a movie with that description is supposed to do. But much like Elio, I frequently found myself longing for the more transportive experience, of the sort that Pixar used to make a house specialty."^[66] Richard Lawson of Vanity Fair complimented the "lush and lively" animation, but felt the film "runs aground on all-too-familiar shores. Pixar has begun doing what it once seemed it never would: repeating itself."^[67]

Notes

1. Molina left the project by 2024. Nonetheless, he still retains director credit alongside Sharafian and Shi.
2. Distributed under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.
3. While the original reported budget is $150 million, reports from former Pixar employees to The Hollywood Reporter state that the production cost was "well north of $200 million".^[3]