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Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Elio': Toronto Oscar winner Domee Shi explains why title character has an eye patch
Oscar winner Domee Shi drew inspiration from her own mother for her 2018 animated short film Bao, crafted a love letter to Toronto with one of the best fictional boy bands with Turning Red in 2022, and now takes on sci-fi with the movie Elio (currently in theatres). For Shi, it was exciting to get to play with the genre as one of the film's directors. "This was my first time directing a sci-fi movie, but I've always loved sci-fi as a genre. Some of my favourite movies are sci-fi movies, like Alien, Gravity," Shi told Yahoo Canada in Toronto. "It was so great to be able to pay homage to all of my favourite movies." "I love that in our movie we can use space as a symbol of aspiration, of wish fulfillment, instead of a scary space or a threatening space. It's a space that welcomes and accepts our main character." Unlike what we see in most movies, the main character Elio Solis (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) wants to be abducted by aliens. As an orphaned child, he lives with his aunt Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldaña), who works in the military as a major in the U.S. Air Force tasked with scanning for space debris. Olga had dreams of pursing the astronaut space program, but those plans had to be put aside when she became Elio's legal guardian. Elio is an 11-year-old boy who just doesn't feel like he belongs, which makes him long for a life in space with the aliens. As we see early on in the movie, as Elio tries to craft a device to communicate with aliens, things don't go as planned and he ends up injuring his eye, requiring him to wear and eye patch until he's healed. The eye patch was something that was quickly embraced by many, even when we didn't know exactly why he was wearing one. "I love that people have embraced Eliot's eye patch," Shi said. "The original idea came from the original director, Adrian Molina, just this idea that a characteristic that Elio could be othered for is something that he can be celebrated for, that could make him look actually really cool once he's in space." "Once he is in space and he has the eye patch and the cape, he looks like ... a cool space pirate, but it's so amazing that kids and audiences have embraced that eye patch." Elio's attempt at alien abduction pays off when he's beamed up to the Communiverse, an organization with representatives from each galaxy, like a sci-fi version of the United Nations, but it's all a misunderstanding. The aliens think that Elio is the leader of Earth. But he doesn't want to go home just yet, so Elio goes along with it and does not tell them he's actually just a kid who loves space. It's in the Communiverse that Elio leans into what Pixar does best, creating really interesting animated characters, some that are more visually frightening and some that are the most adorable little bundles of joy you've ever seen. "One of the things I loved about directing a sci-fi movie ... is that you can take these familiar tropes ... and kind of turn them on their head and twist them in a surprising way," Shi said. "So introducing a really scary looking toothy worm with no eyes, you're like, oh my gosh ... is Elio going to be eaten? And then twisting it and being like, oh no, it's actually a really cute kid. It's actually this lonely, weird, cute boy who could be Elio's first friend." At the heart of Elio is a story of loneliness, a universal theme set to resonate with many who see the movie. "Me and [co-director Madeline Sharafian], when we started on this project, ... it was our idea to kind of make Elio obsessed with getting abducted by aliens, obsessed with going into space and living with aliens, but we had to understand why," Shi explained. "We had to understand the emotion driving that and we realized it had to be loneliness." "When Elio gets abducted, when that beam hits him and he's whooping for joy, audiences have to be whooping with him. ... We had to introduce him in a way that made audiences really empathize and understand why he doesn't feel like he belongs on Earth. And that means introducing him as this recently orphaned kid who's thrust upon his aunt who's still struggling with trying to figure out how to balance her career and being a new mom. It's a fine balance too. We don't want to start the movie off in too much of a sad way." And what's impressive about Elio is that it's able to present its message in a way that can speak to both children and adults. Even Shi admitted that it's a difficult element to achieve. "It is really hard. It's hard work, but that's kind of the bar that we set for ourselves at Pixar, is to tell these stories that are for kids and for adults," Shi said. "Even when really wacky, goofy, cartoony aliens are on screen and it is a fun, wacky adventure, there is an emotional through line." "We're really honest with each other. At Pixar, we show our work to each other all the time. These movies take four to five years to make because we're constantly putting up the movie multiple times. We have screenings. We invite members of the crew, members of the studio to watch it, to send in notes. People are very honest, because everyone cares so much about what they do at Pixar and wanting to make stories that resonate with people."
