Elio has Pixar playing it safe

“Elio” may not be an amazing new entry to the Pixar library, but it’s still a fun time.

Elio, Glordon — _{Images courtesy of Disney}

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.
Pixar logline for “Elio”

Nearly two years ago, the first trailer for “Elio” came out. Just like any other Pixar trailer, I was fairly excited for it, even more so because it was an original movie as opposed to a sequel. But, as mentioned, three years passed and the movie hadn’t been released yet. While I don’t know what happened during that time period, I’m sure the Pixar artists were just trying to make the best movie possible. No, I don’t think they succeeded in making “the best movie possible,” but they made one good enough to live up to the Pixar brand.

“Elio” can’t decide what it wants its central plot to be. Early on, I felt the film was going in one direction, but then once it gets going, it drops that immediately. The film feels disjointed. Due to this, the character of Elio doesn’t get his full time to shine in comparison to some of the side characters, specifically “Glordon.”

The animation is pretty, but nothing groundbreaking; it doesn’t seem like Pixar took any risks. The story is about as standard as it gets, but ultimately it’s still a good time. As baseline as the movie was for me, I still found myself laughing out loud at some clever moments, and getting emotional at others. Despite my wanting to connect with this movie the way I thought I might, the more time I think about “Elio,” the more I realize it’s just not for me, and that’s okay.

Overall, “Elio” is good, not great, which, when we’re talking about a studio that bats a high percentage (yes, I just referenced baseball), it’s not that big of a deal. I think I was hoping Pixar would’ve just taken a bigger risk with the film than they did.

SCORE: “Elio,” 3/5

“Elio” is rated PG and is in theaters June 20! There is no post-credit scene.