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Elio is a 3D space adventure, but which brings us the age-old trope of fridging the protaganist’s parents.
As we join the young lad, voiced by Yonas Kibreab, he lives with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña – Lioness), but she can never replace them in his eyes. And since he loves space travel, after learning about how Voyager drifted off into space, carrying a message in case aliens might hear it in future, he wants them to abduct him, so he can escape his dull life!
Okay, so it’s simplifying into one, that there were both Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 satellites sent out into deep space, almost 50 years ago, and which both contain a Golden Record, including that message. They contain images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth, but the only problem I can see is… aliens will think we all wear sideburns!
However, extra-terrestrial aliens DO respond to the message, circumstances result in Elio being the one to reply back to them, eventually being taken on that interstellar journey where his new friends think he’s Earth’s leader, and he also gets a new outfit, thanks to nano technology.
As well as forming a strong friendship with the seemingly spineless (in a good way) Glordon (Remy Edgerly) – given his worm-like build, can he stop evil tyrant Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett)?
And a bit to mention that’s slightly spoilery, but includes a couple of film references…
Despite the well-trodden paths of alien abduction, space travel and Good vs Evil, this film does have a rather odd story overall, but what IS impressive is some incredible 3D.
However, it didn’t start off that way. As the film began, despite it also having been shown at 1.30pm (and did people just put up with this?!), the 3D filter hadn’t been applied, so it was just a blurry mess.
I went out front about this, same as another customer a moment sooner (although you don’t know if that’s the reason they’ve nipped out, since some people do just realise at that point that they need to pay a visit!), and it was called through to the manager.
Even though it wasn’t hugely-attended, he came in after I’d gone out a couple of minutes later to apologise about the problem, and he said he’d restart the film as well. I didn’t even know that was possible, and if I had, I’d have asked the same for Ne Zha 2 when that was in screen 12, as the subtitles were illegible without the 3D filter, so I had absolutely no idea what was going on for the first 10-15 minutes, initially when it started, and then after I told someone, as it took a few minutes to correct it. Still, lesson learned and I’ll know for next time.
I wish I could see Elio in 3D again, but after the first few days, it’s only in 2D, and even then pretty sparsely. The trouble is that Disney have basically thrown this film under the bus. Despite posters in the cinema for months, Disney haven’t advertised it on TV, and they certainly need a hit after Snow White.
As such, their Lilo And Stitch has been a runaway success, but given that, Elio should’ve been held back until later in the summer, or perhaps for the October half-term, in order to give it a fighting chance, and since both deal with a creature from out of space, they definitely should’ve been spaced out more… (pun not intended).
Still, it’s done now. Disney have fucked it, and it’s a box-office bomb. At the time of posting, it has a $150m budget, and has only recouped $72m.
Lilo And Stitch has a $100m budget, and has taken $946m so far, just slightly behind A Minecraft Movie‘s $954m, so will probably overtake that. Ne Zha 2 is the highest-grossing movie of the year, taking $2.213bn!
There’s also a mid- AND post-credits scene, as described in the video below.
Elio is in cinemas now, but isn’t yet available to pre-order on Blu-ray or DVD. However, once announced, it will appear on the New DVD Blu-ray 3D and 4K releases UK list.
Detailed specs:
Cert: 
Running time: 100 minutes
Release date: June 23rd 2025
Studio: Disney
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 (ARRIRAW (6.5K), Dolby Vision)
Cinema: Odeon Trafford Centre
Rating: 7/10
Directors: Adrian Molina, Domee Shi, Madeline Sharafian
Producer: Mary Alice Drumm
Screenplay: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones
Music: Rob Simonsen
Cast:
Elio: Yonas Kibreab
Olga Solís: Zoe Saldaña
Glordon: Remy Edgerly
Ambassador Helix: Brandon Moon
Lord Grigon: Brad Garrett
Ambassador Questa: Jameela Jamil
Bryce: Dylan Gilmer)
Caleb: Jake Getman
Ambassador Tegmen: Matthias Schweighöfer
Ambassador Turais: Ana de la Reguera
Ambassador Naos: Atsuko Okatsuka
Ooooo: Shirley Henderson
Ambassador Auva: Naomi Watanabe
Gunther Melmac: Brendan Hunt
Ambassador Mira: Anissa Borrego
Diplo Ship: Shelby Young
Universal Users Manual: Bob Peterson
Museum Exhibit Narrator: Kate Mulgrew
Colonel Markwell: Tamara Tunie
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.