Elio | June 13, 2025 | Pixar | Adrian Molina (Coco) directs

[DAJK]

Not too sure how I feel. Looks cute, I trust Pixar for the most part, but if it weren't for Molina's involvement, I would pretty much be expecting Lightyear numbers for this.

[Ladybug]

Charming trailer! I can see this appealing to families, especially with young kiddos.

[XXR vs XXR]

Finally saw this teaser. I like what I'm seeing. Perhaps a mixture of Wall-E / Lilo & Stitch / Coco? 

[ThomasNicole]

Just now, XXRkham Asylum said:

Finally saw this teaser. I like what I'm seeing. Perhaps a mixture of Wall-E / Lilo & Stitch / Coco? 

Yeah, it reminded me of Lilo & Stitch with some Steven Universe tone 

 

It definitely doesn’t look anything like Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Lightyear or Strange World which is nice for it’s box office prospects lol

[cannastop]

3 minutes ago, XXRkham Asylum said:

Finally saw this teaser. I like what I'm seeing. Perhaps a mixture of Wall-E / Lilo & Stitch / Coco? 

 

1 minute ago, ThomasNicole said:

Yeah, it reminded me of Lilo & Stitch with some Steven Universe tone 

 

It definitely doesn’t look anything like Atlantis, Treasure Planet, Lightyear or Strange World which is nice for it’s box office prospects lol

With Turning Red/Luca character designs for humans

[Jonwo]

11 hours ago, ThomasNicole said:

The style is different, Pixar is flirting with cartoon designs recently like Luca and now this

 

This is probably the more cartoonish and less focused on pure realism a Pixar movie looked since idk Nemo

 

Sure is not totally unique to make such a strong impression like the new hyped hybrid style, but honestly this type of animation will get old real quick too if suddenly everyone start doing it (we had PIB and ATSV recently and Ninja Turtles and even Wish is also coming all in less than a year)

I think Pixar will experiment with a different style but it'll look a lot of different from the others. 

 

It's funny that everyone is slagging out Pixar's character look when Mario outside of the core characters was basically the same as other Illumination films got a free pass. 

[El Squibbonator]

I'm optimistic for this one. The teaser alone was more interesting that all the promotion I've seen so far for Elemental, and that's a good thing. It looks like it's trying to be a 2000s-style Pixar movie (think Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc. or The Incredibles), with the same sort of organic storytelling, and I hope that's enough to boost its chances at the box office. 

Edited June 15, 2023 by El Squibbonator

[WebSurfer]

Heh, kinda ironic that Pixar is making a movie about aliens, when the topic of such is becoming more popular as of recently.

[Koni]

Elio looks way more interesting than anything I've seen in Elemental. 

Okay, harsh, but I enjoyed that teaser trailer. Hope this film surprises! Really liked Coco. 

[AniNate]

Beginning of trailer kind of reminds me of Reznor/Ross' score for Soul, would be nice if they were willing to come back for another Pixar film. Alien environments sort of have the You Seminar vibes.

[kayumanggi]

 

[YM!]

Tbh I think Disney should try putting in early access/family screenings for their originals. It’s a strategy that Universal has been doing for their holiday animations (the Sing movies, Puss 2, and probably Migration) that seems to work. Who cares about spoilers, you need good WOM when your divisions are struggling. Something like 1-2 weeks before release. Don’t like the kickoff March date tbh, and they could move it up a week or if bold try tackling Madame Web.

 

I do think Elemental had the right amount of marketing, it just didn’t look good and reviews were too mediocre (by Pixar or WDAS standards) to move the needle. Think for Wish and Elio, at the risk of looking cheesy, sell the emotions, story and music with lame gags and puns being last (unless your movie is like TENG level funny.)

[Jonwo]

Just now, YM! said:

Tbh I think Disney should try putting in early access/family screenings for their originals. It’s a strategy that Universal has been doing for their holiday animations (the Sing movies, Puss 2, and probably Migration) that seems to work. Who cares about spoilers, you need good WOM when your divisions are struggling. Something like 1-2 weeks before release. Don’t like the kickoff March date tbh, and they could move it up a week or if bold try tackling Madame Web.

 

I do think Elemental had the right amount of marketing, it just didn’t look good and reviews were too mediocre (by Pixar or WDAS standards) to move the needle. Think for Wish and Elio, at the risk of looking cheesy, sell the emotions, story and music with lame gags and puns being last (unless your movie is like TENG level funny.)

Honestly after seeing the trailer for Kraven, I don't hold much hope for Madame Web.

 

Elio should do well, I think this idea that Pixar is doomed is massive hyperbole by a lot of people as well as Reddit. 

[YM!]

32 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

Honestly after seeing the trailer for Kraven, I don't hold much hope for Madame Web.

 

Elio should do well, I think this idea that Pixar is doomed is massive hyperbole by a lot of people as well as Reddit. 

