Disney's Animated 2025 Flop Is The Best Sci-Fi Movie You Didn't Watch This Year

Disney has put out some of the best animated movies of all time, especially under the Pixar banner. From early hits like "Toy Story" and "Monsters, Inc." to 2010s classics like "Inside Out " and "Coco," Pixar films rarely miss. However, "Elio" went against that trend, becoming one of many box office bombs in 2025. The film made around $154 million from a reported budget of between $150 and $200 million, and that's before marketing costs, which are usually in the tens of millions. However, don't let the film's poor box office put you off, as "Elio" is the best sci-fi film you didn't watch this year. It's a charming tale about a child whose dreams of escaping to another world come true, leading to an adventure that teaches him some important lessons about life and being human.

The film centers on orphaned Elio Solis (Yonas Kibreab), who lives with his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldana, who is usually box office gold) after losing his parents. Olga is an Air Force major who loves her nephew but doesn't know how to connect with him. Elio, meanwhile, has become an isolated child who longs to be abducted by aliens. When he uses a device at Olga's work, aliens actually hear him. He's taken aboard a spaceship and goes to the Communiverse, a place where aliens from different planets convene and share their knowledge. The beings of the Communiverse mistake Elio for Earth's leader, and Elio volunteers to negotiate with the worm-like Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), a warlord who was rejected for inclusion in the Communiverse. Along the way, he strikes up a friendship with Grigon's son Glordon (Remy Edgerly).

While "Elio" failed commercially, it was a critical success. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film is Certified Fresh with a score of 83%, and it's also Verified Hot on the website thanks to an even better audience score of 89%. Many respected outlets raved about the movie, praising the wonderful animation and its core messages. The Hollywood Reporter called it "a perfectly nice kiddie sci-fi adventure that does everything a movie with that description is supposed to do," and Variety appreciated the dynamic between Elio and Glordon, saying that it's "most fun once it becomes a buddy movie." There have been some iconic Pixar duos over the decades, and while Elio and Glordon might not be among the most memorable, they still make a great team.

A common sentiment in reviews of "Elio" is that it's one of Pixar's better offerings in recent years. The Sydney Morning Herald called it "inventively animated and neatly plotted in a way that used to be a Pixar hallmark," while Empire magazine dubbed it "a vivid, sweet but not saccharine voyage of discovery that proves Pixar is still capable of imagination." This was also the case on Reddit, where many users said "Elio" was a return to form for the beloved animation studio. "I really enjoyed how Spielbergian this movie was," wrote u/mikeyfreshh. "I think this is the best Pixar movie since Soul."

While many people didn't see "Elio" when it was in cineplexes, the majority of those who did go to check out the movie adored it, and now you can be among them: "Elio" is streaming on Disney+.