Latest news with #Communiverse
The Star
06-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Star
'Elio' review: A true shooting star in Pixar's galaxy
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina Voice cast: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brandon Moon, Brad Garrett, and Jameela Jamil. The new Pixar animated film Elio takes up a question famously posed by astrophysicist Carl Sagan: "are we alone?" It's in reference to the search for extraterrestrial life, but the idea, according to Sagan, is "the deepest of human concerns." It's a question both existential and intimate; galactic and earthbound. It dictates our day-to-day experience and our wildest dreams, motivating our every action and reaction. For our hero, Elio (Yonas Kibreab), the worry that he might be entirely alone on Earth is what spurs his desire to look for community elsewhere – in the stars. Elio starts to wonder about this when he wanders away from his new guardian, his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana) at her job. She happens to be a major in the Air Force, working at a base monitoring orbital space debris, and Elio finds an exhibit about the space program Voyager, launched in 1977 to explore space and collect data. Recently orphaned and feeling so alone, the idea that lifeforms in outer space might be out there is a lifeline for misfit Elio. He becomes obsessed with aliens and spends his days and nights trying to make contact, begging to be abducted. Be careful what you wish for, Elio. Does your aunt know you're using her strainer as a hat, Elio? After causing mischief and mayhem in his quest for contact, he manages to send a message to outer space, and is swiftly picked up from sleepaway camp by a delegation from the Communiverse, a sort of United Nations of aliens. It's a beautiful, utopian, but ultimately isolationist, community, and while they welcome Elio as Earth's ambassador, he becomes mixed up in matters of intergalactic diplomacy, negotiating with a warlike alien group and their leader, Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), while befriending young princeling Glordon (Remy Edgerly). Though the writing and directing team of Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi (along with writers Julia Cho, Mark Hammer and Mike Jones) spin a wildly imaginative and action-packed tale of celestial interaction that forever changes Elio's life and outlook, at the heart of the matter, this is a story of family, friendship and realising that you're never really alone. When you wish upon an alien planet.... Elio comes to understand that he never gave his relationships on Earth a chance before setting his sights on the skies — a notion that resonates deeply as the billionaires on this planet are giving up on this one while looking for other places in the galaxy to colonize. Maybe give Earth a chance. Elio is a surprisingly succinct film to be packed with so many ideas, both big and small, and it's stuffed to the gills with stunningly cinematic visuals, both on Earth and in the gorgeous Communiverse. At the heart is Elio's relationship with his aunt, but his friendship with the adorable Glordon is the crown jewel of the film, with much of the humour coming from the juxtaposition of Glordon's appearance (sea-slug body, many rows of razor sharp teeth) and his personality (adorable, snuggly, doesn't want to follow in his father's warmongering footsteps). Both Glordon and Elio have to rectify their relationships with their parental figures, and in running away, their guardians realise that they need to show their own soft sides in order to connect with their kids, to show them that it's OK to be vulnerable and emotional, and to accept these young ones for who they are — profoundly human concepts, even when expressed by fantastical extraterrestrials. This gem of a film manages to draw together our questions about the universe and ourselves into one single adventure story that hits every emotional beat. It's what Pixar does best, and Elio is another knockout, a quiet but determined shooting star that earns its place in the galaxy. – Tribune News Service
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Aliens, space and a blast of air-conditioning: 'Elio,' reviewed by 7 kids, 2 parents and 2 grandmas
Hello, people of Earth. I'm Suzy Byrne, and I've been covering entertainment at Yahoo for over a decade. I'll be the first to tell you that I'm no hardcore cinema buff. Since I had a child, though, I've made it a point to see as many kid-friendly movies as possible. Maybe it's because I'm a big kid ✔ and I love a cheerful ending ✔. But also, as a busy working parent, is there greater joy than getting two hours to turn off your phone and put up your feet while your child is fully entertained?! So that's what this is — one entertainment reporter + her 10-year-old child + usually friends seeing family-friendly fare, indulging in film-themed treats and replying all, to you, about the experience. Welcome to kids' movie club. Space isn't such a bad place to be for two hours during a hot, sticky heat wave. That's the energy I brought for our journey from Earth to the Communiverse, where