Without even realizing it, the very last movie I took out time to watch last year was an animation titled “ELIO”. I didn't know what to expect from the animation except from the fact that there was going to be a character, whether antagonist or protagonist, called Elio. Subconsciously, I looked forward to meeting Elio.
One thing I can say about this animation without giving any spoilers is that I do not regret seeing it and if more animations are made this way this year, I may watch more of them.
Elio follows an 11 year old boy Elio Solis, a kid obsessed with space who feels out of place on earth especially after his parents are no longer with him and he’s left under the care of his aunt.
Things take a swift turn when he is accidentally taken up to a communiverse by aliens who mistake him to be the leader of earth. Elio must navigate alien politics, forge bonds and generally prove his worth as earth’s leader, all in a bid to be accepted fully into the communiverse.
This animation was directed by Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian. The movie hit theaters on the 20th of June, 2025 and has a runtime of about 99 minutes. It stars characters like America Ferrera who voices Elio’s mother, Yonas Kibreab who voices Elio, Remy Edgerly who voices Glordon, Jameela Jamil and Brad Garrett amongst others.
The animation dazzled viewers with colourful, inventive alien worlds and this was one of my favourite parts of this animation. I remember wondering how people come up with such fantastic ideas and then proceed to make these ideas a reality.
The voice cast in Elio delivered brilliant and warm performances making each character seem relatable. I liked the character “ooooooh” from the communiverse very much because it was such an intelligent character with a good sense of humour. Ooooh was some form of artificial intelligence and had the answers to every possible question one could think of.
Elio delves into the themes of belonging and identity, portraying the protagonist’s struggle as an outsider on earth; a fish out of water. Some other themes touched in this animation include but aren’t limited to: family and connection portrayed when Elio’s resentment for his aunt slowly turns into love, humanity’s worth, empathy and heroism.
However, the plot was quite predictable from the start. One could tell from the start that Elio would get what he so desperately searched for but along the line, there would be a reform. Being that this animation was rated PG, this wasn't a major setback but just an observation.
This animation threw so much light on certain aspects of life that people do not openly talk about like the imposter syndrome. I would give the animation an 8 out of 10 rating because it happened to be one of the best animations I have seen in a very long while.
I recommend this to anyone looking to see a PG rated movie with their family or anyone looking to watch something unprovoking as this is a lighthearted animation.
