Elio

Grade: B

For some reason, tragedy in the family is a common theme with animated films, particularly Pixar. It seems to be a jumping off point for the plot. Up had a man widowed. Onward dealt with the death of a father. These are just a couple of examples. The title character in Elio is being raised by his aunt after the death of his parents. She is Olga (Zoe Saldaña), an air force major who had to put her dreams of becoming an astronaut on hold to raise her nephew.

Elio’s space obsession begins when he’s at Olga’s workplace, and wanders into a closed exhibit, narrated by Kate Mulgrew (a la Judi Dench on Spaceship Earth). He decides that if aliens exist, he WANTS to be abducted. He frequently hangs out at the beach at night, drawing things like “Take me – I’m right here” in the sand. That happens one night, right in the nick of time, during an altercation with bullies. A spacecraft swoops Elio up, and takes him to the Communiverse, which features the most beautiful visuals I’ve seen in a Pixar film since the Land of the Dead in Coco.

The citizens of the Communiverse have a misconception that Elio is the leader of the world (if only he was – I would love that), partly based on a recorded message he sent out, thinking it was futile, that the aliens actually received. Based on how he ended this hasty, frantic message, there’s a funny through-line where the Communiversians believe that the official Earthling farewell is “okay bye love you!” They repeat it many times. They will make Elio a candidate to be the Communiverse’s new ambassador, if he’s able to defeat the evil Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett).

Though the plot is busy (and I haven’t even revealed everything), I was all in. It’s gorgeous to look at, and I laughed a few times. The villain isn’t a one-dimensional archetype of nothing but evil. He has levels, and by the end, you can see where he’s coming from. By the same token, the so-called good guys aren’t perfect, blameless, innocent saints. There is a realism and poignancy in how the relationships ebb and flow.

I loved a great deal of Elio, which is why I’m trying to put my finger on why I left a little unsatisfied at the end. For one thing, there’s really no denouement or epilogue. The climax ends, resolving the main plot point, then suddenly it’s “okay bye love you.” A choice is made by the characters. I get why it happens, but it made me sad to think about what is being sacrificed and left behind by not choosing the other option. I was hoping for an addendum with some sort of Disney way for Elio to have his cake and eat it too – but unfortunately, it’s not to be. With enough other stuff going for it, though, Elio emerges a success, and is probably the best movie of the weekend.

Grade: B