Pixar’s latest animated feature, Elio, arrives in theaters this weekend, and the movie’s first reviews declare it worth a watch. The original story follows its titular character into outer space, where he befriends aliens and finds a heartfelt message. Highlights include its worldbuilding, humor, and takes on sci-fi and horror staples, while its script has a few problems. Ultimately, though, Pixar has created another emotionally entertaining family film for audiences of all ages.
Here’s what critics are saying about Elio:
Has Pixar made another classic?
Elio is yet another in a long line of Pixar doing what they do best when they’re not pumping out cash-grab sequels or spin-offs of their other animated films.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
Elio reminds me of the imagination, inventiveness, and emotion that the studio has become well-known for.
— Ross Bonaime, Collider
Elio is right at home in the Pixar catalog, but lacks those undeniable signs of intelligent life (wit, surprise and the capacity to expand the medium) that set the studio’s best work apart.
— Peter Debruge, Variety
This isn’t a soon-to-be Disney/Pixar classic and holds more in common with smaller films like Luca or Soul.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Much like Elio, I frequently found myself longing for the more transportive experience, of the sort that Pixar used to make a house specialty.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
Where does it rank among the studio’s films?
Astoundingly, it’s one of Pixar’s best.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
At its best, Elio feels like vintage Pixar… and arguably its best original since 2017’s Coco.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
While Elio may not reach the profound imaginative heights of Inside Out or the narrative perfection of Toy Story, it comes very close on both fronts, making it one of Pixar’s stronger efforts in recent years.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
Elio certainly is a fair sight better than much of the company’s latest output.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire
does it have any fresh ideas?
Elio shows that Pixar still thrives in original ideas, playing with the possibilities of these grand worlds.
— Ross Bonaime, Collider
Elio’s sci-fi setup… is brimming with imaginative world-building and delightful weirdness, showing how much thought and effort was put into this by not only the storytellers but by the animators as well.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
Elio is best at its exemplary worldbuilding. The various species of the Communiverse are fascinating, with a wide variety of interesting and visually distinct designs.
— Jeff Ewing, The Direct
Elio feels just a tad too familiar in its sights and story beats to seem totally fresh.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
It definitely plays upon the audience’s knowledge of cinematic standards and practices of outer space stories.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
How is the animation?
Visually, Elio dazzles even if it’s not the most breathtaking animation ever seen from Pixar.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
The 3D animation on display is incredibly polished. The jumbled story almost seems like an excuse to throw as much style at the viewer as possible.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film
The designs of the alien characters are impressively imaginative.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
The animation in Elio is absolutely gorgeous, really pulling viewers into this world. The Communiverse alone has so many different elements to oogle, but the aliens themselves are impressive.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The Communiverse is beautiful and very well designed. The alien designs and space technology are enjoyable, even if the human designs are the most awkwardly shaped version of Pixar’s now-infamous cartoonish proportions.
— Jason Flatt, But Why Tho? A Geek Community
What about the story?
Unlike other Pixar films with convoluted or nonsensical rules for their fictional worlds, Elio uses simple storytelling and world-building methods to expand its internal universe.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
It’s very mature storytelling from the team over at Pixar, but as they’ve shown in the past, they’re more than capable of rendering these heavy themes quite simply for even children to understand broadly.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
Elio has a few narrative issues that keep it from meeting its potential.
— Jeff Ewing, The Direct
The narrative doesn’t feel so much like one cogent story as various chunks created when the initial narrative is backed into a corner or didn’t have enough meat on it to sustain things.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
It still can get a bit convoluted at times.
— Ross Bonaime, Collider
Is it funny?
It’s frequently funny.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire
Elio’s fish-out-of-water diplomacy attempts are played for laughs… [and he’s] one of the most physically comedic protagonists Pixar has ever animated.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
The jokes always land.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Does it deliver a good message?
It’s a moving cosmic adventure about how the things that make us different are also the things that connect us. And for Elio and us, that’s a message worth beaming across the galaxy.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
It’s a helpful lesson to learn that no one is alone in feeling a certain way…. Elio delivers its inspiring message straight to the hearts of audiences at warp speed.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
Are we gonna need tissues?
Is a Pixar movie even a Pixar movie if it doesn’t make you cry? I am not ashamed to admit that this one had me teary-eyed at the end, as per usual with this studio.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
The film proves capable of handling some of the most emotionally challenging Pixar sequences since the likes of Finding Nemo, Up, and Inside Out… As with the best of Pixar, I dare anyone to come away with a single dry eye.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
Pixar has a history of going for tears, and viewers may need to grab a hankie in the finale. Elio leans melodramatic, but thankfully doesn’t reach Inside Out or Up‘s level of collective bawling.
— Julian Roman, MovieWeb
While the emotional moments do hit, this isn’t the type of Pixar film that’s going to leave you a wreck.
— Ross Bonaime, Collider
Will this appeal to all ages?
Its real strength lies in a quiet, beating core of emotional truth that will resonate with audiences young and old alike.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
The frenetic pace may keep kids hooked, but parents will appreciate the sequences when Elio hits the pause button and allows audiences to sit in the silence — of complicated ideas, of emotionally challenging conversations, and of the wonders around us we too often fail to appreciate.
— Jeremy Mathai, Slashfilm
Even though Elio might skew a bit younger than we’re used to from Pixar, the emotions and the moments that grab at your heartstrings still hit the way you would expect them to.
— Ross Bonaime, Collider
Pixar’s Elio is going to be a hit with families, there is no doubt about that.
— Tessa Smith, Mama’s Geeky
Could it make horror fans out of your kids?
Perhaps the movie’s most interesting flourish is the horror influence it wears proudly on its sleeve, without letting things cross over into family-unfriendly terror.
— Angie Han, The Hollywood Reporter
Some entry-level body horror moments hilariously stand out as a much-needed pulse of energy to the film.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film
[It] features a touch of legitimate (albeit comedic) body horror that’s the most Pixar has surprised me since Turning Red candidly tackled periods.
— Belen Edwards, Mashable
How is the voice cast?
The entire voice cast here is excellent… It pays off that Pixar found the right voice, rather than the most popular voice, which isn’t often the case with big animated projects of this size.
— Ross Bonaime, Collider
The voice cast is fantastic, particularly Kibreab and Edgerly… but it’s Edgerly and how he conveys Glordon’s innocence that sticks with you.
— Kristen Lopez, The Film Maven
Edgerly is so effortlessly funny, it’s hard to believe this is his first time voicing a main character in a major motion picture.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
Saldaña, whose character is meant to be the story’s heart, sounds like she’s phoning it in a bit in the voiceover booth.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire
What about the score?
Rob Simonsen’s sweeping musical score also helps elevate the film above lesser animated efforts.
— Cody Dericks, AwardsWatch
Rob Simonsen’s score beautifully complements all of the tones Elio is striving to produce, often soaring when Elio needs a lift and gently melancholic when the story needs to tug at the heartstrings.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
Rob Simonsen’s rather generic score begins to overdo the bombast.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire
Are there any major problems?
Elio suffers from severe structural and pacing problems that are especially noticeable given its relatively breezy one hour and forty-minute runtime.
— Tyler Taing, Discussing Film
[It] occasionally stumbles with tonal inconsistencies and a fast-paced narrative.
— Matt Neglia, Next Best Picture
The real problem, though, might be the material that’s earth-bound… There’s some great raw material here, and yet onscreen it never gets to compelling territory.
— Wilson Chapman, IndieWire
It’s hard to believe that this is the film Pixar set out to make, and all the evidence suggests it isn’t.
— Damon Wise, Deadline
Elio opens in theaters on June 20, 2025.
