This movie has just enough flashes of the old Pixar brilliance (most of them involving Glordon) to carry it though the tropey and predictable plot. All the space stuff looks absolutely gorgeous, but the sooner we leave the CalArts "bean mouth" character designs behind, the better.

The animation is stunning, as always. The story is sweet enough, but it feels rushed, and most of the characters are underdeveloped as a result. Elio feels alone and alienated (no pun intended) being on earth, so he yearns to be taken elsewhere, which is fine, but it's all very thin and uninterestingly portrayed. I still enjoyed the movie, and I love so many of the aliens; Glordon is so cute.

This isn’t free from the modern-day Pixar bugs (including some messiness where you can feel the different permutations of this movie that existed throughout its troubled production history), but it made me very happy while watching it. I’d slot it right next to Luca near the bottom of the B-tier in the Pixar filmography; not a seamless classic, but effortlessly delightful.

I mean it hits all the standard Pixar tropes, but I’ve few issues with that. I was charmed by its sci-fi and its intent more than enough to look past some of its weaknesses.

About as average as average gets for a Pixar film. Feels like its just going through the familiar Pixar motions. Super colorful and creatively animated, but the rocky relationship between Elio and his Aunt (and their rushed, heavily forced reconciliation) is just shallow and bland. Cute moments here and there, but its paced and directed like its trying to beat a speed-run record live on a Twitch stream, which is common for kids films these days, but Pixar must be held to a higher standard.

This is what the Lightyear movie should have been like.

Infused with effective dramatic beats and enjoyable eighties genre tropes, as well as many key sensibilities from that decade (a good gateway choice for youngsters), Pixar's latest adventure is not only filled to the brim with exciting scenes and compelling worldbuilding, it also introduces us to delightful characters like Glordon (who kind of steals the show).

I hadn't even registered this one had come out, but it's actually a enjoyable space themed picture. Gets straight to the point and keeps the energy up for a good time. Might feel a little too similar to other Disney-Pixar productions, with a theme nobody was asking for, but they do it well, with a lot of charm.

Pixar quality animation elevates an otherwise middling screenplay, but Elio is not completely without its charms. First off, bonus points for having Kate Mulgrew do the narration about the Voyager probe, as well as a few other visual references to classic sci-fi throughout the film. The character designs were a little childish, which is made more noticeable by their shallow personalities. The emotional moments didn't hit as hard as they normally do. Still an enjoyable watch.

It's proper B-team Pixar. Generally confused, hamfisted and uninspired. There's a desire to be some kind of modern Alice in Wonderland but it never comes close to having the characters, design or dialogue chops that could ever make that work with the dialogue being a major contribution to the jolting gear-shift lows of the movie. There's a couple of engaging points but it's all heavily outweighed by the rest. Don't take this literally but it feels like a boys film made by girls.

Please...YESlool+thecommuniverse+okaybyeiloveyoulool+idontwannabeawarmachinelool+itfeltmorelikeatvshowepisodetowardstheend

A clearly weaker Pixar that still delivers the expected quality. Are they losing it? The family friendly ending feels like a betrayal, or is it me?

Glordon: "Get in my mouth!"

A sub-par Disney/Pixar effort that feels surprisingly small for a movie about intergalactic travel. Starts as a tale of feeling lost losing your family but ends with a lesson about acceptance and tolerance? A boring tale with kinda low stakes housed in confused messaging.

It's fine, overall. Visually, it's great. But the script is lacking to a point where things feel rushed and shallow when they should be more impactful and heartfelt, leaving a feeling of falling below its potential and being more forgettable.

Weaker tier Pixar but I thought it was still mostly decent by the end. Pretty clunky in terms of writing and quite a few contrivances for things to happen, but the heart, message and emotion was there and ultimately by the end I was won over by it. Usual nice visuals from Pixar considering it’s a space movie and although not the most original movie ever, it didn’t outstay its welcome and was alright.