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Elio': Toronto Oscar winner Domee Shi explains why title character has an eye patch
Oscar winner Domee Shi drew inspiration from her own mother for her 2018 animated short film Bao, crafted a love letter to Toronto with one of the best fictional boy bands with Turning Red in 2022, and now takes on sci-fi with the movie Elio (currently in theatres). For Shi, it was exciting to get to play with the genre as one of the film's directors. "This was my first time directing a sci-fi movie, but I've always loved sci-fi as a genre. Some of my favourite movies are sci-fi movies, like Alien, Gravity," Shi told Yahoo Canada in Toronto. "It was so great to be able to pay homage to all of my favourite movies." "I love that in our movie we can use space as a symbol of aspiration, of wish fulfillment, instead of a scary space or a threatening space. It's a space that welcomes and accepts our main character." Unlike what we see in most movies, the main character Elio Solis (voiced by Yonas Kibreab) wants to be abducted by aliens. As an orphaned child, he lives with his aunt Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldaña), who works in the military as a major in the U.S. Air Force tasked with scanning for space debris. Olga had dreams of pursing the astronaut space program, but those plans had to be put aside when she became Elio's legal guardian. Elio is an 11-year-old boy who just doesn't feel like he belongs, which makes him long for a life in space with the aliens. As we see early on in the movie, as Elio tries to craft a device to communicate with aliens, things don't go as planned and he ends up injuring his eye, requiring him to wear and eye patch until he's healed. The eye patch was something that was quickly embraced by many, even when we didn't know exactly why he was wearing one. "I love that people have embraced Eliot's eye patch," Shi said. "The original idea came from the original director, Adrian Molina, just this idea that a characteristic that Elio could be othered for is something that he can be celebrated for, that could make him look actually really cool once he's in space." "Once he is in space and he has the eye patch and the cape, he looks like ... a cool space pirate, but it's so amazing that kids and audiences have embraced that eye patch." Elio's attempt at alien abduction pays off when he's beamed up to the Communiverse, an organization with representatives from each galaxy, like a sci-fi version of the United Nations, but it's all a misunderstanding. The aliens think that Elio is the leader of Earth. But he doesn't want to go home just yet, so Elio goes along with it and does not tell them he's actually just a kid who loves space. It's in the Communiverse that Elio leans into what Pixar does best, creating really interesting animated characters, some that are more visually frightening and some that are the most adorable little bundles of joy you've ever seen. "One of the things I loved about directing a sci-fi movie ... is that you can take these familiar tropes ... and kind of turn them on their head and twist them in a surprising way," Shi said. "So introducing a really scary looking toothy worm with no eyes, you're like, oh my gosh ... is Elio going to be eaten? And then twisting it and being like, oh no, it's actually a really cute kid. It's actually this lonely, weird, cute boy who could be Elio's first friend." At the heart of Elio is a story of loneliness, a universal theme set to resonate with many who see the movie. "Me and [co-director Madeline Sharafian], when we started on this project, ... it was our idea to kind of make Elio obsessed with getting abducted by aliens, obsessed with going into space and living with aliens, but we had to understand why," Shi explained. "We had to understand the emotion driving that and we realized it had to be loneliness." "When Elio gets abducted, when that beam hits him and he's whooping for joy, audiences have to be whooping with him. ... We had to introduce him in a way that made audiences really empathize and understand why he doesn't feel like he belongs on Earth. And that means introducing him as this recently orphaned kid who's thrust upon his aunt who's still struggling with trying to figure out how to balance her career and being a new mom. It's a fine balance too. We don't want to start the movie off in too much of a sad way." And what's impressive about Elio is that it's able to present its message in a way that can speak to both children and adults. Even Shi admitted that it's a difficult element to achieve. "It is really hard. It's hard work, but that's kind of the bar that we set for ourselves at Pixar, is to tell these stories that are for kids and for adults," Shi said. "Even when really wacky, goofy, cartoony aliens are on screen and it is a fun, wacky adventure, there is an emotional through line." "We're really honest with each other. At Pixar, we show our work to each other all the time. These movies take four to five years to make because we're constantly putting up the movie multiple times. We have screenings. We invite members of the crew, members of the studio to watch it, to send in notes. People are very honest, because everyone cares so much about what they do at Pixar and wanting to make stories that resonate with people."
