Elio

Audience: “…I’m alone in the universe. So alone in the universe. I’ve found magic, but they don’t see it. They all call me a lunatic. Okay, call me a lunatic. If I stand on my own so be it…” —Horton from Seussical the Musical

Elio does indeed feel alone in the universe. There’s no one in his immediate life that loves him for the way he is and he’s… well… he’s a boy who’s absolutely obsessed with space and life outside of Earth. He wants to be abducted by aliens and feels he would feel more at home on another planet than on Earth (he has difficulty making friends, he talks about space constantly to those around him and people find him a little, uh, strange…)

Elio feels like his parents were the only ones that understood him, but tragically they passed away a few years back and his aunt, Aunt Olga, has taken guardianship. You would think she’d understand why he’s obsessed with space, right? After all, Olga is a Major in the United States Air Force’s Orbital Analyst division. Sadly she doesn’t. It has become frustrating for Olga having to run the Orbital Analyst Division while at the same time try to learn how to best parent Elio. “I never planned this would be how my life would end up,” Olga laments to one of her friends.

Upon hearing this, Elio wanders outside and onto the beach, drawing a bullseye and the words “Please come abduct me” in the sand.

Nights pass and then a strange message appears on the USAF’s monitors. It reads “take us to your leader please.” While all this is going on, as Elio is laying on the beach once more, he is suddenly abducted into a giant triangle-shaped space ship.

Upon his arrival, Elio learns he has landed on the Communiverse, a collaborative group of aliens from across the galaxies, gathered together to fix the problems of the universes. It just so happens that they need an Ambassador from the planet Earth to join their ranks. Elio is mistaken as the leader of Earth and the aliens will make him an Ambassador if he accomplishes just one tiny little task…negotiate with a ruthless warlord bent on destroying the Communiverse.

“Elio” dives into the complexities of sadness, shame, and feeling alone in the universe, and is just a trip that is out of this world…

Alien abduction films are a dime a dozen. From the dramatic retelling of a “supposed abduction” in the 1975 film “The UFO Project” (which was one of the first alien abduction films in the entire world) to films like “The Fourth Kind,” “Skyline” and even “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” these kinds of films cater to the same audience over and over again, with very few ever providing anything of actual substance or leave you with any thought provoking questions as you leave.

Then there’s “Elio.” While this is what I’d considered “alien abduction light,” it still qualifies to be a part of the sci-fi/alien abduction genre. It’s not as terrifying as some abudction films, not really. Anything “terrifying” or “scary” in “Elio” (e.g. Characters in peril) is quick and easily forgotten. But what I can tell you about “Elio” is that it has more heart than most of these stories do.

With “Elio” you really stop and ponder what it means to truly be alone, when no one seems to accept or understand. As I sat in an incredibly empty theater (there was a mom and her two daughters and that was it), I looked at Elio and looked at myself. I’ve never mentioned this but I could relate to Elio in so many ways. When I was his age, people didn’t understand me or want to take the time to understand me. They would ignore me, call me names and while I was a Christian (and I still am) and I knew God loves me for me, something feels a little bit different when you spend time with others, with people who just “get you.” As I grew into adulthood things changed, but it was a long time before they did, before people got to really know me. I digress.

Anyways, the point of that sad story was to simply state I am Elio and I understand him. I get the quirkiness, the obsession with certain things that no one else really gets. The powerful message that no one is truly alone and that when push comes to shove you can always count on the ones that love you are messages that both children and adults can either empathize or relate to. This message also makes for a wonderful talking point with young children about loving others, reaching out to those who are alone and being that one person people can depend on, and even the challenges some children and adults face in guardian-child living situations.

From a film-making standpoint, there were moments where this movie felt like it was more suited for Disney+ than a full theatrical release. At only 90 minutes at length certain heartfelt moments, like moments between Elio and his alien friend, Glordon, feel rushed and not permitted to really develop. Yes, I know this is a children’s film and that length is always the first thing that comes to mind, but if this film had even 10 more minutes of character development there wouldn’t be a dry eye in the theater, and in the case of “Elio” that’s okay.

