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We were in Las Vegas over the weekend for a rare "fun" (not convention) trip, and we had a few hours to kill before our flight home, so we snuck in a movie.
I was kind of excited for "Elio" considering we've had posters and trailers for it for at least 3 years now.
It was your basic Pixar movie with a sci-fi theme, with heaping helpings of comedy and heart, and I thought it was pretty good.
The story is similar to "Lilo and Stitch" with a dollop of "E.T." layered on. A young kid (Elio) is being raised by an aunt who loves him, but is very busy with her own life and career (she's in training to be an astronaut), so he gets the impression that he's not wanted very badly. He is a big fan of astronomy and he's heard about the Voyager project, in which our government sent recordings out through space playing greetings in all the earth's languages to whatever other life forms out there, assuming that said life forms have GOT to understand at least one of these languages. One day, while visiting an aerospace facility, he accidentally discovers that a distant "something" is indeed trying to answer the Voyager's message, so Elio hijacks the equipment (in a typical movie thing where a kid can automatically operate whatever sophisticated gadget he's presented with) and responds to the aliens.
Between that communication and the fact that Elio spends his spare time on the beach surrouded with "Aliens, abduct me!" messages written in the sand, lo and behold, one night it happens. He's whisked off to a distant place called the "Communiverse" which is like a commune, except instead of a bunch of hippies, it's populated by all these weird creatures who are not only technologically advanced (and speak English), but all get along perfectly. Apparently the earth is the only place in the universe that has societal differences.
Into the mix comes this huge villain type, Lord Grigon, who wants to (of course) take over the Communiverse and run it to suit himself. The peaceful "council" members of the Communiverse have rejected his overtures to join their ranks, and so Elio, who is desperate to fit in to his new society himself, pretends to be "the leader of Earth" and volunteers to negotiate with Grigon.
Then Elio befriends Glordon, who happens to be the son of Lord Grigon, and it turns out they have familial problems of their own. All of which escalates into several battle and chase scenes, which are full of incredible galactic imagery. Meanwhile, Elio's aunt back on Earth found out that he contacted the aliens and is now trying, herself, to contact them to ask them to send Elio home.
From there it becomes a standard-issue Pixar movie, in which feelings are laid bare, truths are told, eventually bridges are built, and Elio comes to realize that his aunt indeed loves him, and he's content to return to Earth and leave his new friends behind, at least until the straight-to-video sequel.
Overall it was a pretty good movie, if a bit predictable, but very imaginative and likable. As with all Pixar movies, it'll make you laugh while tugging at the heartstrings. Anyone who likes the Toy Story movies will probably like this one. I'd give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.
Having written all this, I found out today that the movie is tanking, coming in below expectations. So this can be the latest "Exhibit A" of why the studios churn out nothing but stupid remakes, sequels, game adaptations and reboots these days. Here we have a movie that is fun, likable, and imaginative, and deserves to do some decent business, but instead it's having its ass handed to it by the likes of "Lilo and Stitch" and "How to Train Your Dragon," which are both remakes of animated movies.
It might just be a matter of timing. There have already been a good half-dozen kid-friendly movies this year that have done good business. Maybe people are tapped out. But just as likely, it's because people would rather spend their money on something they know, rather than something new. I think it's because they're too lazy to have to try to figure out a new story - they'd rather just relax in their seat without having to think very much.
Given these recent events, it probably won't be long until Disney starts working on a "live action" Toy Story movie.
I was kind of excited for "Elio" considering we've had posters and trailers for it for at least 3 years now.
It was your basic Pixar movie with a sci-fi theme, with heaping helpings of comedy and heart, and I thought it was pretty good.
The story is similar to "Lilo and Stitch" with a dollop of "E.T." layered on. A young kid (Elio) is being raised by an aunt who loves him, but is very busy with her own life and career (she's in training to be an astronaut), so he gets the impression that he's not wanted very badly. He is a big fan of astronomy and he's heard about the Voyager project, in which our government sent recordings out through space playing greetings in all the earth's languages to whatever other life forms out there, assuming that said life forms have GOT to understand at least one of these languages. One day, while visiting an aerospace facility, he accidentally discovers that a distant "something" is indeed trying to answer the Voyager's message, so Elio hijacks the equipment (in a typical movie thing where a kid can automatically operate whatever sophisticated gadget he's presented with) and responds to the aliens.
Between that communication and the fact that Elio spends his spare time on the beach surrouded with "Aliens, abduct me!" messages written in the sand, lo and behold, one night it happens. He's whisked off to a distant place called the "Communiverse" which is like a commune, except instead of a bunch of hippies, it's populated by all these weird creatures who are not only technologically advanced (and speak English), but all get along perfectly. Apparently the earth is the only place in the universe that has societal differences.
Into the mix comes this huge villain type, Lord Grigon, who wants to (of course) take over the Communiverse and run it to suit himself. The peaceful "council" members of the Communiverse have rejected his overtures to join their ranks, and so Elio, who is desperate to fit in to his new society himself, pretends to be "the leader of Earth" and volunteers to negotiate with Grigon.
Then Elio befriends Glordon, who happens to be the son of Lord Grigon, and it turns out they have familial problems of their own. All of which escalates into several battle and chase scenes, which are full of incredible galactic imagery. Meanwhile, Elio's aunt back on Earth found out that he contacted the aliens and is now trying, herself, to contact them to ask them to send Elio home.
From there it becomes a standard-issue Pixar movie, in which feelings are laid bare, truths are told, eventually bridges are built, and Elio comes to realize that his aunt indeed loves him, and he's content to return to Earth and leave his new friends behind, at least until the straight-to-video sequel.
Overall it was a pretty good movie, if a bit predictable, but very imaginative and likable. As with all Pixar movies, it'll make you laugh while tugging at the heartstrings. Anyone who likes the Toy Story movies will probably like this one. I'd give it a solid 3 out of 5 stars.
Having written all this, I found out today that the movie is tanking, coming in below expectations. So this can be the latest "Exhibit A" of why the studios churn out nothing but stupid remakes, sequels, game adaptations and reboots these days. Here we have a movie that is fun, likable, and imaginative, and deserves to do some decent business, but instead it's having its ass handed to it by the likes of "Lilo and Stitch" and "How to Train Your Dragon," which are both remakes of animated movies.
It might just be a matter of timing. There have already been a good half-dozen kid-friendly movies this year that have done good business. Maybe people are tapped out. But just as likely, it's because people would rather spend their money on something they know, rather than something new. I think it's because they're too lazy to have to try to figure out a new story - they'd rather just relax in their seat without having to think very much.
Given these recent events, it probably won't be long until Disney starts working on a "live action" Toy Story movie.