In this review, though, I want to address the animation. It’s almost as if all the animators at Pixar have lost the ability to compose a shot. I took a photography class at the Disney Institute at Walt Disney World. The first lesson the Disney instructor taught us was the concept of the “rule of thirds.” Meaning the worst thing you can do is put your subject in the middle of the screen. You need to shift it to the right or left third of the screen. Why? Because it forces the audience’s eye to move around the screen to take in the direction of action and the backgrounds, but more so it forces us to be actively engaged in the action. In Elio, everything…I mean, everything is smack dab in the middle of the screen for 90% of the film. It’s like driving home late at night and focusing solely on the long, unending highway. You’re going to get into an accident. When your eye doesn’t move, the film becomes visually stagnant—and therefore, boring.
Moreover, about 80% of the film is shot in either medium shots (waist up) or wide shots (full body) with no interesting angles. To make matters worse, with everyone centered in these shots, the left and right sides of the screen are often left empty. Boring!
The alien designs seem weird for weirdness’s sake, lacking any functional or narrative justification. I’m also not a fan of Pixar’s new bubble-headed human character design. You can accuse me of nitpicking, but we are talking about Pixar. Excellence is built into its reputation.
SPACING OUT – When Elio’s wish to be abducted by aliens actually comes true, he meets an array of space inhabitants, including liquid supercomputer Ooooo and Glordon, the tender-hearted son of a fierce warlord ruler. Featuring the voices of Shirley Henderson, Yonas Kibreab, and Remy Edgerly as Ooooo, Elio, and Glordon, respectively, Disney and Pixar’s “Elio” releases in theaters June 20, 2025. © 2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.
“…the worst Pixar movie ever made.”
The worst crime of Elio is the images of space, stars, and galaxies. None of it looks amazing or incredible—instead of the visual excellence Pixar is known for. Space should look awe-inspiring instead of bland. Layering narration from Carl Sagan over these uninspired visuals feels like a betrayal of his legacy—especially to an audience of children who have no idea who he is.
Lastly, the theme of “feeling like you belong” is suitable for children, but it’s buried so deep that it takes a while to figure it out. Compared to Toy Story, Toy Story 2, and Toy Story 3…hell, just about any other Pixar film—Elio barely feels like it belongs in the same universe. In fact, Disney should close the U.S. Studios and run everything out of Canada from now on.
Elio is a complete misfire—an ambitious premise that never takes off. This is not an animated feature. It’s a CARTOON!!! The emotional core is undercooked, the visuals lack the wonder we’ve come to expect from Pixar, and the filmmaking itself feels phoned in. If Inside Out 2 was a return to form, Elio is a brutal reminder that Disney is incapable of learning lessons from both its successes and failures.
"…Be prepared to be bored for ninety minutes..."
