THB #718: Elio

This is going to be a SPOILER review because I can’t think of any other way to approach this film. It’s core ideas are the strength and the weakness of the movie and there is no point in trying to focus on the details (the trees) while avoiding the soul (the forest).

So…

Elio is a movie about an incredibly high-functioning child who has lost both of his parents in a car accident. This is actually the least of the spoilers, as it is established in the film in the first minutes.

Now, you say, isn’t every Disney. movie about the dead parent or parents?

And my answer is, “yes,” but with some details that require examination. Because there is a reason why classic Disney doesn’t translate well into the modern world, 50+ years after the magical originals. Disney’s take on what were ancient tales made sense in their time… but the idea of being saved in this millennium just isn’t the same as it once was.

In a case like Snow White, putting aside all the details of what was wrong with the 2025 mov…