By Cassandra Pinkney
The latest installment in the fan-favorite Art of series, The Art of Elio offers a behind-the-scenes look at Pixar Animation Studios’ newest release. Elio follows an imaginative young boy of the same name whose dream of meeting aliens becomes a reality when the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization of representatives from galaxies near and far, mistakenly identifies him as the leader of Earth. Elio sets off on his own intergalactic adventure with the help of his new extraterrestrial friends, discovering who he is and where he belongs along the way.
The Art of Elio explores the film’s incredible artwork, including character designs and storyboards, as well as its creative process through exclusive interviews with the production team. D23 spoke with one of the film’s directors, Maddie Sharafian, and story supervisor Brian Larsen, for an exclusive look at what Pixar fans can expect from both the film and The Art of Elio.
The creative direction for the film’s visuals began with the story of its main character: “Elio wants connection but doesn’t fully know how to get it,” says Larsen. Filmmakers gave Elio challenges that would act as barriers to connection down on Earth—giving audiences plenty of reason to empathize with his desire to find belonging amongst the stars when it seems so out of reach on Earth. Elio’s loneliness is a driving force throughout the film that is echoed in his dynamics with different characters, from the welcoming Ambassadors to the intimidating Lord Grigon.
The film’s creative team added extra dimension to Elio when they decided that color would be a key storytelling tool used to guide audiences through Elio’s emotional journey; color keys in The Art of Elio explain the role color plays in this story. “The colors of each shot impact the entire mood of the moment,” explains Sharafian. “We wanted each scene to have a clear identity, and used bold washes of intense color to help the audience access the emotions we were looking for.” Green is used in moments where Elio feels alienated; purple represents his new friendship with the alien Glordon; and a kaleidoscope of stained glass-like colors help audiences feel the same sense of hope that Elio feels in the Communiverse.
Pixar films are marked by their rich animation style, a pattern continued by Elio. Much of the film’s extraterrestrial design draws inspiration from down-to-Earth influences big and small. Sharafian shares that the creative team “took a lot of inspiration from deep sea and microscopic beings.” She continues, “They’re so varied—some are graceful and elegant and some are pretty dopey, which was a perfect balance for us!” The variety of the alien life in the Communiverse is described as “Elio’s perfect heaven” by Larsen, meaning the physical entity of the Communiverse itself had to feel especially otherworldly for audiences. To achieve this, the creative team shifted its references from the sea floor to the dance floor. “A funny comparison we often drew when talking about the Communiverse was actually a disco ball!” Sharafian adds. “We wanted it to be glittering, hanging in a nebula like a jewel—something Elio would covet.”
Creating Elio was a true team effort; for Larsen, the generosity of the entire creative team in moments when creativity had dried up was especially memorable: “You can be in a room for hours and hours and hit a wall, and it’s all quiet with everyone thinking, ‘What do we do next?’ And then, out of the blue someone says something unexpected, and it’s like lightning! The energy in the room changes so quickly, the whole place lights up.” This spark of creativity is something the creators of the film hope readers of The Art of Elio can experience for themselves. For Sharafian, the connection to Pixar’s animation books is particularly strong; she used to pour over volumes and wonder if she would ever be as skilled as the artists she looked up to. She explains, “I was moved to pick up a sketchbook and I hope someone else will be, too!”
The Art of Elio is available now, along with other installments in Disney & Pixar’s Art of series. Elio premieres only in theaters June 20.