When a studio goes full-on nostalgia mode, you know all is not well. As a subsidiary of Disney, the biggest nostalgia farm in town, Pixar – the once sure-fire home of Buzz and Woody – has been retooled as a content factory, pumping out sequels and TV shows faster than The Mouse can market them. 

It’s the same quantity over quality blunder that soured Star Wars, a mindset Disney is largely walking back in favour of a traditional release calendar. Yet, damage was done. Pixar is tainted, and only truly original films can save them. Enter Elio, from directors Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, and Domee Shi, a wacky, long awaited return to form for the studio. 

After the death of his parents, eleven-year-old Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab) is sure he doesn’t belong on Earth. Together with jerry-rigged ham radios, visits to the National Air and Space Museum, and makeshift ‘Aliens! Abduct me!!!’ signs, his goal is simple: leave this planet and everyone on it. 

Meanwhile, his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña), a would-be astronaut turned Satellite specialist, is steeped in parenting books and the harsh reality of raising a grieving child. Their emotionally tense dynamic is classic Pixar, a heartstring-tugging core that renders any incoming wackiness worth it. 

And absurdity comes in the form of the Communiverse, an interplanetary organisation of space representatives who pluck Elio mid-bully brawl and spirit him away to the interstellar paradise of his dreams. Complete with nanotech, cloning, and an AI companion called Ooooo (Shirley Henderson), the only problem is that Elio is mistaken for the leader of humankind. Oh, no. 

As Pixar films go, it’s buoyant and well-meaning, but never quite reaches the heights of the Lasseter era. The animation is as masterful as always, but the story breaks little new ground. And that signature Pixar gimmick, like toys that talk or a house that floats with only balloons, is sadly missing. 

It’s a hole that villain Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), following in the footsteps of Zerg and Charles Muntz, had the chance to amply fill. He loves arm cannons, world domination, and bloody warfare, but that’s as deep as he goes. After the Communiverse turns him down, Elio agrees to lead the negotiations, eager to prove himself as Earth’s leader.

Here, we meet the film’s lightning bolt character, Glordon (Remy Edgerly, upstaging all), after Elio is imprisoned. He’s a Tardigrade-like, eyeless alien that serves as a loveable mascot more compelling than Elio himself, a strong comedic counter to the modern day Pixar fare of Lord Grigon’s ear-splitting war cries. 

His standout back and forth antics with Elio, coupled with Olga’s side plot with a creepy clone nephew, give the clear impression that character still reigns supreme at Pixar. As a result, the film is infused with an untapped energy and life, as we’re propelled into something that echoes the Pixar of old.

If Disney truly ratchets down the blistering pace of their releases, Pixar could blossom into its Silver Age. Though, with Toy Story 5, Incredibles 3, and Coco 2 on the horizon, we might not want to hold our breaths.

In cinemas nationwide from Fri 20 Jun 2025