I mean, unless everything is perfect, I have little faith in it or Wish as things currently stand even with great reception unless marketing is surprisingly effective and strong, and Disney actually put their money where their mouth is on extended the theatrical window like by 4-6 months. As competitors for both are strong and both brands are at their lowest since the 2000s. If you gave me a number for both, I’d say 100-150m domestic as it stands now unless competition moves, long 4-6 windows for family films regardless of profitable, reception is aces and marketing is perfect, then the ballpark of 180-230m is about right.
 

Elemental should have just enough juice to get to 100m domestic and has a shot at biggest Disney since the pandemic worldwide but the performance is still very bad to say the least especially because it made the brand of Pixar look weaker and the 200m budget.

This obviously doesn’t mean if these two fail Pixar or WDAS will get merged or closed down permanently but it means budget cuts that will not only effect animation but livelihood of the workers (iirc only Pixar and WDAS give bonuses to animation writers and crew of landmarks are made), more creative interference from executives and less of the director driven vibe Docter has be going for, outsourcing animation overseas for originals, and probably no more new IP after 2026 for the next decade or so.

Edited June 20, 2023 by YM!

[AniNate]

I don't think it should be denied that Pixar is in a pretty vulnerable spot rn. Elio looks like their last chance to turn out an original hit before Disney execs start intervening dramatically. But I want to assume reviews will be great until proven otherwise so I still think they can turn things around. If audiences have in fact been conditioned to watch all their movies on streaming, the only way they'll be unconditioned is if they produce a movie that actually feels like a cinematic event. Cinemascore notwithstanding, Elemental never felt like that.

[Jonwo]

13 minutes ago, YM! said:

This obviously doesn’t mean if these two fail Pixar or WDAS will get merged or closed down permanently but it means budget cuts that will not only effect animation but livelihood of the workers (iirc only Pixar and WDAS give bonuses to animation writers and crew of landmarks are made), more creative interference from executives and less of the director driven vibe Docter has be going for, outsourcing animation overseas for originals, and probably no more new IP after 2026 for the next decade or so.

I think shutting or merging the studios won't happen and probably way down the list in front of other options given that animation is Disney's legacy and let's be honest, Disney has been through a lot worse in their history, you only have to look at the fact that Sleeping Beauty was originally a flop but gained success later on, The Black Cauldron and Treasure Planet also famously failed as well. 

 

The idea of no original films for a decade is frankly absurd, less original films i could see but not none at all. 

 

If the news of Pixar cutting 75 employees made the headlines, closing the studio would be 100 times worse and Bob Iger likely isn't going to trigger that option.

[YM!]

13 minutes ago, AniNate said:

I don't think it should be denied that Pixar is in a pretty vulnerable spot rn. Elio looks like their last chance to turn out an original hit before Disney execs start intervening dramatically. But I want to assume reviews will be great until proven otherwise so I still think they can turn things around. If audiences have in fact been conditioned to watch all their movies on streaming, the only way they'll be unconditioned is if they produce a movie that actually feels like a cinematic event. Cinemascore notwithstanding, Elemental never felt like that.

Tbh I think Wish is a good determinator on this theory for Disney. It’s a big Disney Princess musical with 100th anniversary buzz with the creators of Frozen and Tarzan behind it and with the WDAS brand being arguably stronger than Pixar. If that does the same as Elemental and Lightyear with strong reception, then it’s over.

[YM!]

4 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

I think shutting or merging the studios won't happen and probably way down the list in front of other options given that animation is Disney's legacy and let's be honest, Disney has been through a lot worse in their history, you only have to look at the fact that Sleeping Beauty was originally a flop but gained success later on, The Black Cauldron and Treasure Planet also famously failed as well. 

 

The idea of no original films for a decade is frankly absurd, less original films i could see but not none at all. 

 

If the news of Pixar cutting 75 employees made the headlines, closing the studio would be 100 times worse and Bob Iger likely isn't going to trigger that option.

Yeah, no originals, is a stretch at absolute worse, but I can see Pixar and WDAS being tempted with book or game adaptation by suits or even more like last decade where there was just four originals I can see again. I agree a merger or shutdown will not happen.

Edited June 20, 2023 by YM!

[AniNate]

Pixar is sort of in a similar predicament that DreamWorks was in the mid 2010s. People just stopped showing up for their films, and Katzenberg left and the studio really had to overhaul their business model to stay alive, and has since then diversified its investments more between tv shows and movies.

 

It'll be interesting to see what kind of audience Win or Lose pulls, if it can end up being a kind of prestigious family friendly event series that it seems like Disney+ is oddly lacking still

Edited June 20, 2023 by AniNate

[Jonwo]

2 minutes ago, YM! said:

Yeah, no originals, is a stretch at absolute worse, but I can see Pixar and WDAS being tempted with book or game adaptation by suits or even more like last decade where there was just four originals I can see again. I agree a merger or shutdown will not happen.

WDAS TBF has done more adaptations in the last few years, Frozen is based on The Snow Queen and Big Hero 6 and even the originals like Moana and Encanto are basically following the Disney musical formula. 

 

Pixar may have to bite the bullet and look at adaptations which would still be technically original since it wouldn't be a sequel. Another area that hasn't been looked at is live action/animation hybrids I would love see Pixar tackling a Roger Rabbit type film.