“Elio” is a beautiful film about the beauty of the solar system and the beauty of finding one’s place and one’s self in it.

The Pixar Animation Studios feature film is about a boy’s fascination with outer space. The boy, Elio Solís (voiced by Yonas Kibreab), at age 11 has faced loss in his life, including the death of his parents.

Elio is a lonely boy. His youthful alienation turns into an obsession with aliens. Elio becomes a dreamer and a stargazer.

Gazing into the night sky while lying on the beach, Elio goes so far as to etch into the sand, “Aliens, Abduct Me.”

Talk about an over-active imagination.

The film transports you to the world of Elio and to the out-of-this world, real or imagined, as seen through his eyes and experienced in his mind or in actuality.

Elio’s guardian is his aunt, Olga (voiced by Zoe Saldaña), a corporal in the U.S. Space Force. Elio is often left to his own devices. These include Elio’s ham radio. Elio befriends another young ham radio operator, Bryce (voiced by Dylan Gilmer).

Elio is fascinated with Voyager I, launched by NASA in 1977, which contains a gold-plated audio-visual disc with photos and sounds (whales, waves, a crying baby) of Earth, music (from Mozart to Chuck Berry) and commentary by Carl Sagan (his voice is heard on the “Elio” soundtrack).

Photos taken by Voyager 1 of the Solar System, a “family portrait” series of squares, sail like a kite through the movie, as do representations of the Milky Way, constellations and “Galaxies Like Grains of Sand” (my reference to the 1960 novel by Brian W. Aldiss), forming the basis of the far-out solar system images in “Elio,” which are thrilling, contemplative and inspiring.

Elio is taken up (I prefer to think that he is dreaming) to the Communiverse, all luminance and translucency, where he interacts with some of the most exotic alien creatures yet seen in the cinema.

These include Glordon (voiced by Remy Edgerly), who resembles a slug (based on the tardigrade microbiotic creature), Helix (Brandon Moon), Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), Questa (Jameela Jamil) Tegmen (Matthias Schweighöfer) and OOOOO (Shirley Henderson), the latter a gelatinous computer.

Back on Earth, there’s Gunther Melmac (Brendan Hunt), a Space Force analyst.

The character of Elio is energetic, inquisitive and relatable. Yonas Kibreab (TV’s “Pretty Freekin Scary,” 2023) has a distinctive voice of impressive range.

Aunt Olga is a dynamic force. Zoe Saldaña (Oscar, supporting actress, “Emilia Perez,” 2023; also, roles in “Avatar: The Way of Water,” 2022; “Guardians of the Galaxy,” 2014) creates a well-rounded and believable character.

Scenes with Elio and Aunt Olga are the film’s most emotionally-involving.

The characters of Communiverse fare less well. They are bizarre-looking to the point of distraction, such that they, ahem, alienate the movie-goer, or at least this movie-goer.

The directors of “Elio” are Adrian Molina (co-director, “Coco,” 2017), Madeline Sharafian (Oscar nominee, animated short film, “Burrow,” 2021) and Domee Shi (Oscar, animated short film, “Bao,” 2019; Oscar nominee, animated feature film, director, “Turning Red,” 2023).

The screenplay for “Elio” is by Julia Cho (screenwriter, “Turning Red”), Mark Hammer (screenwriter, “Shotgun Wedding,” 2022) and Mike Jones (screenwriter, “Luca,” 2021; “Soul,” 2020) from a story by Molina, Sharafian, Shi and Cho.

“Elio” has imaginative animation. The storyline in “Elio” leaves a lot to the imagination. The plotline is weak and confusing. The scenes on Earth are grounded. The scenes in outer space are visually-impressive, but lack the oxygen of originality.

Composer Rob Simonsen (composer, “It Ends with Us,” 2024; “Deadpool & Wolverine,” 2024; “The Whale,” 2022) provides a sumptuous score that enlivens the action scenes and undergirds the emotional dialogue scenes.

Elio wants to know if anyone is out there. He wants to know if he is alone in the universe. It’s a powerful question. There’s a powerful answer. Somewhere out there.

“Elio” is entertaining in its own way. “Elio” is an examination of the universe and of the universe of family and friends in our orbit. The film-makers could have scored better on the exam.

“Elio,” MPAA rated PG (May contain some material parents might not like for their young children.) for some action, peril and thematic elements; Genre: Run time: 1 hour, 38 minutes. Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Credit Readers Anonymous: “Elio” includes an additional scene during the end credits. The soundtrack includes the Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime.”

At The Movies: “Elio” was seen at Dolby Cinema at AMC, AMC Center Valley 16.

Theatrical Movies Domestic Weekend Box Office, July 4 - 6: “Jurassic World Rebirth,” starring Scarlett Johansson, opened at No. 1 with summer blockbuster numbers of $91.5 million for the weekend and $147.3 million in 4,308 theaters since opening July 2, ending the one-week No. 1 run of “F1: The Movie,” dropping one place to No. 2 with $26 million in 3,732 theaters, $109.5 million, two weeks.

3. “How to Train Your Dragon,” dropped one place to No. 3 with $11 million in 3,714 theaters, $224 million, four weeks. 4. “Elio” dropped one place, $5.7 million in 3,235 theaters, $55 million, three weeks. 5. “28 Years Later” stayed in place, $4.6 million in 2,917 theaters, $60.2 million, three weeks. 6. “M3GAN 2.0” dropped two places, $3.8 million in 3,133 theaters, $18.5 million, two weeks. 7. “Lilo & Stitch” dropped one place, $3.8 million in 2,560 theaters, $408.5 million, seven weeks. 8. “Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning” dropped one place, $3.2 million in 1,545 theaters, $191.1 million, seven weeks. 9. “Materialists” dropped one place, $1.3 million in 1,027 theaters, $33.5 million, four weeks. 10. “From the World of John Wick: Ballerina” dropped one place, $725,000 in 923 theaters, $57.2 million, five weeks.

Movie box office information from Box Office Mojo as of July 6 is subject to change.

Unreel, July 11:

“Superman,” PG-13: James Gunn directs David Corenswet (Clark Kent, Superman), Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor) and Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen) in the Science-Fiction Action Adventure film. Superman must reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way, he finds himself in a world that views these values as old-fashioned.

“Sovereign,” R: Christian Swegal directs Nick Offerman, Jacob Tremblay and Dennis Quaid in the Crime Thriller. A father and son who identify as Sovereign Citizens, a group of anti-government extremists, are in a standoff with a chief of police that sets off a manhunt.

Movie opening information from Internet Movie Database as of July 6 is subject to change.

Three Popcorn Boxes out of Five Popcorn Boxes