Elio (Film)

Elio is a 2025 American computer-animated science fiction and adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The film is directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina, with a screenplay written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones. It is Pixar’s 29th feature-length animated film and tells the story of 11-year-old Elio Solis, who loses his parents and develops an intense curiosity about space, only to be accidentally mistaken as Earth’s leader by an intergalactic organization. The film had its world premiere on June 10, 2025, at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles and was released in the United States on June 20, 2025.^【1】

^{Elio Film Scene (}IMDB⁾

The film opens with Elio Solis, who has lost both his parents, moving in with his aunt Olga, a high-ranking Air Force officer who chose to take custody of her nephew rather than pursue a career as an astronaut. Elio feels out of place among the other residents of the base, a sense of alienation that is most evident in his deep fascination with space and his rich inner world.

Elio’s attempts to communicate with space attract the attention of Communiverse, an intergalactic organization. Their spacecraft mistakenly beams Elio aboard, believing him to be Earth’s leader. As a result, Elio finds himself inside a vast structure inhabited by envoys from different planets. Lord Grigon, the warrior leader of the planet Hylurg who sought admission to Communiverse but was rejected, begins to pose a threat to the organization. Amid this crisis, Elio forms an unexpected bond with Grigon’s son, Glordon, and strives to resolve the galactic conflict while discovering who he truly is.

Yonas Kibreab (Elio Solis): Voices the film’s protagonist, an 11-year-old boy who lives with his aunt Olga at Montez Air Force Base after losing his parents. Defined by his curiosity about space and vivid imagination, the character feels alienated from those around him and experiences for the first time a true sense of belonging within Communiverse.^【2】

Zoë Saldaña (Olga Solis): Voices Elio’s aunt, a seasoned and high-ranking Air Force officer who gave up her astronaut aspirations to raise her nephew. According to Pixar’s official character profile, Olga wants Elio to find his place in the world—but insists that place must be on Earth.

Remy Edgerly (Glordon): Voices Glordon, the son of Lord Grigon, warrior leader of the planet Hylurg. According to Pixar’s official materials, this character appears stern on the outside but is inwardly gentle and curious, forming the emotional core of the film through his unexpected friendship with Elio.

Brad Garrett (Lord Grigon): Voices Lord Grigon, the warrior leader of Hylurg who was denied entry into Communiverse and now threatens the organization. Pixar’s promotional materials describe him as a powerful, proud, and violent alien warlord.

 Jameela Jamil (Ambassador Questa): Voices the leader of the planet Gom and one of the highest-ranking members of Communiverse. According to Pixar’s official description, this character resembles a 15-foot leaf sea dragon and possesses telepathic abilities and strong intuitive insight.

Shirley Henderson (OOOOO): Voices Communiverse’s liquid-shaped, shape-shifting intelligent supercomputer. The character’s form was defined through 2D animation tests, and facial capture techniques developed for the series Win or Lose (2025) were also employed during production.

Brandon Moon (Ambassador Helix): Voices one of the envoys within Communiverse.

^{Elio Film Scene (}IMDB⁾

The film was developed by Adrian Molina, co-director and screenwriter of Coco (2017), and announced to the public in September 2022. Molina drew inspiration for the project partly from his own childhood experiences growing up on a military base. In August 2024, Molina departed from the project due to creative differences and was replaced as co-director by Madeline Sharafian, director of the short film Burrow (2020), and Domee Shi, director of Turning Red (2022) and Bao (2018). The film was initially scheduled for release on March 1, 2024; it was first postponed to June 13, 2025, on October 27, 2023, and then officially set for a June 20, 2025 release date on February 14, 2025.

Under the leadership of production designer Harley Jessup, the visual identity of Communiverse was inspired by deep-sea creatures and microorganisms. The design of Glordon was influenced by tardigrades, while the overall structure of Communiverse draws from deep-sea jellyfish. The structure consists of four rotating discs, each housing a distinct biome: aquatic, dense forest, glacial tundra, and lava fields. The film was produced using virtual anamorphic lens technology with a 2.39:1 aspect ratio.

The film’s score was composed by Rob Simonsen, marking his first work in animation. Simonsen joined the project approximately two and a half years before the film’s release. The film’s soundtrack album was released digitally on June 20, 2025, under the Walt Disney Records label.

As Pixar’s 29th feature-length animated film, Elio earned $20.8 million during its opening weekend in the United States. Its worldwide box office total reached $154 million, with an estimated budget reported between $150 million and $200 million. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on September 4, 2025.