Elio (2025)
Directed by Domee Shi
Elio, a space fanatic with an active imagination, finds himself on a cosmic misadventure where he must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.
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59 films that influenced Elio
What critics say influenced Elio
Since its formative first film, Toy Story, the brand has consistently put out quality entertainment for both children and adults that highlights the misunderstood and shows how they’re able to find a way to connect with those around them who at first didn’t seem like they could possibly have any traits in common.
The way Toy Story made us believe that our toys love us back.
…there have been classic and revered examples of male friendship like Woody and Buzz and Mike and Sully throughout Pixar’s history…
…classic and revered examples of male friendship like Woody and Buzz…
…franchises like Toy Story or Inside Out still do tremendously well in terms of business (and toy sales)…
Films like “Toy Story” and “The Incredibles” shaped many of our childhoods.
…followed by their incredible run in the early part of the century (Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3…wow!)
Pixar used to be the gold standard, but started experiencing bumps with "Cars 2."
…and don’t even get me started on the Cars universe)…
Cars, they also made the Cars movies.
For older viewers, Elio feels like it samples freely from films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, and even How to Train Your Dragon.
…a young boy, feeling unloved despite his Aunt Olga's concern, looking to the stars for companionship (hello "Lilo & Stitch!").
“Elio” feels like a focus group wanted to make the next “Lilo and Stitch” (2002)…
Elio’s sci-fi trappings should help sell the film for family audiences who have presumably already taken in the live-action remakes Lilo & Stitch and How To Train Your Dragon.
At times, he feels a lot like Lilo from Lilo & Stitch (the original of course), who is largely misunderstood.
…the human child meets otherworldly companion formula (Lilo & Stitch, Ron’s Gone Wrong)…
Films like Brave and the Inside Out movies show that they’re more than capable of creating family drama without offing the parents offscreen…
While it may not reach the emotional heights of Inside Out or Up, Elio stands out for its tremendous heart, visual splendour, and the poignant journey of its young protagonist.
En Inside Out, cada emoción era un engranaje de una maquinaria humana tan frágil como extraordinaria.
The way Inside Out validated that all our emotions are worthy, including sadness.
You can’t get a $1.6 billion hit like “Inside Out 2” without first taking a chance on “Inside Out.”
Like Inside Out and Soul before it, Elio features mesmerizing and colorful depictions of this magical place known as the Communiverse.
Films like “Up” and “WALL-E” masterfully wove story and sentiment together to form soulful movies that hit the head and heart in equal measure.
Hablamos de 'Wall·E' (2008) y 'Up' (2009), pero no solo. El prólogo de 'Elio' promete algo parecido…
While it may not reach the emotional heights of Inside Out or Up, Elio stands out for its tremendous heart, visual splendour, and the poignant journey of its young protagonist.
En Up, cinco minutos bastaron para contarte toda una vida de amor, pérdida y aceptación.
How Up brought a widowed man an unlikely friendship.
Pixar used to weave these themes into bold, imaginative stories—think “Up” or “Finding Nemo”—that captivated audiences of all ages.
La trama trepidante diluye a ratos el espíritu filosófico que la emparentaría con 'Soul'…
It’s been described as the best Pixar film in years which I think is selling Elemental, Soul and Turning Red short.
It is very similar to recent Pixar films like Soul, Turning Red, and Elemental, both aesthetically and thematically.
Like Inside Out and Soul before it, Elio features mesmerizing and colorful depictions of this magical place known as the Communiverse.
Elio might be their most visually dazzling film since 2020’s Soul.
You know, tales like the why-did-you-release-this-on-Disney+-you-fools classics Soul, Luca, and Turning Red, which are some of the studio's best work since, let's be honest, Coco.
…there have been classic and revered examples of male friendship like Woody and Buzz and Mike and Sully throughout Pixar’s history…
…classic and revered examples of male friendship like Woody and Buzz and Mike and Sully…
It’s got that usual Pixar punch that feels very reminiscent of Inside Out and Monsters, Inc., with that alienation between guardian and child being the driving force of the narrative.
…the beloved animation studio has struggled to recapture the glory of its 90s and 2000s classics like Toy Story and Monsters Inc.
It’s been described as the best Pixar film in years which I think is selling Elemental, Soul and Turning Red short.
If Elemental proved anything, it’s that Pixar’s 2020s films have a baseline.
It is very similar to recent Pixar films like Soul, Turning Red, and Elemental, both aesthetically and thematically.
“Elemental,” while not top-tier Pixar, at least offered a fresh concept—anthropomorphized elements in a romantic comedy setting.
