Pixar’s ‘Elio’ Crafts Vivid New Realms for a Grounded Tale

EMERYVILLE, Calif. (KGO) — Pixar’s 29th animated feature, “Elio,” combines an out-of-this-world adventure with a down-to-Earth message.

“This is a tale about a boy who, ultimately, has his dream come true—to be taken by aliens and find himself in a world where he feels accepted and truly belongs,” director Domee Shi explains.

“So many of us have wanted to run away, maybe not to outer space, but we’ve all felt that way before. Right?” adds producer Mary Alice Drumm.

To highlight the core theme of the story, filmmakers needed to establish a strong contrast between Elio’s mundane life on Earth and his journey to the Communiverse, a vibrant and lively realm in space.

“Earth is depicted in shades of gray with angular structures and plenty of shadows. However, once Elio reaches space, it’s as vibrant and colorful as he is,” Shi reveals.

For production designer Harley Jessup, creating the Communiverse was an exciting and challenging task.

“There wasn’t too much of a description of it, except that it should look really appealing to Elio, should look exciting and not dystopian, very colorful, fanciful kind of version of outer space,” Jessup shares.

According to art director Ernesto Nemesio, the Pixar team drew inspiration from San Francisco Bay Area weather.

“To help contrast Communiverse from Earth, it was nice having the fog element as well, because then we never had really warm daylight scenes on Earth because we always wanted Elio to feel out of place and not quite at home. So it helped us keep the palette more muted,” Nemesio says.

In the film, Elio travels millions of miles, encounters alien creatures and even makes some friends. Ultimately, he discovers where he truly belongs.

“By watching the film and watching Elio go through his journey, you can come away from his experience with a little bit more hope for the future,” director Madeline Sharafian states.

“Yeah, just the feeling that we aren’t alone in this universe, and that all it takes is to reach out to the person next to you,” Shi adds

Elio is in theaters now.

Disney is the parent company of Pixar and this station.