Elio

Storyline

Elio follows an imaginative and lonely 11-year-old, Elio Solis, who yearns for alien contact. Instead of being fearful, he's thrilled when a cosmic signal pulls him into the Communiverse, a grand intergalactic council. Mistakenly identified as Earth's ambassador, he must navigate strange worlds, form unlikely friendships (hello, Glordon!), and discover where he belongs in a universe much bigger than himself.

Tags

Tagline

He’s just Elio. He’s not a hero

Motion Picture Rating (MPA)

U/A

Trivia

• Elio’s bedroom features a "42" poster, a nod to The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.
• His phone case is the rabbit from the Pixar short Burrow.
• The name Elio Solis is symbolic; the first and last names both mean “sun” (Greek Helios, Latin Sol).
• Fandom and media sources reveal a treasure trove of Pixar cameos:
• A Burrow bunny appears on his sunscreen bottle.
• A "UFO Sightings" poster in his room references WALL‑E, Toy Story 3, Lightyear, Unidentified Flying Mater, and more.
• Easter references to the future film Hoppers appear on Melmac’s desktop.
• Hidden nods include a Luxo ball stamp, “Area 113” (A113), “Domad” radio (merging directors' names), and a voice cameo by Kate Mulgrew, famously.
• The film was originally a more autobiographical take by Adrian Molina, but was retooled by Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian to broaden its appeal. Molina remains credited for design contributions.
• The extraordinary alien designs were inspired by microphotography—think bacteria, viruses, tardigrades, and flatworms turned into cosmic characters.

Goofs

• No well-documented goofs or visible errors have been cataloged online—Pixar’s polish and attention to detail are legendary, and no major mistakes have surfaced publicly.

Quotes

• Major Olga Solis: “Bring us your leader.”
• Elio (on the phone): “Hi, can you hear me?”
• Elio, as being transported: “This is new. No. Ah, no. No. No. No! No, thank you!”
• Ello: “Uh, Earth.” Ambassador Questa: “Welcome, leader of ‘Uh‑Earth’.”
• Ambassador Grigon: “I ate my mother at birth. … I regret it.”
• Elio: “If Mom could see me now.”
• These highlight Elio’s quirky comedic timing and the film’s playful tone.

Crazy_credits

• Mid-credits: Elio and Bryce fumble with his ham radio—Glordon asks, “Tell me everything!”.
• Post-credits stinger: A lizard repeatedly types “Lizard… lizard… lizard” in an emoji spam—then reveals the next Pixar film is Hoppers.

Connections

• Creatively influenced by sci-fi classics like Alien, The Thing, Close Encounters, and Contact, with a twist: Elio wants to be abducted.
• A Pixar tradition continues with hidden “Inside Out 2” and Hopper's Easter eggs, placing Elio firmly in their universe of meta-reference.

Soundtracks

• Composer: Rob Simonsen—his first animated feature score—released June 20, 2025.
• Musical identity by realm:
• Earth: simple piano melodies.
• Communiverse: experimental “choir dolls” (robotic wooden dolls with vowel-consonant sounds).
• Hylurg: low brass and male choir.
• Space disco-inspired montage with Glordon.
• Included pre-existing songs:
• “Once in a Lifetime” by Talking Heads was already in the film before Simonsen joined.
• Zoe Saldaña suggested “Carmesí” (2016) by Vicente García for the car radio scene.
• Tracklist highlights (30 instrumental pieces): Elio, Are We Alone?, Activate Supernova, The Communiverse, Glordon, Debris Field, Elio Suite, and more