''Elio'' is an upcoming American animated

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

adventure film An adventure film is a form of adventure fiction, and is a genre of film. Subgenres of adventure films include swashbuckler films, pirate films, and survival films. Adventure films may also be combined with other film genres such as action, an ...

produced by

Walt Disney Pictures Walt Disney Pictures is an American film production company and subsidiary of Walt Disney Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Company. The studio is the flagship producer of live-action feature films within the Walt Disney Studios uni ...

and

Pixar Animation Studios Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

, and distributed by

Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, formerly known as Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, Inc. until 2007, is an American film distribution studio within the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution division of The Walt Disney Company. It ha ...

. It is being written and directed by

Adrian Molina Adrian Molina (born August 23, 1985) is an American animator, storyboard artist, screenwriter, director, and lyricist. He has been at Pixar since 2007, where he started as a 2D animator on ''Ratatouille''. He later moved on to be a storyboard a ...

(in his feature directorial debut), and produced by Mary Alice Drumm. The film stars the voices of Yonas Kibreab,

America Ferrera America Georgina Ferrera (; born April 18, 1984) is an American actress. Born in Los Angeles to Honduran parents, Ferrera developed an interest in acting at a young age, performing in several stage productions at her school. She made her featur ...

Jameela Jamil Jameela Alia Jamil (born 25 February 1986) is a British actress and presenter. She began her career on Channel 4, where she hosted a pop culture series in the T4 strand from 2009 until 2012. She then became the radio host of ''The Official Cha ...

, and

Brad Garrett Bradley Henry Gerstenfeld (born April 14, 1960), known professionally as Brad Garrett, is an American actor and stand-up comedian. Possessing a distinctive deep voice, he has appeared in numerous television and film roles in both live-action and ...

. ''Elio'' follows an eleven-year-old boy named Elio Solis (Kibreab) who accidentally becomes the intergalactic Ambassador of planet Earth after being beamed up to the Communiverse by aliens for making contact. Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms and survive a series of formidable trials. The film was officially announced at the

D23 Expo D23: The Official Disney Fan Club is the official fan club for The Walt Disney Company. Founded in 2009, the organization is known mainly for its biennial exposition event, the D23 Expo. The name ''D23'' refers to ''D'' for ''Disney'' and ''23' ...

in September 2022, with Molina and Drumm already attached to the project as writer/director and producer, respectively, while Kibreab and Ferrera were revealed to be cast in the lead voice roles. Jamil and Garrett joined the cast in June 2023. ''Elio'' is scheduled to be released in theaters on June 13, 2025 in the United States.

Premise

Voice cast

* Yonas Kibreab as Elio Solis, an eleven-year-old boy mistakenly identified by aliens as Earth's ambassador. *

as Major Olga Solis, Elio's mother who runs a top-secret military project. *

as Ambassador Questa, a cobra/manta ray-like alien ambassador. *

as Ambassador Grigon, a bulky, four-legged alien ambassador.

Production

Development

On September 9, 2022, during the 2022 D23 Expo Presentation,

Pixar Pixar Animation Studios (commonly known as Pixar () and stylized as P I X A R) is an American computer animation studio known for its critically and commercially successful computer animated feature films. It is based in Emeryville, Californi ...

announced a new film titled ''Elio'', with

writing and directing and Mary Alice Drumm producing. It marks Molina's feature-length directorial debut after he co-directed '' Coco'' (2017), which he also co-wrote. At the same time, Molina and Drumm talked about the film by helping pose the question, "What if I told you we're not alone in the universe, and everything you've ever heard about aliens is true?" Shortly after, the announcement came with a planned screen glitch and a message with alien text saying, "Bring us to your leader."

Casting

On September 9, 2022, during the D23 Expo,

and Yonas Kibreab were announced to have been cast in the leading voice roles of Olga Solis and her son Elio, respectively. On June 13, 2023, with the release of the teaser trailer and poster,

and

joined the film's voice cast.

Release

''Elio'' is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States on June 13, 2025, by

. It was originally scheduled for theatrical release on March 1, 2024, but due to the

2023 SAG-AFTRA strike From July 14 to November 9, 2023, the American actors' union SAG-AFTRA (Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) was on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producer ...

, the film was moved to its current release date.

Marketing

Following the project announcement, the first look concept art of the film was released on September 9, 2022. Joshua Meyer of ''

/Film ''/Film'', also spelled ''Slashfilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. Podcasts Six podcasts have run on the site. ''The /Filmcast'', hosted by David Chen, De ...

'' said it "sounds like the kind of fresh, original storytelling that Pixar built its brand on." A teaser trailer was released on June 13, 2023, featuring "Good Feeling" by

Austin French Austin Bryan French GOOD FEELING Work ID No. 894976155 IPI No. 834705239 (FRENCH AUSTIN BRYAN) (born February 13, 1994) is an American Christian musician, who plays Christian pop style contemporary worship music. He released his debut single, "F ...

. Ethan Anderton of ''/Film'' said "Adding some charm to this story is the fact that Elio isn't exactly the most confident kid. Though he's artistic and creative, he's also more of an indoor kid who doesn't fit in with his peers. But perhaps being among a group of aliens who aren't human will allow him an opportunity to make a connection without any societal pressure. This just might be the opportunity Elio needs to come out of his shell." Pauli Poisuo of ''

Looper Looper may refer to: Animals * Cabbage looper (''Trichoplusia ni''), a member of the moth family Noctuidae * Inchworm, of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies People * Looper (surname), a Dutch-language surname with the meanin ...

'' says while it "obviously doesn't give too much of the story away, it certainly looks gorgeous and intriguing."

References

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Film, United States, Speculative fiction, Science fiction, Space, Cartoon, Animation, Disney 2020s American animated films 2020s children's animated films 2020s English-language films 2020s science fiction adventure films 2025 computer-animated films 2025 directorial debut films 3D animated films Alien abduction films American 3D films American children's animated science fiction films American children's animated space adventure films American science fiction adventure films Animated films about extraterrestrial life Animated films about mother–son relationships Animated films affected by the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike Animated films set on fictional planets Animated films set in outer space Pixar animated films Upcoming directorial debut films Upcoming English-language films Walt Disney Pictures films