Elio

Yep, the new Disney/Pixar joint: 
 

It wasn’t my original plan to see this film last night; however, circumstances beyond my control happened. Thus, what I was going to view will instead be tackled sometime next week. Elio fit my schedule best; I went into the film relatively blind. Sure, I’d seen the (lousy) marketing efforts & knew the premise, along w/ its status as Pixar’s biggest flop at the box office. Otherwise… what a surprise it was to return home and discover the turmoil behind the scenes; there’s a reason this has three credited directors. The detail that this was an original story from Disney rather a sequel or another rehash was a nice change of pace.

Eventually, the movie did win me over as it recounted the titular character, raised by his Air Force cadet aunt due to his parents passing away… he’s obviously “on the spectrum” without being ID’ed as such. He has his own language he spoke w/ his late parents, after all. Like me when I was real little and more than one of my nephews, space is a big deal. As he’s a misfit w/ no friends, contacting aliens seemed like a swell idea. Well, that happens and he’s in a utopia… but a war-mongering species is a looming threat.

Faults aside, I still had a pretty good time. It’s Pixar so there was no question that the animation would be stunning; the colors and the design were both impressive. As someone who was a little kid in the 80’s, of course the blatant nods to 80’s sci-fi (including specific films that won’t be spoiled here) and the 80’s in general were appreciated by me; no kidding, ham radios are a key plot point! So were the moments that were scary, at least by Pixar standards. Unfortunately for the studio and Pixar, this is bombing at the box office. There are several probable reasons why… the bad marketing, growing distrust of the brands, waiting for Disney+.

Compounding the problem was those production issues. Originally present was a queer subtext and a Hispanic flavor for the Hispanic leads. Original director Adrian Molina (who grew up on a military base as a kid; this was personal for him) left after changes were made, because reasons. Gone was that subtext and so was America Ferrara; thus, Elio and aunt felt more generic and two directors replaced Molina-Madeline Sharafian & Domee Shi. While it’s neat and all that they both are female, one wonders if the original vision would have been better and earned more at the box office—who knows for certain, given the firestorm that happens in America now when anything regarding homosexuality is presented or addressed.

Many people on Letterboxd seem to rate the movie highly; whether they knew of the problems beforehand and if that knowledge will later make them rate the movie lower… again, who knows. Is it among the best of Pixar, especially compared to the legendary run they had in this early 2000’s? Nope. Conversely, Elio the film could burn bright like a shooting star for you, especially if you like some combination of outer space, autism, aliens, pretty colors, and/or ham radios.