The plot: Elio, an underdog with an active imagination, 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, he starts to form new bonds with eccentric aliens while discovering who he’s truly meant to be.
This movie was alright.
Pros: This one was way better than the previous outings Disney pop out this year. I like the designs of the aliens. The voice cast hits the assignment quite well. How I got emotionally feeling for some sort of elio is going through with grief, loneliness & isolation & at times it can be hilarious.
Cons: Many moments felt rushed. The earth portions were the less intriguing portion of the film. The first half wasn’t that good and the outcomes was quite predictable.
Genre: Kids & Family, Comedy, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Animation
Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Produced by Mary Alice Drumm
Screenplay by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones
Story by Adrian Molina; Madeline Sharafian; Domee Shi; Julia Cho
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Gina Rodriguez, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Brandon Moon, Brad Garrett, Jameela Jamil, Shirley Henderson & John Lithgow.
Edited by Anna Wolitzky, Steve Bloom
Cinematography: Derek Williams, Jordan Rempel
Music by Rob Simonsen
Production companies: Pixar Animation Studios
Distributed by: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Cast:
- Yonas Kibreab as:
- Elio Solís, an eleven-year-old boy with an injured left eye who is mistakenly identified by the aliens as Earth’s ambassador
- Other Elio Solís, a clone of Elio. Kibreab suggested recording both versions of the character simultaneously “without a break”.
- Gina Rodriguez as Fiona Solís, Elio’s aunt who is an Air Force major. Solis was originally written as Elio’s mother and set to be voiced by America Ferrera. However, because the directors wanted to “deepen Elio’s motivation for wanting to be abducted by aliens”, the character was rewritten with Ferrera leaving the project due to scheduling conflicts in August 2024. Sharafian stated that “it felt like a relationship with a mother and son was a bit too much.”
- Zoe Saldaña as Olga Solís, Elio’s widowed mother who is a drugstore owner.
- Remy Edgerly as
- Glordon, a worm-like alien whom Elio befriends. His design was influenced by studies of larval insects and microbiotic creatures, including the tardigrade. Animation supervisor Jude Brownbill described Glordon as “sort of mysterious, creepy, off-putting, a work with a bunch of teeth”.
- Other Glordon, a clone of Glordon
- Brandon Moon as Helix, an alien ambassador
- Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon, a bulky, worm-like alien warlord and ambassador in high-tech armor who is Glordon’s father
- John Lithgow as Lord Grichang, a bulky, robotic dragon-like alien warlord and ambassador in high-tech armor
- Jameela Jamil as Questa, a radiodont-like alien ambassador
- Dylan Gilmer as Bryce, a boy who shares the same fascination in aliens as Elio
- Jake Getman as Caleb, Bryce’s friend who becomes a bully of Elio
- Matthias Schweighöfer as Tegmen, an alien ambassador. Schweighöfer will also voice Tegmen in the film’s German dub.
- Ana de la Reguera as Turais, an alien ambassador
- Atsuko Okatsuka as Naos, an alien ambassador
- Shirley Henderson as OOOOO, a blue gelatinous liquid supercomputer. Described as “a Swiss Army knife made of droplets”, Travis Hathaway stated that “she can become a screen, she can become a vinyl player, she can become a projector, she can manifest as a pen for Elio to write with”.
- Brendan Hunt as Gunther Melmac, an Air Force analyst who is a conspiracy theorist
- Naomi Watanabe as Auva, an alien ambassador. Watanabe will also voice Auva in the film’s Japanese dub.
- Anissa Borrego as Mira, an alien ambassador
- Shelby Young as Diplo Ship
- Bob Peterson as Universal Users Manual
- Kate Mulgrew as the narrator of the Voyager 1 Museum Exhibit; Mulgrew previously portrayed Kathryn Janeway, captain of the fictional future starship USS Voyager in the Star Trek franchise.
- Tamara Tunie as Colonel Markwell
Archival recordings of Carl Sagan are also used.
I recommend watching this film in cinemas.
Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars
Ryan Balkwill:
Resident film reviewer,
Level Best Art Cafe