Elio Parent Guide

Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) is alone. Heartbreakingly alone. Since the death of his parents, the grieving child has drifted forlornly through his life, despite the best attempts of his aunt to connect with him. Then a visit to a space museum gives Elio an idea: If he doesn’t belong on earth, maybe he could fit in on another planet. Now Elio has a new goal – being abducted by aliens.

Eventually, Elio has his wish and finds himself in the Communiverse, an alien community he longs to join. But there’s a catch: the peaceful Communiverse is being attacked by the Hylordians, a heavily armed, highly aggressive group of warriors. Elio has persuaded the Communiverse that he is the leader of planet Earth and makes a proposal – if he can negotiate peace with Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), he can become part of their community.

Once Elio is aboard the Hylordian spaceship, he finds himself sweet-talking Lord Grigon, commiserating on the challenges of parenting, getting swaddled by an alien, and befriending an eyeless, wormlike creature named Glordon (Remy Edgerly). Elio may not be an experienced negotiator, but what he learns about friendship and self-sacrifice just might be enough to save the world…if his lies don’t catch up with him first.

For the past several years, Pixar has outperformed the Disney animation studio and Elio is no exception. This film is a delight, thanks to a compelling story, dazzling animation, and richly imaginative visual design. Parents won’t be surprised at the story’s ending (although plot developments will leave you guessing) but kids will be on the edge of their seats throughout the movie’s runtime. In fact, there were frequent gasps and squeals from young viewers at the screening I attended.

Some of those gasps were fearful: parents will want to be aware that this movie can be scary for sensitive youngsters. There are scenes where Elio is bullied (on one occasion by masked kids) and scenes where violent aliens attack peaceful ones. Elio is often in extreme peril and this could upset easily frightened littles. I’d think twice before taking pre-schoolers to this show.

For everyone else, Elio is a wonderful choice. Character development is solid and Elio’s initial grief is so convincing I felt heartsick on his behalf. (And if my cynical critic’s heart can melt, you know the movie has done something right.) It’s rewarding to watch Elio develop confidence in himself and find comfort and validation in his friendships. Even aside from the story, this movie is enormous fun to watch. The colors are vivid, the Communiverse so dazzling that every kid will want to play there, and the imaginative take on aliens is just plain fun. The cherry on the cake for parents is the movie’s positive outlook: the script delivers strong messages about honesty (and the costs of dishonesty), friendship, loyalty, self-sacrifice, the power of family ties, persistence, cooperation, and optimism. As far as family movie options go, Elio is out of this world.