Elio is a refreshing animated film with a simple yet sweet storyline that doesn’t feel like it’s pandering to a specific audience.

Full Review | Jul 30, 2025

The heart of the story is in the family dynamics which deal with loss, identity, and a sense of belonging and it’s filled with fun creatures, a lovable lead, and some moments that really pull at the heartstrings.

Full Review | Original Score: 8/10 | Jul 27, 2025

You'll come out of Elio pleasantly surprised – and moved – by the impeccable visual storytelling on display, and an earnest emotional center.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 25, 2025

A brave film for Pixar to try and pull off as, let's be honest, it deals with the deep topic of youth suicide. The film works beautifully and hopefully will remind young people how fun life can be.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 24, 2025

It’s Pixar at its best: weird, wonderful, and emotional storytelling about our very humanity through grandiose, high-concept animated adventures. Elio is about embracing ourselves. We are not alone. And yet again, Pixar is there to show us the way.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 23, 2025

There was clearly a dramatic attempt to land Adrian Molina’s ship gracefully by replacement directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi, with a few scattered unsolvable issues along the way.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Jul 22, 2025

Despite all my issues with the film, Elio is still a decent movie with a worthwhile message to take your children to this summer. Let's hope that for Pixar's next project, they dive much deeper.

Full Review | Original Score: c | Jul 21, 2025

Even an imperfect Pixar movie has its moments of whimsy, wonder and emotion, and “Elio” hits those beats well.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/4 | Jul 18, 2025

Pixar's best film since "Soul."

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Jul 17, 2025

Elio is a failed attempt by Pixar to blend grief, sci-fi, and children's comedy. Visually appealing but trapped in a clumsy, mechanical narrative, it lacks the emotional depth that once defined the studio.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/10 | Jul 17, 2025

A colourful, imaginative, and funny adventure that manages to convey serious themes in a somewhat superficial but still commendable way. “Elio,” like the eponymous protagonist, deserves much more than what he’s been getting. [Full review in Spanish].

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jul 16, 2025

The animation is charming, as one would expect from a Pixar production, and the characters are likeable enough to spawn off merch. The swell of music at appropriate times keeps you hooked into the action and emotions.

Full Review | Jul 15, 2025

While ‘Elio’ won’t win the award for best script, it’ll definitly win your heart with big emotions and oh-so-cute aliens.

Full Review | Original Score: 7.5/10 | Jul 13, 2025

It's for those of us who keep looking to the stars.

Full Review | Original Score: 3 stars | Jul 12, 2025

...the point of this film is to build a message of rejecting toxic or overt masculinity, which Grigon represents. It's also about rejecting traditional gender roles, which is an inherent queer message here that I appreciated.

Full Review | Jul 12, 2025

Elio is classic Pixar; I was crying within 15 minutes and regretted not bringing tissues to the theater.

Full Review | Jul 11, 2025

The prologue is, without question, one of the best scenes in all of Pixar's filmography. However, I don't think the film is able to match that same level of electricity as it shifts into its fantastical adventures.

Full Review | Original Score: C+ | Jul 11, 2025

...despite its technical mishaps, its second-rate aliens, and its space segment that never takes off, [Elio] achieves a commendable portrait of the unspoken pain of childhood...

Full Review | Jul 11, 2025

Once Elio eagerly leaves Earth for the Communiverse, Pixar’s animators bring their level-best creativity-wise to the alien menagerie and their flowing, undulating Möbius strip-inspired home among the stars.

Full Review | Jul 10, 2025

Elio is on the lower tier of Pixar movies. While the story is serviceable, all the magic and heart Pixar has been known for is missing.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Jul 10, 2025