To Infinity and Beyond Expectations: ‘Eilo’ Soars as Pixar’s Surprise Hit

Abduction Accomplished

I’m going to level with you. I went into Pixar’s “Eilo” with extremely low expectations. The ads just didn’t make it look good. It looked, to me, like a kiddie movie I’d expect DreamWorks or Illumination to churn out. You know the type, the fodder you put on the living room TV or use to quiet the kindergartens on the last day of school.

I could not have been more wrong. “Eilo” is a heartfelt, sci-fi romp that only Pixar could produce. It’s got all of that Pixar charm and whimsy, while simultaneously managing to break the Pixar formula of “what if [insert inanimate object here] had feelings.”

“Eilo” follows its titular character, an 11-year-old space-obsessed boy who feels so misunderstood and alone following the death of his parents that he dreams of (and takes actual steps toward) being adubcted by aliens. Using HAM radios and military technology, he calls out. And aliens answer.

Eilo finds himself thrust into the center of intergalactic crisis at the Communiverse (essentially the space United Nations) who mistakenly believe him to be the leader of Earth and task him to negotiate with Lord Grigon Eilo finds himself thrust into the center of an intergalactic crisis at the Communiverse (essentially the space United Nations), who mistakenly believe him to be the leader of Earth and task him to negotiate with Lord Grigon (think the outer space Kim Jong Un, with a military that doesn’t consist of starving conscripts with Soviet-era armaments held together by off-brand duck tape and wishes). Along the way, Eilo learns that he’s not as alone—in space or on Earth—as he thought.

.The animation style is also worth discussing. The movie has the recent Pixar look seen in “Luca”, “Turning Red”, and “Win or Lose” that I’ve actually never been a huge fan of. However, I think it works better in this movie because of the way it lends itself to the different alien species that you encounter.

The movie gels together really well, with themes and parallels that work on multiple levels and tie together rather nicely, in that special Pixar way. The studio is known for creating films that make people cry, and at least for me, “Eilo” was not an exception.

At the end of the day, this is an original movie worth watching, especially in a world littered with endless sequels, live-action remakes, reboots, and spin-offs.