In Elio, Elio Solís is feeling very alone. He has lost his parents and now lives with his aunt, and nothing seems to be going right. He also doesn’t seem to fit in anywhere or with anyone. To find belonging, he looks to space and reaches out to extraterrestrials with the hope that he can find his place among those who live among the stars. He soon finds his wishes coming true when he is indeed abducted by aliens. However, things are never as simple as they seem initially. Soon, Elio finds himself fighting to stop an intergalactic conflict, save his new best friend, and also discover what it takes and means to belong. Elio is now available from digital retailers after being released by Pixar earlier this summer in theaters.
Quality
Just as one would expect, the quality of Elio continues the legacy that Pixar Animation Studios has had for decades. This is a movie that looks absolutely beautiful. Sometimes this is with vibrant and beautiful scenery in space. Other times, it is a bit more stark and rustic at a military base and a kids’ camp. The accompanying audio tracks match the quality of the scenery that is seen on the screen. This makes for a lovely viewing experience, especially on a larger screen with accompanying surround sound. Overall, Elio makes for a beautiful viewing and listening experience. Several scenes would make for wonderful wall art as well!
Extras
There are several bonus features that are included with Elio, including quite a few deleted scenes. There are a couple of featurettes that look at the making of the film. There are also Easter Eggs, a gag reel, and the aforementioned Deleted Scenes. Inside the Communiverse: The World and Characters of Elio is the must-watch bonus feature that is included with this release. The Easter Eggs and Fun Facts come in second as my favorite included extras offering. The Deleted Scenes are interesting as well, as they provide context to the final film and its development. Below is a look at all of the bonus features.
Elio Bonus Features*
- Inside the Communiverse: The World and Characters of Elio – Launch behind the scenes with the cast and crew to get an in-depth look at the design and development of our meteoric main characters, as well as the making of all the celestial environments that make up Elio‘s universe.
- Out of This World: An Astro Q&A – Calling all space enthusiasts! Voice actors Yonas Kibreab (Elio) and Remy Edgerly (Glordon) meet with a real-life astronaut to discuss space travel, possible alien life on other planets, and why it’s important to study space.
- Astronomic Art Class: Ooooo and Glordon – Join Nicolle Castro, the lead story artist, as she shares her role on the film and guides viewers through drawing a couple of the film’s interstellar characters, Ooooo and Glordon.
- Extraterrestrial Easter Eggs and Fun Facts – Uncover the references and characters from some of your favorite Pixar films hidden throughout Elio, along with other fun facts.
- Galactic Gag Reel – Discover the fun inside the recording booth with the starry voice actors from Disney and Pixar’s Elio as they bring their characters to life with some entertaining laughs.
- Deleted Scenes – Check out the scenes that didn’t make the final cut:
- Bike Chase
- Garden Party
- Carver Legend
- Questa’s Second Test
- Home Visit
*Bonus features may vary by product and retailer
One interesting thing to note, the Deleted Scenes provide an interesting look at the development of Elio and how much it changed. It seems that the change was quite dramatic, based on these scenes.
Final Thoughts
Disney and Pixar’s Elio is a cute movie. I went into it expecting to like it more than I did. I didn’t dislike it, but it also wasn’t my favorite. There was definitely a lot of heart put into the film. I did come away from it thinking that it needed something else, though. I’m not sure if it is because of the change of premise for the film that was seen in the Deleted Scenes or something else. The film has some really fun moments, some cute moments, and some heartwarming moments. It just seemed like the pacing was off or something. The bonus features were enjoyable to watch and provided some background on the film. This film gets a hat nod. It’s worth checking out, but I would be surprised if it ends up on a top-five list of favorite Pixar films.
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Mr. DAPs Hat Rating Scale
- No Hat – Didn’t meet expectations
- Hat Nod – It was ok
- Hat Tip – It was good
- Hat’s Off – Loved it!
