If Elio (the film and character) was put into a police line up with the last five Pixar films/protagonists you’d be hard pressed to identify it/him. That is to say, Elio is nothing new for Pixar, the most reliable (too reliable) animation studio of the 21st century. The film in its ninety minute runtime is entertaining enough with the appropriate character arcs, pacing and emotional beats that make it enjoyable for all ages.

 

The film however, doesn’t feel like a film. It’s more like a lego construction on Pixar’s shelf. Every step was followed to a tee, the instructions was just Syd Field’s Screenplay rather than a lego booklet. Any person can look at Elio and see the craft behind the scenes but when you step back and look at Pixar’s shelf it feels like it wouldn’t go missing if it were to fall. Maybe they’re a victim of their own reputation but when I watched the film I started to wonder if the creatives at Pixar were as fatigued designing these boring 3D renders as I felt watching it.

 

Elio is a newly orphaned kid struggling to adapt to his new life with his inattentive Aunt. Prickly from his parents’ death Elio has no friends and wishes to explore the great beyond hoping there’s a world out there for him.

 

From that alone you can see the setups, payoffs, character arcs, emotional beats. There’s also adequate gooey and eccentric aliens perfectly designed for the toy aisle at Target that you’ll meet along the way. My biggest issue with writing this review is that there is nothing that interesting about the film. Nothing that makes it stand out at that police line up. It’ll more than likely be lost to the sands of time.

 

Is there a mandate at Pixar on how characters look? Elio and his aunt have that same rubbery and round 3D look the studio have refused to evolve. Which is frustrating to watch when you see the film display breathtaking vistas of space and hyper realistic running water. It really makes you think why? Why does it always have to be the same?

 

Kids and ticket sales I’m sure are the default answer. But why not ask for more? Kids are more intelligent than most boardroom execs and storytellers alike give them credit for. If you want a kid to remember the film they should be challenged because even a child’s brain craves novelty. If I wanted to sell some tickets (and plenty of merchandise) I’d aim for something much more novel than the least unique boy you’d ever see. Just do a side by side of the villain, Lord Grigon, with Toy Story 2’s Emperor Zurg and you’ll start to wonder if Pixar are copying their own homework now.

 

The saddest thing about Elio’s lack of uniqueness is that I want Pixar to make more original films. Lightyear, Inside Out 2, and next on the roster Toy Story 5 all feel like uninspired choices. They gave filmmakers here a chance to make something original and have it released worldwide yet the film feels so taut and constrained by self-administered restrictions.

 

The bleakness continues when you look at the box office. Most reports are estimating the lowest return ever for Pixar. Which, when I put my pessimistic hat on, will be reason more to feed the sequel/remake machine we’re currently swallowed by. None of the unoriginality complaints will get to corporate ears, they’ll just compare Inside Out 2 and Elio’s box office and take a red marker to any pesky original works on the pipeline. 

This movie is bland pasta. Bland pasta is fine. You’d be grateful for bland pasta if you’ve only been fed dirt for a long time. Maybe we’ve been too privileged for a while and should just appreciate Elio while it’s here because I fear I’ll look back at this review (and the film) in years to come and realise it was better that this was in cinemas than Toy Story 8.