"Elio" is the Kind of Kid You Want to Slap

On the surface, “Elio,” the new film from Pixar, has all the makings of a new classic. It touches on universal themes of loneliness and disconnection with authority figures. It transports the audience to a new world (in this case, a universe). And there are moments of genuine emotion. By all accounts, this should be a great film. However, “Elio” has a problem, and it is a massive one: the title protagonist is a selfish brat who causes so much trouble that those who oppose corporal punishment may find themselves seriously reconsidering their position.

Yes, the filmmakers do what they can to make us sympathetic towards Elio, as the story opens with him having lost his parents and now living with his Aunt Olga. You’d have to be a cold-blooded killer not to feel sorry for the kid. The problem comes shortly afterwards when he discovers a presentation at a museum about how Earth sent out a digital message on a disc for potential life forms from other planets, and for some reason, the kid becomes obsessed not with finding life in the universe, but by getting ABDUCTED by life out there!

Granted, he doesn’t know if the life out there is friendly, if other planets have hot water, or anything at all. All he knows is that he wants to be abducted and leave the Earth behind. Why? Because…well, I don’t really know (and I suspect the film doesn't either). The theme of the film hinges on Elio feeling unwanted and lonely, but the only reason he is like that is because of Elio himself. He believes he isn’t wanted by his aunt, yet all he does is drive her crazy when she is clearly giving him the benefit of the doubt more often than he deserves.

He bemoans the lack of friends, but maybe kids don’t want to hang with someone who spends his days lying on the beach hoping to get abducted by aliens? Heck, when a couple of them show up because he posts flyers for a radio club (something they all clearly have in common), he wants them to go away the second he gets what he wants from them. Did I feel bad when these same kids wanted to beat him up later? No, no, I did not. If I’m being honest, Elio probably should have had the crap beat out of him long before this point.

Ultimately, aliens do come to Earth and abduct him as he hopes, which begins a series of space adventures that include trying to make a deal with a villainous alien who wants to conquer the ship he was just transported to, but…this little snot-nosed brat almost gets his new alien friends killed as he lies and schemes his way to stay in space. All because he hates Earth for reasons that are never made clear. The movie suggests that Elio is a changed person after his little space adventure. Personally, I think a good spanking and some serious therapy would have been far more effective.

What makes “Elio” all the more frustrating is that there are glimpses of Pixar’s magic. The animation is beautiful, some of the side characters are charming, and there is a scene in space involving dodging debris that was, if I’m being honest, REALLY cool to watch! And yes, the climax is a bit emotional. Yet Domee Shi (who previously directed the excellent “Turning Red”) seems unable to ever justify why Elio is the selfish brat he is, or why his aunt (who has the patience of a saint) is wrong for simply trying to get him to behave. “Elio” may have moments of beauty, but it is an annoying, grating experience.