LOS ANGELES, June 19 (UPI) -- Elio, in theaters Friday, is another Pixar triumph. Like the animation studio's best, Elio is impressive in both its creative story and its poignant themes.
Elio Solis (voice of Yonas Kibreab) lives with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) after the death of his parents. He dreams of meeting aliens to take him away from his lonely life on Earth, though he does make friends with Bryce (Dylan Gilmer) over their passion for HAM radios.
Elio's messages are received by the Communiverse, an intergalactic society of peaceful aliens. At the same time Elio is welcomed into the Communiverse, warlord Grigon (Brad Garrett) is denied for his violent temperament, spurring him to declare war on the group.
The peaceful Communiverse would simply flee to the far corners of the universe to avoid Grigon and his Hylurgian army, but Elio assures them he can make peace with Grigon so they don't have to leave.
Learning to stand up to bullies is a valuable message, but Elio goes much deeper than that. For a child to attempt to negotiate intergalactic peace requires the childlike audacity to believe he can do what adults can't even do on Earth.
