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Elio finally arrived in the theatres after creating a lot of hype lately among Disney and Pixar fans. The film follows an orphan boy who is mistakenly abducted by a group of aliens who believe him to be the leader of Earth. The boy plays along, though.
With its amazing animation and adorable characters, the film achieved an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.2/10 on IMDb. Well, I won’t lie; the film did a phenomenal job with the artistry, but I think it doesn’t quite match the level of Pixar’s other creations, such as Finding Nemo and Up, in terms of story. Well, here’s the review of Elio that will help you identify where the film excels and where it falls short.
An Artistry That Doesn’t Let You Blink Your Eye Even For a Second
Like every other Pixar film, the animation in Elio is the first thing that captivates the audience. Pixar has grown over the years, and the artistry in its films adds to its excellence. Rarely does an animated film pay attention to the expressiveness of the characters, but Elio does exactly the opposite. Be the humans, including Elio or Olga, or the aliens; the animation makes the facial expressions and the body language of every character count.
Besides the characters, what turns out to be the standout element of the film is the cosmic environment of the communiverse. The vibrant texture and intricate detail also make every extraterrestrial body emerge as unique and alive.
While every scene was nothing short of a visual marvel, the scene that made me go speechless was the one where Elio was whisked up by the spaceship. The beam of light, harboring neon hues, turned out to be the perfect transitional cut, taking the viewers from the sandy beaches to the glowing world of aliens, i.e., the communiverse.
Dynamic Lighting and Cinematography That Tugs at the Heartstrings of Every Fan
Pixar movies are always known to implement great lighting effects in their movies, along with cinematography that speaks to you like it’s alive. However, even though what Pixar did in the previous movies was extraordinary, the studio seems to be evolving to go a step further. That evolution can be seen in Elio, as the lighting and the cinematography are even better than those in the previous Pixar movies.
For instance, in Elio, we see an alien world called Communiverse, and guess what? The lighting used to showcase this world makes it so incredibly beautiful that it’s hard for you to look away. Every time you see the alien universe, you can’t help but get the same feeling that you got when you watched Avatar’s Pandora for the first time. Yes, it’s that gorgeous.
Additionally, the cinematography in the movie complements the lighting very beautifully. One of the best examples of cinematography in the film is when Olga gets the “Bring us the leader of Earth” message on every screen around her, including her phone.
The use of the neon-pink color at that particular moment brings out something very beautiful yet mysterious. The scene was set in a simple room, but the brilliant use of lighting and cinematography makes even a minimalist setting like that beautiful. If that scene doesn’t impress some fans, the scene when the spaceship arrives on Earth will definitely do the job. The moment when Caleb’s punch stops midway and Elio encounters the spaceship for the first time is a scene that will live inside my brain for a long, long time. If you look at it, there’s nothing unique about the scene’s writing, but it’s the animation and cinematography that make it extraordinary.
So, yes, when it comes to stuff like this, I can’t help but admire the talent and expertise that the animators at Pixar Studios hold.
Elio Loses The Trophy Because Of an Underwhelming Story
Have you ever heard of a story where a young child believes they are not loved by anyone, and then, out of nowhere, they stumble upon someone or something that gives them hope and fills that void inside their heart? Honestly, we’ve seen different versions of this story, with some minor changes here and there. In fact, the story of Lilo & Stitch wasn’t that different.
So, while I was impressed by Pixar’s “animation brilliance” in the film, I really, really hope the writers would have done a better job with the story. Elio isn’t satisfied with what he has on Earth; he was bullied by other children of his age, but an alien world is waiting to make him feel special. That’s the core premise of Elio, which, most of the time, is predictable and boring. Of course, I am not complaining about the performances; they were great. However, I feel that the writing didn’t utilize the incredible cast to its full potential.
The strangest part about the story of Elio is its villain, Lord Grigon, who contributed absolutely nothing to the story. What did Grigon want all this time? To be a part of the Communiverse, right? Well, he actually gets what he wants, but in the end, he gives it all away upon seeing that his son is alive.
In the end, all that effort was for nothing, and all Elio had to do was bring Glordon in front of Grigon to melt the villain’s heart. Honestly, it was very anti-climactic and predictable, and while the music was trying incredibly hard to make the audience connect to the scene emotionally, I couldn’t help but feel disconnected from the story. I was all there for the animation and music, but not for the story.
Should You Watch Elio In Theatres?
Despite the predictable and underwhelming narrative, I’ll say that you should definitely watch the movie in theatres. The animation in this movie is just too good to ignore, and the best way to experience the true extent of its beauty is by watching it on the biggest screen possible. Even though the story feels all over the place, the other aspects of the movie are enough to keep you glued to your seats.
