D23: The Official Disney Fan Club held a D23 EarlyFan Screening Event for Disney Pixar’s Elio at the AMC Burbank 16 this past Tuesday night. For $28, D23 members got an event credential, vouchers for a regular drink and popcorn, an interview with a Pixar visual effects supervisor prior to the movie, the movie screening, and a Glordon popcorn bucket. Checking in for the event was super easy, and you can’t go wrong with popcorn and a drink since they are the perfect movie snacks. Finding a seat for the movie was easy as well. The theater was about 80% full, which is great for an advanced movie screening.
Prior to the movie screening, an interview was held with Claudia Chung Sanii, the Visual Effects Supervisor on Elio. Claudia said that the Communiverse is super complex and has lots of moving pieces, but there’s not much that CG can’t do anymore. She compared the visual effects of Elemental to those used in Elio. From creating Fire and Water and turning it into animation while trying to make it look visually appealing and real, to making outer space and the Communiverse seem like a real place, the animators and visual effects artists were always looking forward when it came to Elio.
Elio tells the story of a boy who has a very active imagination. He finds himself fascinated with aliens and outer space. He has also invented his own language, “Elioese,” and not too many understand it. He eventually finds himself beamed up to outer space to a place called the Communiverse. Elio presents himself as the leader of Earth and starts to form new bonds with the eccentric aliens while discovering who he is truly meant to be.
Story
Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) lives on an Air Force base with his Aunt Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldaña), following the death of his parents. Aunt Olga is an Air Force major who gave up her dream of becoming an astronaut to raise Elio. It’s at an air and space museum where Elio wanders off to a closed-off exhibit of the Voyager 1 spacecraft. This particular scene may remind you of the opening scenes of Spaceship Earth at EPCOT.
A few years later, Elio is at the beach attempting to contact outer space through his ham radio. He lies on the beach with writing in the sand that says “aliens abduct me please,” but nothing happens. Two kids named Bryce and Caleb walk by Elio and mess with his ham radio. They get into a fight, which causes Elio to get a black eye. It is then covered with a blue eye patch.
As a result of the fight and other mishaps at the base, Elio is sent to a camp. While at the camp, Elio runs away from the bullies he had met at the beach. Elio returns to the beach where he is abducted as an alien ship arrives, which makes him very happy. As Elio arrives in the spaceship, he is greeted by the character OOOOO, a liquid supercomputer, and is welcomed to the Communiverse. The Communiverse is a place where aliens of all kinds bring their knowledge from other worlds and share it with others.
Elio is mistaken as the leader of Earth, while the inhabitants of the Communiverse attempt to make him the ambassador of Earth. They believe he created the Voyager 1 spacecraft. Elio tries to tell them the truth, but they call a meeting to negotiate with Lord Grigon (voiced by Brad Garrett), a ruthless warlord who has been rejected for induction into the Communiverse.
Soon after, Elio meets Glordon, Lord Grigon’s son, who tries to make amends with his father. Things don’t go so well during negotiations, so Elio and Glordon team up to make things better for the inhabitants of the Communiverse, Lord Grigon, and Aunt Olga. Elio soon returns to Earth to make amends with his Aunt Olga, who soon joins Elio and returns to the Communiverse to patch up relationships with Grigon and Glordon, as well as the rest of the Communiverse.
After returning to Earth, Elio and his Aunt Olga have a better relationship than ever before, and Elio hangs out with Bryce as they contact Glordon through his ham radio.
Quality
The overall quality of Elio is beautiful. The animation is wonderful and beautiful, and is in line with the animation from Coco. The colors are vibrant, and the visual effects help bring life to the movie. There are periods of darkness that make you think something is wrong with the film, but it fits into the plot of the movie.
Characters
If you grew up with a vivid imagination, you can’t help but relate to Elio. Aunt Olga is the type of aunt one wants to have, even if she struggles to get to know Elio is and what his needs are. The inhabitants of the Communiverse are friendly and want to welcome everyone to their planet. Lord Grigon may be the villain in the movie, but he is somewhat misunderstood. Glordon is a fun and lovable alien who befriends Elio, and you can’t help but love him.
Music
The music for Elio was composed by Rob Simonsen. He is known for his scores of 500 Days of Summer, Front Runner, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, and Deadpool & Wolverine, among others. The music has that sci-fi feel, while also keeping the movie filled with heart and excitement.
Final Thoughts
Overall, Elio is a fun movie for all ages that should be seen on the big screen. The colors, the animation, the characters, and the overall story make this a very enjoyable movie. This movie has heart, fun, some suspense, and most importantly, laughs. This has to be one of Pixar’s best in terms of overall animation. You will definitely leave the theater with a smile on your face.
