Elio: Here are the secrets behind a good Pixar film according to producers!

After the immense success of Vice-Versa 2 in 2024, the Pixar studios returned in force this month with Elio, a family and touching comedy in which a young boy of eleven was removed, by mistake, by extraterrestrials.

Sometimes on earth, sometimes in the borders of the galaxy, the film oscillates between Olga, the aunt of Elio, overwhelmed by her role as a tutor, and Elio, bruised with solitude since the disappearance of her parents. A quest for identity in which intergalactic and family conflicts mix, always with humor and benevolence.

On the occasion of the Annecy 2025 International Animation Festival, we were able to meet the directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi, as well as producers Mary Alice Drumm and Pete Docter, all come to present the film at a conference dedicated to the future outings of the studios.

The opportunity for them to evoke, to our microphone, the genesis of this new original project, the maturity of its themes, and to question the place of man in the universe.

Inspired by reality!

Born from the mind of Adrian Molina (Coco screenwriter), the origins of Elio are largely inspired by his own youth: “He grew up in a military base, and in his moments of loneliness, he sometimes looked at the stars and wondering what is up there. His story touched us and everything started from there”says Mary Alice Drumm.

Developed by the two directors, Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi, the past of Adrian Molina then becomes the story of Elio Solis, a young orphan passionate about space and convinced that he would be happier with the Aliens rather than humans. “He is a child who struggles to find his place. A dreamer, stuck in a very regaded world”explains the first.

2024 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

“Ourselves as an artists, that's a bit what we have experienced in our adolescence”adds Domee Shi, also a red alert director. “This impression of being weird, with the desire to meet people who accept us for what we are. This is what we have instilled in the character of Elio.”

Thus, the pitch has evolved to become the story of a lonely boy who learns to connect to the people around him and to the earth itself. A theme that was all the more meaningful at the time when the writing phase began: “We were in post-pandemic period”, continues Domee Shi. “At that time, I think a lot of people and children around the world felt a little disconnected, a little lonely.”

Direction space!

With its magnificent sets and enchanting places, Disney/Pixar has long made us dream and travel by taking us both on the oceans, in the air or in the human mind. The space therefore seemed to be a choice quite found to stick to the experience of Adrian Molina and train spectators in a new universe.

“Beyond the idea of ​​involving extraterrestrials, the space seemed to us the most suitable choice to implant this story because, what could be better than the immensity of the galaxy to evoke the loneliness felt by our character?” supports Pete Docter, directors from up there and vice versa.

AFTONBLADETBID / BESTIMIME

But in a more optimistic approach, and for the sake of changing their young hero, Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi wanted to make their vision of space as warm as possible. “”Harley Jessupour director of special effects, has worked for a long time so that our universe appears colorful and welcoming “reveals the latter. This is why the Communative looks like a disco ball. It was necessary to be a place that Elio would never want to leave. “

Teach Human to be from extraterrestrials

“My favorite pixar films are those that push me to ask me what a human being,” admits Mary Alice Drumm. “”And the fact that Elio befriends an alien, it was the perfect way to show that you can find a friend anywhere. A friend who can be very different from us. In our eyes, it was important to tell it during this period when thePeople no longer really know how to connect to each other. “

“It is with GLODON that he begins to lower his guard and to talk about his darkest fears.” The directors and producers then recognize all the ease with which this alien with the appearance of a VER was created. “If Elio was was a difficult character to put in place, Glordi appeared like that!” Had Pete Doctor.

My favorite pixar films are those that push me to ask me what a human being.

These are these two characters that everything apparently opposes, and that so many commonalities ultimately bring together, that the main theme of the film was born: “It is by writing their scenes where they both interact that the theme of the connection emerged”continues Domee Shi.

The recipe for a good Pixar?

Having worked on many cult films in the firm like Monsters and Cie, Toy Story or Wall-E, one might think Pete Docter and his thirty years of career completely prowled in the exercise, and yet …

“There is no recipe for success and it is very good like that. We do not want to fall into a kind of ready -made formula. However, I think that the secret is to constantly seek themes that speak to as many people as possible and to explore them around an attractive concept.”

2025 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

An opinion shared by Domee Shi “These are films that tell stories that are both very intimate, but also very universal, with which everyone can identify”she said. For Madeline Sharafian, this success goes through a clever mix between reality and imagination: “I think that if Elio works so well, it is because the earth seems very concrete. So, when you arrive in space, everything seems special.”

While waiting to know if a more advanced sequence and exploration of the planets of the Communive system is possible, you can discover the film Elio in theaters now!