Everything We Know About Pixar’s Elio

So what’s the deal with Elio?

Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar’s upcoming film slate includes plenty of sequels like Zootopia/Zootopia 2, Frozen 3, Toy Story 5 and The Incredibles 3, but what about their original films? Well, they have several titles and the next one is Elio, a sci-fi comedy that takes us on an extraterrestrial journey.

After Lightyear was a box office disappointment in 2022, the sequel was immediately cancelled. But that didn’t mean Pixar would stay away from new sci-fi projects, as they had been hugely important to Disney in the past. In fact, many moviegoers and animation fanatics argue that WALL-E is still Pixar’s best work. Will Elio be able to climb the charts? Here’s everything we know about Pixar’s Elio.

What is the release date for Elio?

Screenshot from the fantastic cartoon

(Image credit: Disney/Pixar)

Despite a few pandemic-era stumbles, Disney and Pixar have doubled down on theatrical releases in response to waning interest in streaming shows and movies. That’s why we should see Elio shown exclusively in cinemas on June 13, 2025.

This strong position for summer 2025 comes after a delay of more than one year, which was announced in October 2023. The release was originally scheduled for March 1, 2024. According to Pixar creative chief Pete Docter, the delay was due to both SAG and the AFTRA strike, as well as leadership changes at a number of Pixar projects.

What is Elio’s plot?

Screenshot from the fantastic cartoon

(Image credit: Disney/Pixar)

While we haven’t learned much about this film beyond its initial premise and first act, we do know that it’s about an 11-year-old boy named Elio Solis, a misfit who accidentally becomes an intergalactic ambassador for Earth.

The official synopsis provided by Disney confirmed that the story is directly related to humanity’s search for intelligent alien life. In excitement, contact is made, but a mistake draws attention to little Elio. He was quickly called in and asked by the “Communiverse”, “an interplanetary organization consisting of representatives of galaxies from around the world”, to represent planet Earth as a whole. Of course, a child is completely unprepared for such a task, but can he become the key to our salvation?

Screenshot from the fantastic cartoon

(Image credit: Disney/Pixar)

While the first trailer focuses on the beginning of it all and how Elio reacts to the aliens and their questions and demands, we can infer from other footage and small moments that his adventure could be quite classic in its structure – potentially taking inspiration from other Disney films. sci-fi games like Lilo and Stitch?

Elio Trailers

We’ve only gotten one Elio teaser trailer so far, but it’s longer than you’d expect. It was released on June 13, 2023 and, at first glance, is perfect; it doesn’t reveal any plot points from the previous act, it just gives you an idea of the characters to come. You can watch it below:

Elio | Teaser Trailer – YouTube

Elio Cast

Screenshot from the fantastic cartoon

(Image credit: Disney/Pixar)

Elio’s full voice is not yet 100% confirmed, but we know of these four names already associated with him:

Jonas Kibreab (Sweet Tooth) as Elio Solis, the guy who is mistaken for our ambassador.
Jamila Jamil (“The Good Place”) as Ambassador Questa, an elegant pink alien politician.
Brad Garrett (Tangled) as Ambassador Grigon, a bulky quadrupedal alien seen in the trailer.
Zoe Saldanha (Avatar) as Olga Solis, Elio’s aunt.

It should be noted that the character of Olga Solis was originally voiced by America Ferrera (Barbie), who was announced as part of the voice cast back in 2022. She left due to scheduling conflicts following the film’s delay and creative shake-ups. including making Olga the main character’s aunt instead of his mother.

Elio, directors, writers and crew

Screenshot from the fantastic cartoon

(Image credit: Disney/Pixar)

Elio’s directorial team includes Domi Shi (Burning), Madeline Sharafian (Barrow) and Adrian Molina (Coco). The script was written by Molina, although the extensive rewrites that apparently occurred after the delay have not yet been specified.

Molina was originally announced as the sole director of Elio, which would have been his solo feature film directorial debut after helming Coco with Lee Unkrich. It wasn’t until June 12, 2024 that we learned that Turning Red’s Domi Shi was also working on Elio. She was later confirmed as the new director alongside Sharafian at the D23 event (Disney’s premier fan event), which took place August 9-11. Molina has reportedly left Elio to begin work on a new project, and he will presumably be credited as co-director on the final film.

Elio is just one of many upcoming sci-fi films coming out next year. So, while you’re preparing for its launch, why not watch some of the best animated space movies for kids in the meantime.

Everything We Know About Pixar’s Elio

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