This summer Pixar will launch cinema goers into the stratosphere with Elio, its boldest cosmic adventure yet. It follows an 11 year-old boy who is zapped up to the Communiverse, a bustling intergalactic council where he’s instantly mistaken for Earth’s official ambassador. We met up with Pixar producer Mary Alice Drumm to go behind the scenes on this big-screen comedic misadventure.
Elio is such an exciting new world for Pixar, where did the idea for the film come from?
The idea came from (co-director) Adrian Molina and his premise was, what if the world’s weirdest 11-year-old gets accidentally abducted into space and mistaken as the leader of the world? And I think that just leads you to start laughing. But the core of the film has always been about this kid that just felt like he didn’t belong. He couldn’t find his place on Earth, you know? And I think we have all felt that one time or another. So the feeling of connection is really the true core of Elio.
Elio shows us how important ‘finding your people’ can be, doesn’t it?
I think so. So many people at Pixar will talk about being creative growing up and feeling like they were weird or that something was wrong with them because they were so different. We then went to animation camp or art school or found filmmaking, then you’re with like-minded people. And there’s nothing that makes me happier than people being super nerdy together at Pixar. So you feel really safe and comfortable, and it was a driver for me with Elio, and for many people that worked on the film.
How does it feel to be sharing this story and adding to the legacy of Disney and Pixar?
I mean, every day I feel so lucky to work there. It’s an amazing group of people and, like you say, it’s a legacy. I get excited for everyone who worked on it to have their work shared. And you’re hoping that your friends and family will go and enjoy it. It is just so satisfying and it makes it all worth it.
How do you create a new film that feels part of the Pixar family but also has its own voice and uniqueness?
That’s a question we’re asking ourselves all the time because we don’t want it to feel the same. But there are boundaries. I think there is a good balance of new directors alongside directors who have been there a long time at Pixar right now. The touchstones for us are immersive worlds that you really want to be in, stories that you want to watch over and over again, characters you fall in love with, and hopefully something about heart or talking about being human. With Elio, I think the directors all have different points of view, and this resulted in things that I don’t think I’ve seen in a Pixar movie before. So hopefully it feels fresh.
It must have been fun building the world of the film?
I love these films and the worlds they build. And I love being at the park or seeing the parade, and you feel like you know these places. So the bar is high, especially as an alien and sci-fi movie. There are great movies that have done that. We had people just drawing ideas and being really silly. One of my favourite aliens is Ava who has an ink face instead of a face, like a Rorschach test. I’ve not seen that before, and that sort of energy pushed us on to make more fun aliens.
There’s something for the whole family here, isn’t there?
Absolutely. We’re always trying to find that balance because we want everyone to have fun and enjoy it. So for kids, we really think about when you’re eleven, what’s my wish fulfilment? Don’t I want to be on that hoverboard going through space with all these aliens? Don’t I want to be taking my space worm best friend around the universe that I just discovered? So I think there’s a lot of wish fulfillment there for kids, and hopefully humour. And then for adults, hopefully, it feels emotional. There’s also a lot of sci-fi references and little inside jokes that they’ll hopefully really enjoy. We hope it’s for everyone.
Interview by Michael Peers