Elio de Disney & Pixar offers an Easter Easter Star Trek intelligent that works at a few levels

Warning: this article discusses spoilers For “Elio”.

You never know what surprises could you be with a given pixar movie. The famous animation studio has built its heritage on all possible concepts on the wall that you might think, speaking of toys inaugurating many of us through adolescence to robots finding love in a post-apocalyptic world to anthropomorphic rats reminding us that a great art can come from anywhere. To indicate the evidence, however, it is not just These creative terrains that have transformed their respective pixar films into such household staples. The studio’s “Elio” is a perfect example of how each choice of intelligent narrative, each fully made character and each loving tribute can all be added to something even bigger than the sum of his games.

Like so many other Pixar films, “Elio” is thrilled with branchies with Easter eggs and references while waiting for the observer public to get spotted. Children will of course be carried away by the Kaleidoscope of colors and episodic sensations throughout the film. But adults will almost highlight all the inspirations and influences that co -directors Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi and Adrian Molina proudly carry on their sleeves. Like “Wall-e” Sleeve your head around “2001: A Space Odyssey” or “Toy Story 2” by shading a “Jurassic Park” shot, the creative team behind “Elio” quoted classics such as “and the extraterrestrial” and even “the thing” as being influences. More than that, however, this adventure linked to space is also inspired by the most nide, “Star Trek” science fiction franchise, in a way that works on several levels.

“Elio” begins in an air and space museum, where our tight title character comes up against an exhibition on the deep space probe that NASA launched in the late 1970s. This helps launch Elio’s deep and permanent passion to find out if humanity is really alone in the universe. But viewers in the eyes of the eagle (or should they be at the ears of Eagle?) Can viewers notice something familiar concerning vocal recording Elio hears poetic wax to find life among the “distant worlds” in space. It turns out that no one could have been more well adapted to the task than the captain of the USS travels himself: actor Kate Mulgrew.

The well -established history of Pixar to include tributes to the classics of past years continues in “Elio”, but not in a way that we could have expected. The film does not dwell on this detail at the beginning, but he speaks volumes that the creative team did everything possible to recruit Kate Mulgrew, who portrayed the head captain Kathryn Janeway on the series “Star Trek: travel” throughout the 1990s and the early 2000s. First and obviously, this vocation looks like a nod and a sign Spatial cutting edge USS Voyager, and commonly accepted it that it was appointed according to the Voyager probe – the same which plays such a big role in “Elio”. But, more importantly, there is something special about Mulgrew being specifically the messenger behind a theme as humanist, festive and focused on exploration.

“Elio” is a film on our deeply rooted need for connection, acceptance and understand what our house is really – so what better connection to draw than the program “Star Trek” which concerns all these ideas at the same time? “Traveling” may not be recalled as the most loved series of the “Star Trek” franchise (and for a good reason, of course), but no one can deny the thematic parallels with a show featuring a blocked crew trying desperately to return to Earth at all costs. And at each turn, at the very center of “traveling”, the committed performance of Mulgrew while Janeway maintained the series together by the pure force of the will. Trekkies know that under this difficult exterior, the altruistic heart of the captain provided these ideals “Star Trek” par excellence for us to seek … Give or make the controversial decision or two linked to Tuvix on “Traveling”.

Contrasting with Elio Daydreaming on the exhaust of stars, well, it’s fun to imagine that his late parents encourage his love for space through the old “Star Trek” rebroadcast – whether it be “traveling” (whether I would love to see with the Pixar animation style) or the recently concrete animated series. spaces of space like us.

“Elio” is now playing in theaters.