As a film critic I like to think of myself as being able to bring new insight into a conversation about a movie I am reviewing. To elevate the discussion beyond what the average filmgoer might see (surely seeing 500+ movies a year should account for something? Right?) On the whole I’d say I’m successful in this goal (my readers would be the ultimate judge in this regard but I do try.) That said, sometimes insight fails me and my response is admittedly more basic. Such is the case with Pixar’s latest film Elio. It’s perfectly serviceable piece of family entertainment but not much beyond that. In a weird way I almost wish it was made by Illumination because they would try harder for the jokes. This is very sincere and sweet, kids will enjoy it but nothing about it is memorable or special. It’s just an ok movie for kids.
I’m actually really torn on what score to give Elio because is it even right to hold Pixar films up on a pedestal any more? There was a time where a ‘just ok’ film from the studio would have been a colossal disappointment. Now it’s more par for the course. It was cute but I was a little bored is how I felt coming out of the theater and you could do a lot worse than that in mainstream animation these days.
If you are unaware of Elio‘s existence (highly likely with the weak marketing campaign) this latest entry from Pixar is about a little boy named Elio who is an orphan (of course he is) who through various contrivances ends up communicating with aliens and visiting their planet as a representative from Earth. While there he meets an alien named Glordon and they become friends. Eventually the have to stand up to Glordon’s Dad who doesn’t understand him (of course he does) and they save the day before heading home to be with his astronaut in training aunt Olga.
The movie works best in the time before and after Elio goes to the planet. It’s very sweet getting to know Elio and the struggles with Olga are easy to relate with. On the alien planet it looks pretty with bright and colorful alien design but it has the pacing and story designed for kids rather than appealing to adults. Usually Pixar threads that needle of family entertainment for all better than they do here. That said, there was nothing off-putting in these ‘let’s have fun in space’ sections like say Lightyear or Turning Red had in their clunky metaphors and plots.
I hate to say it but I understand why some are waiting for Disney Plus for Elio. It’s fine but just not the kind of film that demands the big screen unless one is solely seeing it to bolster original storytelling. Unfortunately that can only get a studio like Pixar so far in this day and age. Yes we want to support originality but the entertainment factor still needs to be there. On letterboxd I gave Elio a 3/5 which I guess is technically a fresh score. Now that I’m writing the review I’m trying to decide whether ‘cute but boring’ is good enough for fresh (or smile worthy by my rankings?) It’s really hard!
At the end of the day, if people are going to be putting down their hard-earned money I just don’t think Elio is good enough…
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