Our borders should be open … or open-er, at least. This is why I love having a blog. I get to say what I like and whatchagonnado? Yes, the United States should be MUCH MUCH more generous to immigrants. We are now a country of assholes, and we seem to think this is a normal way to behave. And, NO, the borders were not open under Biden … nor were they open under Obama; that was bullshit propaganda promoted by powerful white supremacists in order to elect a monster. But as long as we are discussing immigration policy, immigrants make your country wealthier. Yes, they do. Some commit crimes. This is true. But not nearly at the rates MAGA or even normal US citizens commit crimes. Look, I know how nice it is to have a scapegoat; the entire modern Republican playbook is based on hating someone to get your way … and who is more convenient to hate than the guy who doesn’t look or act like you, huh? But it’s all fucked up. Immigrants aren’t the problem. Republican policies are the problem. And no amount of flag-waving hysteria, immigrations bans, or post 9/11 ugliness is going to change that.
Speaking of “hatred of the other,” Elio is here to strike a blow for inclusion and species awareness. Elio is small, traumatized, and only 11-years-old, so we will forgive him if the blow is light and unimpressive. Still.
Elio (voice of Yonas Kibreab) is a sad child. His parents died, leaving the shy and morose child in the hands of his aunt, who is a major in the Air Force. She provides Elio with his only solace, a fascination with outer space. Years later, Elio is so itching to be abducted by aliens that he actually gets abducted by aliens. Go figure. And this is where the fun begins, for Elio is in over his head (literally), but so is the creature who takes pity on him, an alien child named Glordon (Remy Edgerly). Glordon is a weird worm/caterpillar kinda thing in bad need of a chrysalis if you ask me.
The power of the film is the part where Elio and Glordon manage to become friends despite being completely different from one another. This is what the whole film is about – recognizing that aliens are not our enemies. You just have to give people a chance.
This is a message every American child needs to hear and learn and take to heart.
The film of Elio, for all the animated color and fun and space crap, is much more about the message than the details. The growth of Elio in understanding his role and position in the universe is far more important than any single creature he encounters or words spoken in the film. In essence, it’s kind of sad; this is a wonderful film, but will leave you with precious few memories because the writing pulled more attention to theme than meme. KnowewhatI’msayin?
The best part of Elio is accessibility. Elio is an orphan, which isn’t altogether common, and yet he’s an amalgam of any number of childhood maladies. Before
his abduction, Elio gets in a scrape with a larger boy and ends up with a beating so badly he needs an eyepatch for most of the film. That’s vulnerability, acceptance, welcoming. Putting an eye-patch on your 11-year-old frail hero says, “We aren’t afraid to champion children who feel imperfect.” And what child doesn’t feel imperfect? I love this move by Pixar.
That said, for all the well-being and entertainment value, Elio is still a full rung down the ladder from classic Pixar. Elio simply isn’t as good as memorable as Monsters, Inc., Up, Inside Out, Wall-E, or any of the Toy Story films. Comparatively, Elio is docile and forgettable, well-meaning, but completely lacking in any facet that would make your child prefer such to Finding Nemo or The Incredibles. Likable and well-messaged, but that’s it, unfortunately.
There once lived a kid, Elio
Who wanted somewhere else to go
Conceding his place
He hitched off to space
Only to find Earth, doncha know?
Rated PG, 98 Minutes
Director: Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi
Writer: Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, Mike Jones
Genre: Abduction fun!
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Literal aliens
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: MAGA
