Rating: ★★★½ (3.5/5)
What a fun little movie this was! I really wanted to catch these in theaters with my son but we never got around to it, and I’m kinda bummed we didn’t. It looked like a fun movie but Disney’s marketing machine just had no idea what to do with it and that’s a shame. It’s kind of like a new generation’s Flight of the Navigator where a kid goes off into space and gets into some big adventures, but there is a lot heart to be had here.
It’s a tropey movie in a lot of ways, but all kids movies are full of tropes. This one is at least super fun to look at while you’re generally being taught the same lessons we’ve all learned a thousand times. I don’t mean that to sound cynical, because a lot of kids will see this kind of story for the first time because of this movie and I think that’s awesome. Elio is a kid who, like most Disney kids, has lost parents and is living in a world that just doesn’t quite get him. So naturally he wants to get out, and there’s no better way to do that than by hitching a ride on a spaceship, pretending to be the leader of earth, and attempting to quell an alien invasion of the united galaxies. I mean, I guess you could get therapy but that seems too simple.
The voice acting in this was top notch, but the real standout is the visuals. We see so many fun aliens and there’s so much goofy stuff going on. To be honest, it was a little jarring initially because everything moves so fast. Kind of like Pixar and Looney Tunes had a baby. Pixar movies have been so contemplative and slow for a long time that seeing a kid bouncing off the walls and out of control with all these aliens was kind of wild to watch, at least as an adult. My son loved it.
I did not expect to have my heart stolen by a little slug alien with a heart of gold who just doesn’t want to be who he thinks his dad wants him to be. There’s a charming story in there about being true to yourself even when its really hard. I liked that a lot and I think everyone could learn from it. Overall, this thing was a blast. I don’t know that I loved it as much as 90% of the audience according to Rotten Tomatoes, but I would watch it again. it was simple and fun.
If I were eleven years old again, I would probably have this thing on repeat for a while.