much of Elio is set. Not only is the final week of school here in New York — shakes fist at sky — but it's 99 degrees when I pick up my daughter and friends for a matinee. I'm hot and wilted and have a pile of non-movie-going work to do, but away we go … to outer space. We movie-d with seven children (who are in 1st through 4th grade) and four adults, including two very cool grandmas. The theater was full. The adults put all the kids together in one row and sat behind them, which I highly recommend. Outta sight, outta mind — which is great because this parent is outta stamina. The long-delayed original film tells the story of a space-obsessed orphaned boy (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), being raised by his Air Force major aunt (Zoe Saldaña), who is struggling to make sense of his place in the world. His connections to his Earthling peers are short-circuited, and the eyepatch- and strainer-wearing kid is hoping with all of his might to be abducted by aliens. His wish comes true. Passing himself off as the 'leader of Earth,' he makes friends through the experience — so what if they're extraterrestrial ones? — and ultimately builds a closer relationship with his aunt. The animated sci-fi film clocks in at 1 hour and 39 minutes and is — as my mother replies to every one of her text messages — 'fine.' There's nothing particularly surprising about it. It has a happy ending. It's not Lilo & Stitch or How to Train Your Dragon, though it definitely mirrors some of the Lilo storyline with Elio and Aunt Olga's relationship. The film also borrows from Inside Out about the importance of identifying feelings. Feeling like an outsider is relatable for all ages. 'What if there's nothing about me to want?' cape-loving Elio asks at one point. 'I thought Earth was the problem, but what if it's me?' There's also coping with bullies — that's why Elio has the temporary eyepatch, in a very non-interesting twist — and multiple characters feeling like they're not meeting the expectations of a caregiver. 'I may not always understand you, but I still love you,' Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett, who voices the antagonist) told his son Glordon (Remy Edgerly) in a humanizing — er, alienizing — moment in the movie. It's a Disney film, not a horror flick by any means, but there were moments that were 'super creepy,' my young moviegoing friends felt. They mostly involved Elio's clone — like when his strand of hair slithered around the house, Olga examined it under a microscope, and then, realizing it wasn't her nephew, she went into Elio's room and suspensefully pulled up clone Elio's eyepatch. 'I closed my eyes, but watched it through my fingers,' one girl in the group said on the ride home. I'll add that I don't think that — when there was hopefulness about the eyepatch, as far as representation — filmmakers needed to make it suspenseful like that. Also, the kids were freaked out when Elio's clone did the zombie walk to distract the guard before melting so that the real Elio and Olga could get to the spaceship. 'I did not like the clone,' my daughter said. Other unsettling parts were when the bullies with alien masks took Elio, and the 'Bring us your leader… please' part, despite the good manners. This adult — and several of the kids — loved the slug-like alien Glordon, who is hands-down my favorite character. My friend told me that I need to add a nap-o-meter because he predicted Elio would be the perfect film to doze off in. But the film started, he chuckled at a few parts, and I knew he wouldn't be sleeping. Plus, his food order took forever to come, so his burger anticipation kept him awake. I fully would have slept if I weren't responsible for three of the seven kids. Though it's good, I didn't, as I got a 'Suzy, I have to go to the bathroom' midway through. I did, however, think about how I wasn't napping each time I saw a swaddled alien. Speaking of food, my daughter and I had popcorn and cherry Icees — with 24-hour red tongues to prove it. The Elio-themed food offering was a box of Nerds, which I didn't even know they still make, so no. Yes. We waited until the very end because one kid heard from another kid who heard from a third kid (very Ferris Bueller) that there would be bloopers. It turned out to be a teaser for Hoppers, one of Pixar's next offerings, showing a lizard over a phone pushing the lizard emoji over and over as a voice assistant repeatedly said, 'Lizard.' That post-credits moment — technically not even part of Elio — was my daughter's 'favorite part of the movie,' which pretty much sums up our matinee experience. I polled my friend and his kids for their review, using a 1 (worst) to 10 (best) scale. Dad said 6.5, 9-year-old daughter said 5, and 7-year-old boy gave it a more enthusiastic 8. The grandmas? Full approval. But to be fair, they've seen fewer kid flicks lately and aren't running on fumes like the rest of us. While Elio had a slow start at the box office, it's gotten a stellar reception from audiences and critics (with a 83% Rotten Tomatoes score). Here's hoping it finds its audience as summer progresses — or when it moves to streaming — and it has orbiting success.