CTV News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CTV News
‘Elio' is an intergalactic tale — but for Toronto's Domee Shi, it hits close to home
A scene from 'Elio,' a Pixar animated sci-fi film about an 11-year-old orphan who yearns to be snatched by extraterrestrials to escape his loneliness — and gets his wish when an interplanetary organization mistakes him for Earth's ambassador, is shown in this handout image. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Disney/Pixar *MANDATORY CREDIT* TORONTO — For Domee Shi, making a movie about an introverted kid getting abducted by aliens felt oddly familiar. Not because she's had any close encounters, but because she remembers being a teenager longing to be taken away to a world where her weirdness was understood. The Toronto native co-directs 'Elio,' a Pixar animated sci-fi film about an 11-year-old orphan who yearns to be snatched by extraterrestrials to escape his loneliness — and gets his wish when an interplanetary organization mistakes him for Earth's ambassador. 'He's this lonely artsy kid who just wants to belong somewhere. I definitely felt that way growing up,' says the Oscar-winning animator behind 2022's coming-of-age Toronto-set hit 'Turning Red.' Born in Chongqing, China and raised in Toronto after immigrating to Canada as a child, Shi grew up obsessed with anime. She describes it as an isolating experience. In high school, she was the vice-president of the anime club — a group that had only two members. 'Back in the '90s and 2000s, anime was popular, but it wasn't as popular, I feel, as it is now…. I really wished people cared about the same stuff that I cared about,' Shi says during a promotional stop in Toronto. She recalls dreaming of going to animation school so she could 'find people who understood me, who spoke my language, who understood all my nerdy-ass references.' In 'Elio,' out Friday, the film's titular character, voiced by Yonas Kibreab, finds a sense of belonging in the Communiverse — a kind of cosmic United Nations where alien civilizations convene to share knowledge and resolve conflicts. It's a far cry from life on Earth, where Elio feels out of place living with his stressed-out, overextended aunt Olga, voiced by Zoe Saldaña. In real life, Shi says she found her own place in the universe at Anime North, an annual anime convention in suburban Toronto. She remembers attending for the first time as a teen. 'I had a really crappy 'One Piece' cosplay on. I wore a straw hat and was dressed like a bad version of Luffy,' she says, referring to the protagonist of the Japanese manga series. 'But then I looked around and there were so many crappy cosplays around me, and people just wearing their nerddom on their sleeve…. I was like, 'Oh my God, everyone speaks the same language as me.'' It was there that Shi learned about the renowned animation program at Toronto's Sheridan College, which had propelled graduates into orbit at studios such as Pixar and Disney. After graduating from Sheridan, Shi went on to work for Pixar as a storyboard artist for films including 2015's 'Inside Out' and 2019's 'Toy Story 4.' Shi became the first woman to direct a Pixar short with 2018's 'Bao,' a heartfelt tale about a Chinese-Canadian mother and her dumpling-turned-son that won the 2019 Oscar for best animated short. She broke new ground again with 'Turning Red,' becoming the first woman to solo direct a Pixar feature. 'Elio' marks Shi's first time co-directing a feature. Shi says the film began as a project by 'Coco' director Adrian Molina, inspired by his isolated childhood growing up on a military base. After delays caused by the Hollywood strikes, Molina was tapped to co-direct 'Coco 2' and handed the reins to Shi and fellow director Madeline Sharafian, who was a storyboard artist on 'Turning Red,' to complete the story. Shi describes the final product as 'a beautiful mind-meld' of all three directors' styles. In addition to channeling her own teen experience, she infused the film with influences from her favourite sci-fi films growing up — including 1979's 'Alien' and 1982's 'The Thing' — as well as eerie stop-motion classics such as 1993's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.' 'I think kids can handle a little bit of scariness if it's more of a fun scary, like a thrill,' she says. Shi notes there are some Canadian influences in 'Elio' as well. 'It's weird to say but I feel like diversity shows up very naturally in my work and I think that's because I grew up in a very diverse neighbourhood and city,' she says. She says she doesn't even clock those multicultural touches until American colleagues point it out. 'People will be like, 'Oh, are you doing that intentionally? Is it intentional that Mei's friends are all girls from different backgrounds?'' she says, referencing the quartet at the heart of 'Turning Red.' 'I mean, kind of, but that's also what my friends were like growing up. I grew up in East York, moved to Scarborough. That's just what kids looked like, and I'm just used to it.' Elio's cultural background — half Mexican and half Dominican — is woven into the film with care and intention. His Mexican heritage draws from Molina's roots, while his Dominican side is brought to life through Saldaña's own background. Shi says the actor infused Olga with personal touches, including the suggestion of a Dominican song for one scene. A nod to Shi's own heritage turns up in an unexpected way. 'I feel like the Communiverse could be an allegory for Canada,' she laughs. 'It's definitely a mishmash and a beautiful, chaotic mosaic of different cultures and species and aliens all working and living together.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025. Alex Nino Gheciu, The Canadian Press
