Elio

I watched Elio, and honestly, it felt highly rushed. The movie spent more time building up Elio's plot and his life on Earth than it did on the actual space adventure - which should've been the heart of the story for growth. Even then, the space part lacked complexity, everything just felt short and underdeveloped. I know it's a kids' movie, but it still felt like it could've been much more. Kids are capable understanding some complex situations. Take WallE and monsters, Inc for example. Overall, it came off as rushed and missing the emotional or narrative weight it needed. I see the vision but it needed more.

I do appreciate that it isn't a remake nor sequel to an existing IP by Disney and Pixar. It's nice to see a new story and original idea without having to constantly be slammed with remakes and sequels.

To begin with, the concept of Elio is pretty good as a story about venturing through the new world, UFO's, alien adventures and mishaps sound is pretty cool. Throughout, once again, the animation is rich of colors, vibrate lights, and the designs are cute and well-structured. Pixar never fails to impress with their high quality animation style and designs. Especially with the alien designs, I really loved their movements and structures. Alongside with the sound designs, the colorful vibe atmosphere, and there is a good sense of humor as it does balance out with some of the emotional levels together.

However, despite the good concept, the writing unfortunately doesn't fully take advantage with the creative concept as it thinks. There are certain moments in the story that felt cliches with modern children animation tropes, and emotional and complex moments that seemed interesting, but the execution comes off as it plays a bit too safe. I understand that it's for children, but in the past, Pixar has been able to put good complex themes within their works and it makes it a great emotional experience. Because of this, it didn't felt as impactful nor connectable as I would have liked.

The character of Elio is okay as his development offers a good insight with the setting and atmosphere. But the other characters weren't really as interesting, as they felt undeveloped and uninteresting to observe. The voice performances, surprisingly, was pretty mild as despite some strong voice performances, some felt a bit awkward and out of place.

I'll be honest, it's a bit disappointing because I love to support more original new stories from Disney because they need to continue to bring out new worlds and stories. Unfortunately, Pixar and Disney has been falling into the "play safe" path, and it effects what made Disney in the past amazing. Overall, Elio is a okay popcorn Disney movie for the children but it's quite forgettable.

A very entertaining film that's not just for kids - adults will find a lot to appreciate, too. The main character is incredibly sweet and deals with relatable, everyday issues in a heartfelt way.

Visually, it's beautifully animated as you'd expect from Pixar. It definitely resembles ,Luca' regarding its looks.

More importantly, the story touches on timely and meaningful themes: loneliness, grief, and how people from different backgrounds can come together when it really matters. It's thought-provoking without being heavy. Definitely worth watching, even if it's not among Pixar's absolute top-tier films.

Elio. A movie about a young boy dreaming of being abducted by aliens, and is accidentally transported to an interplanetary organization called the Communiverse. Now if that synopsis is not original, I don't know what is, because THAT is one heck of an interesting concept for a movie, let alone a kids movie. What's also interesting is that there's no other movie that has a story similar to this one. Of course we've seen people being abducted in movies a lot, mostly B-movies, but a movie about someone who WANTS to be abducted? That's on a whole other level! I have high hopes for Disney in the future. If they keep doing what they're doing with their upcoming Pixar originals like Hoppers and Gatto, these movies will succeed. AND, if Disney takes notes from the live action How To Train Your Dragon movie Universal just put out, then their live action remakes will also succeed. I know Disney will improve in the future. I'm well aware they've lost around a billion dollars because of what they have been putting out, but their downfall will eventually come to an end and start pointing upwards. Overall, Elio's a fantastic movie, filled with light-heartedness and funny humor that will get everyone laughing. And honestly, I would love to see a sequel!

Pixar's next original film is now here! And honestly, is a little underwhelming. For starters, it's a Pixar film with a theme! With other films like Lightyear or Luca. There's a theme in there, but it's not present like other films! This is one with that heart and theme that Pixar is known for! When it comes to the story or theme, it all feels like Lilo and Stitch. Alien story, kid who feels he doesn't belong. It all feels like Lilo and Stitch! The film makes sure you care for the main character. He's a fun character, and is the best part of this movie! There's a lot of fun to be had! Characters, story, it's fun! But fun is not Pixar. Pixar is known for there advanced storytelling, mature theme, mature storytelling. That's what makes Pixar, PIXAR. But with Elio, it still feels like a lot of recent Pixar films, Like Elemental. Where you like it, it's enjoyable. But is not the highs of Pixar. Saying something is solid, means it's one of Pixar's weakest films, such as Elio! There problem is, there's too many different story ideas there trying to tackle, that in the end. It's rushed, chopped together, but has heart. Again, not the Pixar that Pixar was, back in the day. I was expecting more, but for a Pixar film, it doesn't reach the highs it needs to reach!