Yahoo
26-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Aliens, space and a blast of air-conditioning: 'Elio,' reviewed by 7 kids, 2 parents and 2 grandmas
Hello, people of Earth. I'm Suzy Byrne, and I've been covering entertainment at Yahoo for over a decade. I'll be the first to tell you that I'm no hardcore cinema buff. Since I had a child, though, I've made it a point to see as many kid-friendly movies as possible. Maybe it's because I'm a big kid ✔ and I love a cheerful ending ✔. But also, as a busy working parent, is there greater joy than getting two hours to turn off your phone and put up your feet while your child is fully entertained?! So that's what this is — one entertainment reporter + her 10-year-old child + usually friends seeing family-friendly fare, indulging in film-themed treats and replying all, to you, about the experience. Welcome to kids' movie club. Space isn't such a bad place to be for two hours during a hot, sticky heat wave. That's the energy I brought for our journey from Earth to the Communiverse, where much of Elio is set. Not only is the final week of school here in New York — shakes fist at sky — but it's 99 degrees when I pick up my daughter and friends for a matinee. I'm hot and wilted and have a pile of non-movie-going work to do, but away we go … to outer space. We movie-d with seven children (who are in 1st through 4th grade) and four adults, including two very cool grandmas. The theater was full. The adults put all the kids together in one row and sat behind them, which I highly recommend. Outta sight, outta mind — which is great because this parent is outta stamina. The long-delayed original film tells the story of a space-obsessed orphaned boy (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), being raised by his Air Force major aunt (Zoe Saldaña), who is struggling to make sense of his place in the world. His connections to his Earthling peers are short-circuited, and the eyepatch- and strainer-wearing kid is hoping with all of his might to be abducted by aliens. His wish comes true. Passing himself off as the 'leader of Earth,' he makes friends through the experience — so what if they're extraterrestrial ones? — and ultimately builds a closer relationship with his aunt. The animated sci-fi film clocks in at 1 hour and 39 minutes and is — as my mother replies to every one of her text messages — 'fine.' There's nothing particularly surprising about it. It has a happy ending. It's not Lilo & Stitch or How to Train Your Dragon, though it definitely mirrors some of the Lilo storyline with Elio and Aunt Olga's relationship. The film also borrows from Inside Out about the importance of identifying feelings. Feeling like an outsider is relatable for all ages. 'What if there's nothing about me to want?' cape-loving Elio asks at one point. 'I thought Earth was the problem, but what if it's me?' There's also coping with bullies — that's why Elio has the temporary eyepatch, in a very non-interesting twist — and multiple characters feeling like they're not meeting the expectations of a caregiver. 'I may not always understand you, but I still love you,' Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett, who voices the antagonist) told his son Glordon (Remy Edgerly) in a humanizing — er, alienizing — moment in the movie. It's a Disney film, not a horror flick by any means, but there were moments that were 'super creepy,' my young moviegoing friends felt. They mostly involved Elio's clone — like when his strand of hair slithered around the house, Olga examined it under a microscope, and then, realizing it wasn't her nephew, she went into Elio's room and suspensefully pulled up clone Elio's eyepatch. 'I closed my eyes, but watched it through my fingers,' one girl in the group said on the ride home. I'll add that I don't think that — when there was hopefulness about the eyepatch, as far as representation — filmmakers needed to make it suspenseful like that. Also, the kids were freaked out when Elio's clone did the zombie walk to distract the guard before melting so that the real Elio and Olga could get to the spaceship. 'I did not like the clone,' my daughter said. Other unsettling parts were when the bullies with alien masks took Elio, and the 'Bring us your leader… please' part, despite the good manners. This adult — and several of the kids — loved the slug-like alien Glordon, who is hands-down my favorite character. My friend told me that I need to add a nap-o-meter because he predicted Elio would be the perfect film to doze off in. But the film started, he chuckled at a few parts, and I knew he wouldn't be sleeping. Plus, his food order took forever to come, so his burger anticipation kept him awake. I fully would have slept if I weren't responsible for three of the seven kids. Though it's good, I didn't, as I got a 'Suzy, I have to go to the bathroom' midway through. I did, however, think about how I wasn't napping each time I saw a swaddled alien. Speaking of food, my daughter and I had popcorn and cherry Icees — with 24-hour red tongues to prove it. The Elio-themed food offering was a box of Nerds, which I didn't even know they still make, so no. Yes. We waited until the very end because one kid heard from another kid who heard from a third kid (very Ferris Bueller) that there would be bloopers. It turned out to be a teaser for Hoppers, one of Pixar's next offerings, showing a lizard over a phone pushing the lizard emoji over and over as a voice assistant repeatedly said, 'Lizard.' That post-credits moment — technically not even part of Elio — was my daughter's 'favorite part of the movie,' which pretty much sums up our matinee experience. I polled my friend and his kids for their review, using a 1 (worst) to 10 (best) scale. Dad said 6.5, 9-year-old daughter said 5, and 7-year-old boy gave it a more enthusiastic 8. The grandmas? Full approval. But to be fair, they've seen fewer kid flicks lately and aren't running on fumes like the rest of us. While Elio had a slow start at the box office, it's gotten a stellar reception from audiences and critics (with a 83% Rotten Tomatoes score). Here's hoping it finds its audience as summer progresses — or when it moves to streaming — and it has orbiting success.
