Five years ago, in a review for Onward (2020), I pointed out that Pixar and Disney have a formula for how they craft their narratives. It's a formula, but usually they're very effective in that formula, but there are other formulas that predate Disney-Pixar. Last year, we saw the success of Wicked (2024), which came in the wake of the 85th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz (1939). That adaptation of L. Frank Baum's classic is about an orphan child, being raised by her aunt and uncle, who gets transported, literally swept up into the air, to a veritable, magical land, filled with fantastical creatures. That 1939 template has been taken and used by so many others. Directors Adrian Molina (Coco), Madeline Sharafian who was nominated for an Oscar for her animated short Burrow (2020) and Domee Shi who won an Oscar for her animated short Bao (2018), along with their writers, are now among that list. To be fair, Jared Hess' A Minecraft Movie (2025), which came out earlier this year, took The Wizard of Oz template too, but Hess' version didn't hit the same emotional beats or evoke the same pathos that this film does, and as most Pixar films evoke. This means have a box of tissues ready for the ending here.
Yonas Kibreab (Sweet Tooth and Obi-Wan Kenobi) voices Elio Solis, an 11-year-old boy who is an orphan being raised by his aunt. The death of his parents feels recent and he's still dealing with that trauma. He's feeling very lonely because he feels unwanted. His aunt is frustrated because Elio has either become withdrawn or lashes out. Her frustrations feel overblown, but only because that's how Elio is receiving it. One day, while visiting an air and space museum, Elio becomes obsessed with being abducted by aliens because he thinks he'll be with people who want him.
Zoe Saldaña (Avatar: The Way of Water and Avengers: Infinity War) voices Olga Solis, the aforementioned aunt of Elio. She's an Air Force officer, a Major who has been assigned to Montez Air Force Base. Her main job is air traffic control for military aircraft. Her base also has satellite dishes that monitor aerial threats from other countries or even from outer space. However, she doesn't believe that there is extraterrestrial life. She tries to discourage her nephew from his alien abduction fantasies. This causes a rift between them, which makes both of them feel lonely and ultimately misunderstood.
The drama from this rift is an understandable setup, but obviously this film is building to an alien abduction. Therefore, I don't think that drama is necessary. Discovering extraterrestrial life is enough of a dramatic draw. Having dead parents and having the rift are almost overkill. A Minecraft Movie also had dead parents, but the characters in Hess' film felt like nothing traumatic had ever happened. Hess' film didn't have the pathos that this film has. At least, this movie makes that kind of loss resonant. It simply wasn't needed.
Yes, this is a film all about misunderstandings, but the second act is premised with a misunderstanding that is rather juvenile and quite frankly dumb. This film introduces Elio to a society of aliens who are supposed to be super-smart and possess advanced technology. Yet, they have a misunderstanding and misconception that make them seem really idiotic. Yes, it's a comedy and that kind of idiocy might be amusing. The emphasis though is not on the aliens' misunderstanding or misconception, but the emphasis is on Elio lying to them, setting up an obvious house of cards that will fall. Yet, it only underlines the aliens' idiocy, given that they should be more wary because their past experiences with the villain of this film.
Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) voices Lord Grigon, the aforementioned villain. He's a space worm that wears a huge piece of armor that's also a mechanized suit that makes him appear to be a giant that towers over most people and aliens. He learns that there is this group of aliens that call themselves the Communiverse, which is a collection of the best and the brightest individuals from various planets. Grigon wants to be a member of this collective, but the leaders of the Communiverse think that he's too violent and war-like, so they reject him as a member. This causes him to want to take over the Communiverse by force or possibly destroy it.
However, the aliens in the Communiverse have so much advanced technology that Grigon as a threat doesn't feel that significant. Plus, I wasn't sure if these aliens were all still connected to their home planets or not. I get they're peaceful people and don't want to fight, but it's never clear why they wouldn't or couldn't defend themselves. They have the ability to make sentient clones, to disrupt gravity and open portals to anywhere in the galaxy. They even have some of the most advanced A.I. ever. Why would they be so scared of Grigon? Even if they didn't have weapons, couldn't they develop either defensive techniques, like a massive shield or cloaking technology or something? All of them are depicted as being all cowards who don't want to stand up to Grigon and given the diversity of aliens depicted, that can't be the case.
I do get that 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. It's about letting people be who they are or who they want to be, and not forcing them to fit into boxes or in this case mechanized suits. It's a great message that's delivered with enough of a punch to land here. I just wasn't fond of all the characterizations. Plus, Elio has a potential friend on Earth named Bryce, voiced by Young Dylan, that this film doesn't make that great use.
Rated PG for some action, peril and themes.
Running Time: 1 hr. and 39 mins.
In theaters.