Elio (2025)

Eleven-year-old Elio Solís spends his free time lying on the sand, pleading with the sky for an alien abduction, and Pixar somehow turns that wild premise into something a little too safe. His aunt and guardian, Olga, is an Air Force major. A ham radio stunt cuts the power at her base, she ships him off to camp, and then the aliens actually answer. Up in the Communiverse, a club of ambassadors from all over space decides this lonely kid is Earth’s leader, and he doesn’t correct them. The animation is lush, squishy and gorgeous, and the movie really wakes up once Elio finds a friend his own size. The opening drags, though, and the space stuff never gets as strange as the setup promises. It holds an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes and made $154.3 million worldwide. A 6.4 because it’s got real heart and its ideas stay in low orbit. $3,486 says you look up where Voyager 1 is right now before the credits finish.

What works: The animation is lush and inventive, and the movie finds its pulse once Elio and Glordon become friends.

What doesn’t: The opening drags, and the Communiverse gets less screen time and less strangeness than its setup earns.

Who it’s for: Kids around Elio’s age who feel like nobody gets them, plus any adult who has ever waved at a blinking light in the night sky.