The Incomplete Guide to Elio and the State of Pixar
In which we chat about Elio, and how it fits into Pixar’s output, rather than drafting clashing reviews.
By Elliot Wengler and Vanessa Burke
V: So Elliot, I hear you’ve also gone to see Elio? What do you think?
E: I really enjoyed it, even if it didn’t quite all work. I think I was thrilled by the halfway point to see that a modern day animation action-adventure wasn’t a fetch quest? I liked it, but I think it was missing that… thing that makes it top-tier Pixar? What did you think/feel?
V: I get it’s not a top-tier Pixar film, but is that still possible considering all the things that they’ve humanised for us: toys, ants, emotions, souls?! I’m happy with how this pulled on heartstrings regardless - belonging and finding family always resonates.
E: Yeah, it’s a mad thing with Pixar, that we associate them with such consistent perfection and being so out there on that emotional level, that if they don’t do something that changes the way I look at how the human condition, that functions as an adventure for kids, that I consider it in some way below par?
I think the central idea, that this little boy feels completely alone, and just wants to be taken away to an imagined alternate existence with aliens, is surprisingly relatable? When he gets sent to Camp Carver, which feels like an extension of a military school, I thought that it was going to go really dark, but actually, that’s the final straw of an existence on Earth he hates, he gets whisked into space, and the film just hits us with idea, idea, idea, and never stops for too long, it was great.
That was a dark opening by the way! It literally opens on him hiding under a cafeteria booth whilst his new reluctant guardian, his aunt, relays the key plot point that his folks have died in a car accident. In my showing, incompetent audience members were arriving like 5-15 minutes in, missing a lot of key tragic information about the characters. I really dug that they started it by making that movie y’know? They almost sustained that tone the whole way!
V: What you’re picking up on seems to be the love letter to movies the makers grew up with - that darkness connects it with so many films, like E.T., Alien, The Thing - but while these moments provide jeopardy, knowing it’s Pixar means it ends more happily!
Filmmakers used to trust children more with tough emotions in the 80s and 90s. I think there are benefits and drawbacks to that: Kids were more inspired earlier in their lives with more challenging stories, but I also remember being traumatised by the raptors stalking through the kitchen in Jurassic Park, and returned to the series much later than if I’d watched it at a more appropriate time in my life.
Elio referencing these iconic films (there’s more, like Terminator 2, so don’t just rely on this conversation, watch it for yourself!) could catalyse a conversation with parents or peers, trying to catch as many Easter eggs as possible and leading you to watch them. And it delivers a pretty cute movie on the way.
E: Oh, the sci-fi references were done in a classy way, the Alien one in particular.
I think the one thing we can credit Pixar with is referencing classic cinema and art rather than themselves. I didn’t spot any pizza vans or toys from Toy Story. Like I said, I really like that they were going for a dramatic piece, tonally.
Which is why I think the only thing that lets Elio down is that it doesn’t quite achieve that heart punch? The resolution did evoke a tear or two, but didn’t quite land to maximum effect. Despite it being so full of original ideas and humour, it still felt a tad perfunctory? It’s really well done, but, I knew what they were doing? Maybe I need to go see it with a ten year old and see if they get engrossed?
V: I disagree that understanding plot logic/consequences is a disappointment (you’re literally being rewarded for media literacy), as long as the journey is a fun experience. Elio is fun. But I can’t fault you for feeling the heart punch wasn’t hefty. Maybe it’s that tonal whiplash from a space romp, to existential threat, to the detective story.
One of the things that I couldn’t get a handle on was the timeframe this was happening in. I know it sounds weird, but I think the best Pixar films present an immediate problem, and then follow the resolution in as good as real-time, or at least without any time jumps. When Elio and Glordon enjoy the Communiverse, it seems like days have passed with Olga and Faux-lio. How can she take her time trying to catch him out when her nephew is missing!? I know she’s new to parenting, but that was a shocker.
E: Timeframe inconsistencies take me out of movies so easily!
Where are you putting this in your Pixar ranking? What’s immediately above and below it?
V: It’s all so deeply personal isn’t it. This makes me feel more than Soul, Up, or Monsters University, but it’s definitely not cracked my Top 5. You know what it reminds me of? The Good Dinosaur and Luca, both of which I wish had landed better with folks.
E: I think Elio could sit slap bang in the middle between Monsters University and Finding Dory, which, back in 2020, I had as 13th and 14th. Given there’s now 29 Pixar feature films, it being 14th feels right on? (I haven’t yet updated my rankings to include Onward… onwards).
V: Run of the mill, but not bottom of the barrel? I know Pixar was hoping for better, but at this level of production, we all have to accept more of that level - I mean, could we stomach downgrading our own favourites if they were surpassed?
E: Not everything can be Inside Out. Not even Inside Out 2. That said, Inside Out 2 is now their biggest ever movie.
Big bombastic science fiction adventure, why isn’t Elio lighting up the box office?!
V: Where was its marketing campaign? Now that the movie is out, I’m seeing more. But it’s a sad sign that Pixar had to release this social post - and hypocritical when the only place I saw any advertising was at the cinema!
E: Maybe we don’t see as much of it that’s aimed at children, but with the demise of children’s TV channels, (speaking purely in UK terms) maybe there’s just less stuff reaching them in that way?
V: Yeah, maybe it’s the lack of McDonald’s tie-in toys, or cereal boxes? I definitely remember seeing product placement at fast-food restaurants and in the supermarket growing up, and that meant I had to see the film! And if viewers nowadays are much more disparate consumers (either buying direct-to-consumer, or eschewing traditional brands - even for films and television), then it’s harder to target them.
E: I know we’re not the kids that such products aim at, but it definitely feels much more disparate and like there’s less inter-product brand connectivity going on. Sentences like that are why I don’t post on LinkedIn very much.
V: As a Dis-nerd, I can assure you that this is noticed in the parks as well. Encanto was released in the UK before the US (still in 2021), and we could see it was a smash success in the cinema. In Disneyland (West Coast) they started rolling out merch, then meet and greets with characters, but it took a whole year until Walt Disney World (East Coast) did. The cross-overs - even internally - are sluggish.
E: Ironic. Elio is about a little boy feeling alone, and because we as a species are so much less culturally unified and micro-targeted for marketing and such these days, knowledge about this kind of story isn’t being shared very widely. I want Pixar’s new originals to succeed. They can’t live off sequels forever because they’ll run out of originals that haven’t been given sequel treatment!
Elliot gave Elio 4/5 stars. Vanessa gave Elio 4.5/5 stars. Elio is in cinemas now.