I call it the Pixar Pluck.
That moment in one of the Oscar-winning animation studio’s films when direction, screenwriting, musical score and jaw-dropping visuals secretly gang up on your heartstrings in the darkness of the cinema.
A wave of glassy-eyed emotion crests and, despite your best efforts to blink back that saltwater, trickles become torrents and stifled sobs become unstoppable judders of mournful recognition or joy.
The opening six minutes of Up are one almighty Pixar Pluck; so too the moment when Wall-E relinquishes his personality and memories of Eve; Sulley bids farewell to Boo in Monsters, Inc; Bing Bong makes his beautiful sacrifice in Inside Out; and Miguel serenades his grandmother in Coco.
Elio engineers its Pixar Plucks with aplomb.
A fantastical adventure co-directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina elegantly navigates the grief, isolation and loneliness of an 11-year-old boy to conjure galaxies of wit and wonder.
If you want to find your place in the universe, don’t be afraid to look to the stars and shoot for the moon.
Pixar’s latest heartfelt delight does just that, cherishing uniqueness and self-expression in the face of bullying conformity with the help of lovable aliens of every eye-popping shape and size.
At the centre of this intergalactic odyssey is Elio Solis (voiced by Yonas Kibreab).
Orphaned at a young age, Elio is raised by his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana), who has shelved her dreams of becoming an astronaut to care for her nephew and work at Montez Air Force Base as an orbital analyst monitoring space debris.
A multimedia exhibition dedicated to the Voyager space probe ignites Elio’s fascination with the cosmos and the tyke becomes convinced that visitors from another world will abduct him.
“Your life isn’t up there Elio, it’s down here,” pleads Olga.
The youngster’s outlandish wish comes true and Elio is transported to the Communiverse where intelligent life congregates to share knowledge and ideas.
As Earth’s self-anointed leader, Elio faces the ultimate test of courage and diplomacy to impress mind-reading Ambassador Questa (Jameela Jamil) when he is elected to defuse an intergalactic crisis involving Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett).
The tyrant’s slug-like young son Glordon (Remy Edgerly) could be the key to defusing the stand-off.
Elio is a heartwarming coming-of-age story about those invisible tethers between family and friends, which sustain through good times and bad and remind us that we are not alone.
The script slingshots at breathless speed between comedy, sci-fi and action, augmented by Rob Simonsen’s elegiac score and stunningly detailed visuals that continue to push the boundaries of computer animation as a storytelling medium.
Kibreab’s exuberant and achingly vulnerable vocal performance facilitates many of the Pixar Plucks, spread generously throughout the 98-minute running time.
First contact demands excited second and third viewings.
RATING: 8.5/10
ELIO (UK PG/ROI G, 98 mins) Animation/Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Adventure/Comedy. Featuring the voices of Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Remy Edgerly, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, Shirley Henderson. Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina.
Release: June 19
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