Winnipeg Free Press
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
‘Elio' is an intergalactic tale — but for Toronto's Domee Shi, it hits close to home
TORONTO – For Domee Shi, making a movie about an introverted kid getting abducted by aliens felt oddly familiar. Not because she's had any close encounters, but because she remembers being a teenager longing to be taken away to a world where her weirdness was understood. The Toronto native co-directs 'Elio,' a Pixar animated sci-fi film about an 11-year-old orphan who yearns to be snatched by extraterrestrials to escape his loneliness — and gets his wish when an interplanetary organization mistakes him for Earth's ambassador. 'He's this lonely artsy kid who just wants to belong somewhere. I definitely felt that way growing up,' says the Oscar-winning animator behind 2022's coming-of-age Toronto-set hit 'Turning Red.' Born in Chongqing, China and raised in Toronto after immigrating to Canada as a child, Shi grew up obsessed with anime. She describes it as an isolating experience. In high school, she was the vice-president of the anime club — a group that had only two members. 'Back in the '90s and 2000s, anime was popular, but it wasn't as popular, I feel, as it is now…. I really wished people cared about the same stuff that I cared about,' Shi says during a promotional stop in Toronto. She recalls dreaming of going to animation school so she could 'find people who understood me, who spoke my language, who understood all my nerdy-ass references.' In 'Elio,' out Friday, the film's titular character, voiced by Yonas Kibreab, finds a sense of belonging in the Communiverse — a kind of cosmic United Nations where alien civilizations convene to share knowledge and resolve conflicts. It's a far cry from life on Earth, where Elio feels out of place living with his stressed-out, overextended aunt Olga, voiced by Zoe Saldaña. In real life, Shi says she found her own place in the universe at Anime North, an annual anime convention in suburban Toronto. She remembers attending for the first time as a teen. 'I had a really crappy 'One Piece' cosplay on. I wore a straw hat and was dressed like a bad version of Luffy,' she says, referring to the protagonist of the Japanese manga series. 'But then I looked around and there were so many crappy cosplays around me, and people just wearing their nerddom on their sleeve…. I was like, 'Oh my God, everyone speaks the same language as me.'' It was there that Shi learned about the renowned animation program at Toronto's Sheridan College, which had propelled graduates into orbit at studios such as Pixar and Disney. After graduating from Sheridan, Shi went on to work for Pixar as a storyboard artist for films including 2015's 'Inside Out' and 2019's 'Toy Story 4.' Shi became the first woman to direct a Pixar short with 2018's 'Bao,' a heartfelt tale about a Chinese-Canadian mother and her dumpling-turned-son that won the 2019 Oscar for best animated short. She broke new ground again with 'Turning Red,' becoming the first woman to solo direct a Pixar feature. 'Elio' marks Shi's first time co-directing a feature. Shi says the film began as a project by 'Coco' director Adrian Molina, inspired by his isolated childhood growing up on a military base. After delays caused by the Hollywood strikes, Molina was tapped to co-direct 'Coco 2' and handed the reins to Shi and fellow director Madeline Sharafia, who was a storyboard artist on 'Turning Red,' to complete the story. Shi describes the final product as 'a beautiful mind-meld' of all three directors' styles. In addition to channeling her own teen experience, she infused the film with influences from her favourite sci-fi films growing up — including 1979's 'Alien' and 1982's 'The Thing' — as well as eerie stop-motion classics such as 1993's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.' 'I think kids can handle a little bit of scariness if it's more of a fun scary, like a thrill,' she says. Shi notes there are some Canadian influences in 'Elio' as well. 'It's weird to say but I feel like diversity shows up very naturally in my work and I think that's because I grew up in a very diverse neighbourhood and city,' she says. She says she doesn't even clock those multicultural touches until American colleagues point it out. 'People will be like, 'Oh, are you doing that intentionally? Is it intentional that Mei's friends are all girls from different backgrounds?'' she says, referencing the quartet at the heart of 'Turning Red.' 'I mean, kind of, but that's also what my friends were like growing up. I grew up in East York, moved to Scarborough. That's just what kids looked like, and I'm just used to it.' Elio's cultural background — half Mexican and half Dominican — is woven into the film with care and intention. His Mexican heritage draws from Molina's roots, while his Dominican side is brought to life through Saldaña's own background. Shi says the actor infused Olga with personal touches, including the suggestion of a Dominican song for one scene. A nod to Shi's own heritage turns up in an unexpected way. 'I feel like the Communiverse could be an allegory for Canada,' she laughs. 'It's definitely a mishmash and a beautiful, chaotic mosaic of different cultures and species and aliens all working and living together.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
