Pixar’s Elio is a bold, imaginative adventure about a young boy who’s never quite felt at home on Earth, until his wish to be abducted comes true. Suddenly named humanity’s ambassador to an alien civilization, Elio embarks on a visually stunning, emotionally rich journey through space that explores identity, family, and belonging.
In our conversation with directors Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian, we explore how their story-first approach grounds this intergalactic tale in heart and humor, while paying playful tribute to classic sci-fi.
For Shi, grounding Elio’s identity was as important as sending him to space. “The story came from Adrian Molina’s experience,” she said, “being this art kid on a military base with his parents and not quite fitting in.”
Elio was supposed to be Molina’s directorial debut at Pixar. Still, the filmmaker had to step back because he needed to work on Coco 2. As such, he entrusted Shi and Sharafian to finish what he and producer Mary Alice Drumm had started. And part of that was ensuring that his experience as a Mexican American would be a part of the story.
“We really tried to preserve that aspect of it, you know, like the fact that it is inspired by his own Mexican American, second-generation military family kind of backstory, but it was important for us to involve as many Latin Americans in the creative process as possible,” Shi continued.
Pixar also worked with cultural consultants internally and externally, which was a creatively collaborative approach we’ve seen in films like Coco, Soul, and Turning Red. In Elio, that tradition continues where the cast and crew feels comfortable to add to the film to make it feel more authentic. Using the college approach, their thoughts and ideas help to enrich these characters and the story. Even the voice cast contributed to help give more authenticity to the characters and their surroundings.
“We leaned a lot on our voice talent, Zoe Saldana, who is Dominican, to help us flesh out Olga as a character. And Zoe also has a lot of experience working on sci-fi movies and movies where she plays like characters who work in the military,” She added. “Also asking the crew and making sure the creative space was open for people to chime in and call out stuff or make suggestions.”
While great care was taken to ensure cultural authenticity, Shi and Sharafian were equally intentional with the film’s visual language. By using changes in aspect ratio, they could deepen the storytelling and amplify the emotional experience.
“Our DPs — Derek Williams and Jordan Rempel — came to us with this pitch to reshoot the movie in wide screen. And the way that they presented it was by showing they sort of do what we call a, b. They showed us, “‘Here’s the sequence of Elio on the beach alone in where we were originally a more sort of narrow view. And here it is in the widescreen view,'” Sharafian explained. “And what really sold it for us was how much more lonely he looked on that widescreen, seeing him totally alone there on the beach.”
It was an easy decision to shift to widescreen. It wasn’t just about mood, it transformed the entire visual scope of Elio after watching what Williams and Rempel had presented to Shi and Sharafian. Though there were a lot of creative ramifications, according to Sharafian, it was a no-brainer.
“Scale just feels so much bigger, more epic on that widescreen aspect ratio,” Shi added.
Both agreed that the wide aspect ratio gave the film more emotional depth.
As important as it is to spotlight cultural authenticity and visual storytelling, Elio is about two people navigating their own versions of loneliness and isolation. And for Sharafin, she saw a lot of herself in Aunt Olga. “I personally related a lot to the character of Olga,” she said. “I am also a perfectionist.”
Sharafian described Olga as a buttoned-up military professional with a high-powered career. Her life is suddenly upended by a wild and chaotic force that has left her feeling very lonely because she doesn’t know what to do.
Sharafian adds that the movie will portray both sides so that audiences can understand where both parties are coming from, adding, “You root for Elio to be abducted because you want him to not feel lonely anymore,” she said. “But then you see Olga trying her best. You’re also rooting for her to convince him to stay.”
By giving us two perspectives, the film allows us to understand both Elio’s yearning for connection and Olga’s quiet struggle with loneliness and how it affects their dynamic. In doing so, Sharafian believes it lays the foundation for their relationship, which will lead to a very satisfying transformation for both of them.
Shi believes it is essential for the audience to understand where the other side is coming from – which also extends to the villain characters. “I think that’s what makes our movies feel deeper and have so much more nuance,” she said. “You also aren’t 100% sure what the ending or the solution should be because you can see a point on both sides, too.”
Elio opens in theaters on June 20, 2025.