“Elio,” a new Disney/Pixar animated film coming out later this month, features a space-obsessed Military BRAT willingly kidnapped by aliens.
In the movie, Elio is beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide.
“‘Elio’ is about a young boy trying to find a place where he feels that he belongs,” Dominican American actress Zoe Saldaña says.
Elio’s all in for the epic undertaking, but is mistakenly identified as Earth’s leader. This has him forming new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, navigating a crisis of intergalactic proportions and somehow discovering who and where he is truly meant to be.
“Back home, I didn’t fit in,” Elio says in the trailer. “I thought Earth was the problem, but what if it’s me?”
The movie was directed by Madeline Sharafian (“Burrow” short), Domee Shi (“Bao” short, “Turning Red”) and Adrian Molina (co-screenwriter/co-director of “Coco”), and produced by Mary Alice Drumm (associate producer of “Coco”).
Lighting art director Ernesto Nemesio says making “Elio” struck a chord in him, telling On The Red Carpet:
Especially being a first-generation American here with Mexican parents, a lot of times there’s language issues as a kid. You don’t quite have the same culture, the same background. There’s things that I like that neighborhood friends didn’t like and so I think I can relate to Elio in that sense.
Yahoo Entertainment writer Martin Shore earlier this year got a chance to see 25 minutes of the film, and says:
Elio is a character who feels like he doesn’t have a place in his world, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the movie ends up sparking some conversations about loneliness and belonging.
Co-director Madeline Sharafian says Elio’s eye patch has a special significance for her:
My cousin’s kid has to wear an eye patch right now, and when he watched the teaser he pointed and was like, ‘That’s me!’ And that sort of positive portrayal of a kid with an eye patch I really hope does a lot for kids’ self esteem.
The film features the voices of Yonas Kibreab as Elio, Zoe Saldaña as Aunt Olga, Remy Edgerly as Glordon, Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon, Jameela Jamil as Ambassador Questa and Shirley Henderson as OOOOO.
“Elio” releases in cinemas on June 20. Check out the latest trailer below.