‘Elio' is an intergalactic tale — but for Toronto's Domee Shi, it hits close to home
TORONTO - For Domee Shi, making a movie about an introverted kid getting abducted by aliens felt oddly familiar. Not because she's had any close encounters, but because she remembers being a teenager longing to be taken away to a world where her weirdness was understood. The Toronto native co-directs 'Elio,' a Pixar animated sci-fi film about an 11-year-old orphan who yearns to be snatched by extraterrestrials to escape his loneliness — and gets his wish when an interplanetary organization mistakes him for Earth's ambassador. 'He's this lonely artsy kid who just wants to belong somewhere. I definitely felt that way growing up,' says the Oscar-winning animator behind 2022's coming-of-age Toronto-set hit 'Turning Red.' Born in Chongqing, China and raised in Toronto after immigrating to Canada as a child, Shi grew up obsessed with anime. She describes it as an isolating experience. In high school, she was the vice-president of the anime club — a group that had only two members. 'Back in the '90s and 2000s, anime was popular, but it wasn't as popular, I feel, as it is now…. I really wished people cared about the same stuff that I cared about,' Shi says during a promotional stop in Toronto. She recalls dreaming of going to animation school so she could 'find people who understood me, who spoke my language, who understood all my nerdy-ass references.' In 'Elio,' out Friday, the film's titular character, voiced by Yonas Kibreab, finds a sense of belonging in the Communiverse — a kind of cosmic United Nations where alien civilizations convene to share knowledge and resolve conflicts. It's a far cry from life on Earth, where Elio feels out of place living with his stressed-out, overextended aunt Olga, voiced by Zoe Saldaña. In real life, Shi says she found her own place in the universe at Anime North, an annual anime convention in suburban Toronto. She remembers attending for the first time as a teen. 'I had a really crappy 'One Piece' cosplay on. I wore a straw hat and was dressed like a bad version of Luffy,' she says, referring to the protagonist of the Japanese manga series. 'But then I looked around and there were so many crappy cosplays around me, and people just wearing their nerddom on their sleeve…. I was like, 'Oh my God, everyone speaks the same language as me.'' It was there that Shi learned about the renowned animation program at Toronto's Sheridan College, which had propelled graduates into orbit at studios such as Pixar and Disney. After graduating from Sheridan, Shi went on to work for Pixar as a storyboard artist for films including 2015's 'Inside Out' and 2019's 'Toy Story 4.' Shi became the first woman to direct a Pixar short with 2018's 'Bao,' a heartfelt tale about a Chinese-Canadian mother and her dumpling-turned-son that won the 2019 Oscar for best animated short. She broke new ground again with 'Turning Red,' becoming the first woman to solo direct a Pixar feature. 'Elio' marks Shi's first time co-directing a feature. Shi says the film began as a project by 'Coco' director Adrian Molina, inspired by his isolated childhood growing up on a military base. After delays caused by the Hollywood strikes, Molina was tapped to co-direct 'Coco 2' and handed the reins to Shi and fellow director Madeline Sharafia, who was a storyboard artist on 'Turning Red,' to complete the story. Shi describes the final product as 'a beautiful mind-meld' of all three directors' styles. In addition to channeling her own teen experience, she infused the film with influences from her favourite sci-fi films growing up — including 1979's 'Alien' and 1982's 'The Thing' — as well as eerie stop-motion classics such as 1993's 'The Nightmare Before Christmas.' 'I think kids can handle a little bit of scariness if it's more of a fun scary, like a thrill,' she says. Shi notes there are some Canadian influences in 'Elio' as well. 'It's weird to say but I feel like diversity shows up very naturally in my work and I think that's because I grew up in a very diverse neighbourhood and city,' she says. She says she doesn't even clock those multicultural touches until American colleagues point it out. 'People will be like, 'Oh, are you doing that intentionally? Is it intentional that Mei's friends are all girls from different backgrounds?'' she says, referencing the quartet at the heart of 'Turning Red.' 'I mean, kind of, but that's also what my friends were like growing up. I grew up in East York, moved to Scarborough. That's just what kids looked like, and I'm just used to it.' Elio's cultural background — half Mexican and half Dominican — is woven into the film with care and intention. His Mexican heritage draws from Molina's roots, while his Dominican side is brought to life through Saldaña's own background. Shi says the actor infused Olga with personal touches, including the suggestion of a Dominican song for one scene. A nod to Shi's own heritage turns up in an unexpected way. 'I feel like the Communiverse could be an allegory for Canada,' she laughs. 'It's definitely a mishmash and a beautiful, chaotic mosaic of different cultures and species and aliens all working and living together.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 18, 2025.