News18
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News18
Elio Review: Pixar's New Space Film Tells An Orphan's Cosmic Journey To Find Himself
Last Updated: Pixar's Elio blends intergalactic adventure with deeply human emotions, reminding us that no distance is far enough to outrun ourselves. Disney Pixar's Elio will bring you lots heart and laughs. Pixar's latest Elio is a lot of things, but essentially it is about how one cannot run from himself, even if he goes all the way to a distant place in space. Elio (Yonas Kibreab) is one of us, a kid who grows up wanting to be understood — he even has a language of his own. An orphan, he grows up with his aunt Olga Solis (Zoe Saldaña), who has given up her desire to be an astronaut and settles for being an Air Force Major to bring up her nephew. This creates friction between the two. However, Elio grows up to inherit his aunt's fascination with space exploration. His loneliness and constant bullying at the hands of two brats propel him to become obsessed with aliens and to desire to be abducted by them. With the help of conspiracy theorist Melmac's device, Elio sends a message to the assumed aliens out there, and his wish comes true. Elio is presumed to be the supreme leader of Earth by his abductors — a huge sect of peace-loving intellectuals who have formed an information-sharing centre called the Communiverse, a prestigious body full of vibrant, zany creatures with extraordinary abilities. Elio is overjoyed to be at the brink of finding his own place in the universe, but things take a dire turn as the Communiverse gets threatened by Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), an alien warlord. His penchant for violence gets him shunned by the Communiverse, and thus he prepares for a full-blown war. Elio, in desperation, volunteers to be an ambassador to hold peace talks with Lord Grigon, which turn sour. However, he becomes friends with Grigon's fun-loving son Glordon, who, unlike his father, is kind at heart. With this new bond, Elio tries to stop Lord Grigon, which takes him on a journey that resolves both his inner turmoil and the universe's. It is amusing how a 90-minute-long film unpacks so much — exploring topics of loneliness, toxic masculinity, and camaraderie — and also manages to be a laugh riot, with humour that is both slapstick and sophisticated. Both Elio and Glordon undergo a similar arc. Both kids struggle to live up to the expectations set by the adults. Glordon struggles hard not to become a disappointment to his father, which clashes with his unwillingness to become a war machine. On the other hand, Elio's grief creates a similar rift between him and his aunt. The ingenious mockery of hyper masculinity is the cornerstone of the film's humour. Grigon and his tribes are in reality a worm-like creature with cuddly traits. Yet, they wear sophisticated armour, turning them into a killing machine. The film has a riot taking dig at the presumed valour of the clan. However, it also humanises Grigon, revealing him to be a doting father, who is ready to put his son before honour. Invariably, all parties involved mean well, and the film creates such complex, heartwarming moments — a reason why even grown-ups are fond of Pixar films. First Published:
The National
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
Meet the voice of Elio: Yonas Kibreab shares his Pixar journey
Emerging star on connecting with the character, exploring the imaginative Communiverse and the emotional depth of Pixar storytelling
