While one might not think of Pixar’s Elio as the title among 2025 movie releases to be praised by members of the U.S. military, given it’s been marketed as a sci-fi space adventure. However, the latest Disney animated movie is receiving a lot of praise from America’s Space Force.
Elio primarily takes place on an Air Force base where the titular boy’s Aunt Olga works. Zoé Saldana’s character is an orbital analyst who tracks space debris. When her base receives a signal from the Communiverse, Elio answers the call (without permission) and ends up being abducted by a whole network of aliens. Develyn Watson, who is the Deputy Director of the Department of the Air Force Entertainment Liaison Office said this about Elio’s depiction of the military:
I think the film does a really good job talking about relationships and showing what it could feel like as a military child who frequently deals with change and finding one's place in a new environment.
Elio was made with the help of members of the military being consulted by the Pixar filmmakers crafting the story, which included its producers, directors, screenwriters, artists and animators, per Military.com. How Aunt Olga tracks space debris is apparently a “realistic depiction” of how the actual military tracks debris along with having a true portrayal of growing up in a military family. The Department of Defense also said this in a news release:
Molina was born at the base and had been writing a story centered on how he felt growing up as a child in a military family.
Elio is based on a story by Coco co-director Adrian Molina, who ultimately handed over his personal project to co-directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi after coming up with the initial idea. Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force John Bentivegna told the publication that he thought it was “inspiring” to see Elio highlight service members within the military branches like the Air Force or Space Force.
Bentivegna also spoke about how the movie was actually being made at the same time the Space Force was being created, which “highlights” the “remarkable growth as a service.” The United States Space Force was made a new branch of the U.S. Armed Forces in 2019 under President Donald Trump’s first term. The branch is organized under the Air Force but is specifically responsible for protecting the U.S. and its allies in matters of space.
Previously, Netflix released a comedy series called Space Force in 2020, which apparently “did not capture the culture accurately,” per Air Force Col. Bill Woolf to Military.com. Elio is conversely being praised by members of the Air Force in addition to CinemaBlend’s own Elio review being positive against a similar consensus among other critics and audiences.
Unfortunately, on the commercial side of things, Elio has been disappointing for the studio, considering the movie has only made $78 million worldwide in the three weeks it's been in theaters. The film is being considered a box office bomb after its opening weekend performance made it the worst for Pixar in its history.
However, it is an excellent movie, and accurate to military life and work in many ways. You can still check it out in theaters now.
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