Lastly, the elements such as strength of the overall plot (not overly complex nor entirely simple), the overall mood and performances were all fine, although I do wish Brad Garrett had more time as the warlord as Lord Girgon and also for Zoe Saldana as Olga. These characters needed a little more development and just little more time to shine. This is a minor flaw at worst. Additionally, the animation is absolutely gorgeous as always (has there really ever been a Pixar film with bad animation? I can’t think of one).

Content of Concern

VIOLENCE: Moderate but not graphic or overly tense. In one someone gets bonked on the head with a helmet. In another instance a character fights another character and bites another child. Elio is asked to use an arm cannon to shoot down “screamers” (these dandelion like creatures with fur and eyeballs). A human clone accidently cuts off his finger (it grows back instantly and there is no blood or gore).

A character goes into an alien’s mouth for protection against lava flowing through the pipes and is spit out once everything is safe. Glargon is used as a bargaining chip in Elio’s negotiations with Lord Girgon and “tortures” him with endless tickling (this is staged) which horrifies Lord Girgon. The armor Lord Girgon and his lackeys wear a ton of weapons (flamethrowers are mentioned, acid guns, bombs, etc. But these weapons are never seen).

A clone decomposes in front of soldiers to distract them. There is a moderately intense moment where a spaceship is hit by space debris and places two characters in danger (it is resolved quickly though). A group of boys try to get back at Elio by trying to scare him (they’re unsuccessful) but catch up to Elio and are about to hit him and time freezes stopping Elio from getting hit.

Language: Words like “blood, “blood of the enemies” etc. Are thrown around from time to time in some scenes. When Glargon agrees to be a bargaining chip he says “Wow I’ve never been a bargaining chip! I’ve been called an enigma, a liability, a disappointment, a problem” (and the list goes on for a little bit).

SEX/NUDITY: An X-ray scan of Elio shows him in his underwear. A character is excited that he got probed (a smart computer on the ship digs into his nostril for a DNA sample).

OTHER: Elio jokes that people forgot about his meeting due to them telling him they have amnesia or shingles. In an intense argument, Elio tells Olga she’s not his family. Even Olga laments on the phone to her friend that raising Elio wasn’t the plan she had in mind for her life. A character has a bloody nose and licks the blood. A skeleton is shown in a dungeon. A character falls down a hole. A couple characters throw up. A clone is missing an eye (not graphic).

Spiritual Lessons

If this movie’s theme could be summed up in one word it would be “loneliness.” Ever since his parents’ deaths Elio always felt alone. He also felt like a burden to his aunt and someone she just has to take care of. Elio learns later on that he was never truly alone.

We, as Christians, are never really alone. We have the love and embrace of the Heavenly Father. If we allow ourselves to, we can open our hearts to God’s everlasting love towards us and that love is pure, unconditional and never leaves us.

“So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.” —1 John 4:16

“We love because he first loved us.” —1 John 4:19

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. —Ephesians 2:4-5

And these two pieces of Scripture right here really nail how much God loves us…

“The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing” —Zephaniah 3:17

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” —John 3:16

Closing Thoughts

“Elio” is a heart-warming film that drives the message of not accepting loneliness and finding where you belong throughout the entire film. It reminds us that there’s nothing wrong with us, as Elio thinks to himself at one point, and that we sometimes just need that one person to believe in us and accept us. It’s a starting point that allows Christians families to discuss amongst each other how God’s love differs from the other various forms of love that exist and that God’s love is deeper and unwavering toward us.

Sure, Elio has some moderate moments of violence (mild in comparison to what children are exposed to on TV and the internet today), some very rare moments of adult and toilet humor, but as a whole its a nice family film that, sadly, Disney didn’t spend too much time advertising (trust me, I always watch the previews), which really is a shame. In short, I can happily recommend this to older children, teens and adults (teens might be bored at times though). The story is strong, the message is even stronger and worthy of an afternoon at the movies with the younger ones…

• Violence: Moderate
• Profane language: Mild
• Sex: Minor
• Vulgar/Crude language: None
• Nudity: None
• Drugs/Alcohol: None
• Occult: None
• Wokeism: None

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.