Elio
Movie, 2025, Originals, Set in The Communiverse
Elio is #29 of 31 in release order and #13 of 31 in chronological order in the Pixar.
The story
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.
Elio recap
Elio Solis, an eleven-year-old orphan, lives with his aunt Olga, an Air Force major who gave up her dream of being an astronaut to raise him. Lonely and fascinated by the Voyager probe, he wants to be abducted by aliens. After a fight with a bully, he sends a signal from the base that causes a blackout, and Olga sends him to camp. The aliens answer, and Elio is beamed up to the Communiverse, a gathering of alien civilizations, where the ambassadors mistake him for Earth's leader. The warlord Lord Grigon threatens to take the Communiverse by force, and Elio offers to negotiate in exchange for being made an ambassador, while a clone takes his place at home. Elio takes Grigon's son Glordon hostage, and the two boys become friends; Glordon does not want to be a warrior.
Elio ending explained
Grigon sees through Elio's trick with a cloned Glordon, and a mind-reading ambassador realises Elio is just a kid and sends him home. Glordon accidentally launches toward Earth and is captured at the base. Elio and Olga, reconciled, rescue Glordon and fly him back to the Communiverse, guided through debris by radio operators around the world. Grigon saves his freezing son and apologises. Elio turns down the ambassador seat and returns to Earth with Olga.
Post-credits scenes
Yes. In a mid-credits scene, Elio and his bully-turned-friend Bryce reach Glordon by ham radio, and Glordon asks Elio to explain everything since he went home. After the credits, a lizard taps a lizard emoji on a phone, a tease for Pixar's next film, Hoppers.
Where to watch Elio
Elio is streaming on Disney+ in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 6.6/10, Rotten Tomatoes 83%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Inside Out 2, before Hoppers.
- Chronological order: after Elemental, before Hoppers.
What to watch before Elio
In release order, 12 Pixar essentials come before Elio (2025), from A Bug's Life (1998) to Elemental (2023).
Cast
- Yonas Kibreab as Elio / Other Elio (voice)
- Remy Edgerly as Glordon (voice)
- Zoe Saldaña as Olga Solís (voice)
- Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon (voice)
- Brandon Moon as Ambassador Helix (voice)
- Jameela Jamil as Ambassador Questa (voice)
- Young Dylan as Bryce (voice)
- Jake T. Getman as Caleb (voice)
- Matthias Schweighöfer as Ambassador Tegmen (voice)
- Ana de la Reguera as Ambassador Turais (voice)
- Atsuko Okatsuka as Ambassador Naos (voice)
- Shirley Henderson as Ooooo (voice)
Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina.