Elio (film)

Elio is an upcoming American animated science fiction adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It is being directed by Adrian Molina and produced by Mary Alice Drumm. The film stars the voices of Yonas Kibreab, America Ferrera, Jameela Jamil, and Brad Garrett. It follows an eleven-year-old boy named Elio Solis (Kibreab) who accidentally becomes the intergalactic Ambassador of planet Earth after being beamed up to the Communiverse by aliens for making contact. Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms and survive a series of formidable trials.

The film was officially announced at the D23 Expo in September 2022, with Molina and Drumm already attached to the project as director and producer respectively, while Kibreab and Ferrera were revealed to be cast in the lead voice roles. Jamil and Garrett joined the cast in June 2023.

Elio is scheduled to be released in the United States on June 13, 2025.

Premise
"For centuries, people have called out to the universe looking for answers—in Disney and Pixar's all-new movie Elio, the universe calls back! The original feature film introduces Elio, an underdog with an active imagination who finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth's ambassador to the rest of the universe, and completely unprepared for that kind of pressure, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, survive a series of formidable trials and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be."

Voice cast

 * Yonas Kibreab as Elio Solis, an eleven-year-old one-eyed boy who is mistakenly identified by aliens as Earth's ambassador.
 * America Ferrera as Major Olga Solis, Elio's mother who runs a top-secret military project.
 * Jameela Jamil as Ambassador Questa, a cobra/manta ray-like alien ambassador.
 * Brad Garrett as Ambassador Grigon, a bulky, four-legged alien ambassador.

Development
On September 9, 2022, during the D23 Expo, Pixar announced a new film titled Elio, with Adrian Molina set to direct and Mary Alice Drumm set to produce. It marks Molina's feature-length solo directorial debut after having co-directed and co-written Coco (2017). At the same time, Molina and Drumm talked about the film by helping pose the question, "What if I told you we're not alone in the universe, and everything you've ever heard about aliens is true?" Shortly after, the announcement came with a planned screen glitch and a message with alien text saying, "Bring us to your leader." On June 12, 2024, Pixar Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter revealed that Turning Red (2022) director Domee Shi was working on the film.

Casting
On September 9, 2022, during the D23 Expo, America Ferrera and Yonas Kibreab were announced to have been cast in the leading voice roles of Olga Solis and her son Elio, respectively. On June 13, 2023, with the release of the teaser trailer and poster, Jameela Jamil and Brad Garrett joined the film's voice cast.

Release
Elio is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on June 13, 2025 by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It was originally scheduled to be released on March 1, 2024, but amid the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike in October 2023, the film was delayed to its current release date for unknown reasons.

Marketing
Following the project announcement, the first look concept art of the film was released on September 9, 2022. Joshua Meyer of /Film said it "sounds like the kind of fresh, original storytelling that Pixar built its brand on." A teaser trailer was released on June 13, 2023, featuring "Good Feeling" by Austin French. Ethan Anderton of /Film said "Adding some charm to this story is the fact that Elio isn't exactly the most confident kid. Though he's artistic and creative, he's also more of an indoor kid who doesn't fit in with his peers. But perhaps being among a group of aliens who aren't human will allow him an opportunity to make a connection without any societal pressure. This just might be the opportunity Elio needs to come out of his shell." Pauli Poisuo of Looper says while it "obviously doesn't give too much of the story away, it certainly looks gorgeous and intriguing."