Para fans más del Pixar de ‘Elemental’ que del de ‘Coco’…
Pixar doesn’t turn out many clunkers, though the recent “Elemental” came close.
Once again, it's nowhere near as messy or dull as Brave and The Good Dinosaur.
…recalling the drama of The Good Dinosaur and Brave, both of which still managed to retain some of the magic that made Pixar such a force to be reckoned with.
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Director
Steven Spielberg
Critics invoke Spielberg by name, and compare Elio to 2 of Spielberg’s films.
Visuals
On Spielberg, rather than any one film
No, he’s not adopted by Steven Spielberg who knows a thing or two about world building.
The latest Pixar outing, Elio, dares to ask the question, what if Steven Spielberg made a Star Trek?
For older viewers, Elio feels like it samples freely from films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Disney’s Lilo & Stitch, and even How to Train Your Dragon.
…reference points might include Close Encounters of the Third Kind, since ‘watch the skies’ and ‘we are not alone’ are two of the central motifs…
That tendency continues with Elio, which will inspire comparisons to everything from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial to Pixar’s own Wall-E.
I thought about Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind quite a bit while watching Elio.
They may have thought that this would add more dramatic weight to his third act “decision” that also builds on the finale of Spielberg’s 77 alien epic.
“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)…
Yes, there are several terrific scenes inspired by sci-fi classics (E.T. is obvious at the camp’s forest, while the clone recalls the many “Body Snatchers” adaptations).
That tendency continues with Elio, which will inspire comparisons to everything from Close Encounters Of The Third Kind to E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial to Pixar’s own Wall-E.
…add a healthy dose of Spielbergian sentiment (mostly via “E.T.”)
…influenced in their cinematography by alien encounter flicks of the Seventies and Eighties, including Alien and The Thing…
Una aventura espacial inspirada por clásicos como 'Alien', 'Star Wars' 'E.T. El extraterrestre' y 'Encuentros en la tercera fase'…
Sci-fi fans will know the terminology and appreciate the homage to the Alien, Terminator, and Dune franchises along the way.
…the “Alien” franchise…
Molina, Sharafian, and Shi playfully inject numerous references to other sci-fi classics like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Alien…
…there’s also been a string of films that are harder to warm to (Elemental, Turning Red, Luca)…
Elio returns to an animation style reminiscent of Luca and Turning Red…
In recent times, Pixar has focused on adolescent characters trying to find their way, in pictures such as Luca and Turning Red.
Joining 2021’s Luca and forgotten old classics like The Fox and the Hound, Elio carves a formative path…
Elio is a must-watch if you enjoy Pixar’s more unique, character-driven films (such as Luca or Onward), emotional coming-of-age stories, or even a blend of animated science fiction and fantasy.
The human characters are also well done, though they seem to harken back to the “rounded” facial features seen in TURNING RED and especially LUCA, but just as expressive (yes, the “acting” is superb all around).
After the massive success of last summer’s “Inside Out 2,” Pixar has returned to what it does best: creating original, home-grown stories.
If you didn't know, before Inside Out 2 came out last year, Pete Docter and some Disney executives said the studio was moving away from "autobiographical-driven tales."
(By comparison, last year’s Inside Out 2 amassed a whopping $1.7bn.)
“Inside Out 2” rose to the top of the box office in the year of release.
Less than a year after Inside Out 2, Pixar returns with Elio…
…last year, Inside Out 2 was dubbed the highest-grossing animated film of all time…
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There are numerous Pixar films that explore grief from the perspective of a young character, such as The Good Dinosaur and Onward.
…en este caso nos remite un poco a la visual de «Unidos», película de 2020 que por la pandemia pasó un poco desapercibida pero que trataba muy bien el vínculo entre hermanos…
…the oddly plastic animation style the studio adapted circa Onward…
Elio is a must-watch if you enjoy Pixar’s more unique, character-driven films (such as Luca or Onward), emotional coming-of-age stories, or even a blend of animated science fiction and fantasy.
…there’s also been a string of films that are harder to warm to (Elemental, Turning Red, Luca)…
Elio returns to an animation style reminiscent of Luca and Turning Red…
It is very similar to recent Pixar films like Soul, Turning Red, and Elemental, both aesthetically and thematically.
In recent times, Pixar has focused on adolescent characters trying to find their way, in pictures such as Luca and Turning Red.
The human characters are also well done, though they seem to harken back to the “rounded” facial features seen in TURNING RED and especially LUCA, but just as expressive (yes, the “acting” is superb all around).
…the muted mid-pandemic releases of the terrific Soul, Turning Red, and Luca.