By Courtney Potter
Space… vast and unexplored. And for hundreds of years, people have called out to it looking for answers to all their most pressing questions. Well, in Disney and Pixar’s latest animated adventure, Elio, the universe finally calls back!
When Elio (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), a space fanatic with a big imagination and an even bigger alien obsession, is beamed up to the Communiverse—an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide—he’s all in for a truly epic undertaking. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, Elio must form new bonds with all manner of eccentric alien lifeforms; navigate a crisis of intergalactic proportions; and, all the while, discover who he is… and where he’s meant to be.
Directed by Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, and Adrian Molina, and produced by Mary Alice Drumm, p.g.a., Elio also features the voices of Zoe Saldaña as Elio’s Aunt Olga, Remy Edgerly as Glordon, Brandon Moon as Ambassador Helix, Brad Garrett as Lord Grigon, Jameela Jamil as Ambassador Questa, and Shirley Henderson as Ooooo.
Ahead of Elio’s June 20 debut, it’s time for a fun pre-launch check—wherein D23: The Official Disney Fan Club had the chance to chat exclusively with Saldaña about the film. (Plus, we got our hands on a similarly exclusive portrait of Saldaña, above, from the recent CinemaCon event in Las Vegas, Nevada!)
For more on the making of Elio, see the Summer 2025 issue of Disney twenty-three—available exclusively for D23 Gold Members as a stunning new digital version—by clicking here.
Read on for Saldaña’s planetary peek behind the scenes…
D23: What drew you to this project?
Zoe Saldaña (ZS): What drew me to this project is that I have always been curious about expanding around the conversations on grief, and Elio felt to me like a little boy who I can familiarize with, as someone who lost a parent when I was a child. Everything that Elio is going through—the way that he feels detached, or even hopeful, were all the things that I experienced as a child when I lost my father. So, I found the story incredibly compelling, and the bond that this little boy eventually grows to have with his aunt was deeply moving—as I’m one of three sisters, and the relationship that my children have with my sisters is my second-most-favorite thing in the world.
D23: Directors Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian told us you brought a lot of yourself to the character of Aunt Olga… Can you talk a bit about that? How are you and Olga similar? And what do you like most about her?
ZS: I brought a lot of myself to the character, yes. Domee and Maddie gave me that encouragement. They wanted all kinds of nuances that I may have in my personal relationships with my nieces and nephews, and any kind of advice that I have as a mother: What are the things that I think Olga would want to accomplish in her relationship with Elio, and how. These were things that I as a mom was able to attest to, telling the gals whether this really feels aligned with how a relative would behave with a child—or tell them, “Maybe we should soften this a little more,” or “maybe I think Olga can push Elio here a little more.” It was an extremely collaborative experience; I had such a good time bringing her to life.
D23: To that end, what’s Olga relationship with Elio like?
ZS: Olga loves Elio with all her heart! He’s been through so much, and she really wants to support him in every way possible. She appreciates his unique personality and crazy quirks—but does get frustrated when his passion for all things aliens gets in the way of their day-to-day life. Ultimately, the connection they form in this story is really incredible.
D23: Do you have any particularly stand-out memories from the recording sessions for this film?
ZS: Stand-out memories… Well, I think every time Olga has to speak “Eliolese”—I found that to be extremely funny and charming. Elio seems to me like such a special little boy, and I know that Olga sees it that way. I just don’t know what it would be like to have a child in your life that has invented their own language. So, I just I had a lot of fun during those scenes when Elio is forcing his aunt to speak “Eliolese.”
D23: No spoilers, of course—but is there a specific scene or moment that you can’t wait for folks to see up on the big screen?
ZS: The Communiverse is absolutely breathtaking. The colors are vibrant, the aliens are wildly creative, and the depth of this world is unbelievable. It’s one of those worlds you want to see on the big screen with a big tub of popcorn in your lap.
D23: In general, what do you hope audiences will come away with after seeing Elio?
ZS: Elio is signature Pixar—in that it’s fun, really funny, and very moving, and it’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. I think people will find themselves having all the feelings; there are poignant moments that we can all relate to—loneliness, and feeling like you don’t fit in. And they’ll get a huge sense of awe and wonder… We are such a small piece of this great big universe.