We talked to Pixar: Here are the production secrets of Elio

On the occasion of the theater edition of the new Pixar movie ElioWe were able to stay with Pete Doctor, director of the creation for Studio, Mary Alice Drum, feature producer, as a duo of directors composed of Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian, to learn more about the production of the mystery of this atypical work. After being pushed back and changed the creative teams, The youngest of Pixar has almost nothing to do with his first trailer released in June 2023. Despite the last -connected significant changes, Elio is not an animated film repair and even excels as one of the most beautiful creations in the studio. Here are the Secret we created Pixar teams Regarding the production of the project, which is probably not so unusual.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yff11LS4FPI

Journal du Geek: The new version of Elio is completely different from the original. What motivated you to invite Domee Shi and Madeline Sharafian to use these changes?

Mary Alice Drum: In Pixar, we are used to reworking our films in this way, but in normal times we have never broadcast a trailer two years before the release! The production of the film has lasted for some time, then we faced various Hollywood strikes and Adrian Molina (original director, note editor) expressed his wish to work on Coco 2So we knew thatElio would require one more year and go out On the contrary 2. Madeline and I had a chance to work with Adrian CoconutWhile Domee worked with him on Red Alert. At that time, we talked about it and Adrian thought it was the right time to entrust the project Madeline and Domee. These are all very different profiles, but share the same sensitivity. Madeline and Domee suggested that Elio make the child a passionate space rather than a simple human kidnapped, and we love this idea.

Pete Dock: In Pixar, history represents 95% of our work. We have incredible talents in animation, lighting and in all other aspects of the profession so that we can completely trust them and focus on the script. Which in the past is not necessarily. Madeline was an important nasty on many films while Domee has proven to Roug alertsE. We let them do it, and what’s fun with this movie is that it has influences from everyone, but he still manages to have his own identity.

Journal du Geek: Madeline, Domee, what did you feel when you joined the project on your way, as directors who are more? Was it scary? Difficult?

Madeline: Oh, we felt all possible emotions. It was hard and we were afraid, but it also stimulated and exciting. Neither of us did a sci -fi before, but it is a genre that we especially like, so we seemed to be an ideal opportunity to become a hand on this country that is not known to us. But yes, it was also the first time we joined the project in production. For Pixar it wasn’t new because many films like Ratatouille, Arlo’s Trip, rebellious Or Academy of Monster He went through a similar process, but it was new to us. We were honored and I would say we accepted this challenge!

Journal du Geek: Because you are talking about science -fi, there are works that have been inspired to give the life of the universeElio ?

Madeline: Yes, there was a lot of inspiration on the side of the story, but I especially liked to dive into some somewhat selected visual details focusing on films from 80 and 90 and since the late 70 A meeting of a third type and or Thing. These films have something special, like timeless aesthetics of sci -fi. We have identified elements that allow you to feel this atmosphere: the use of anamorphic goals, deep shadows, visual noise … One of my favorite elements remains one of Steven Spielberg’s factory brands: Everywhere is fog. There is an Elliott’s room plan in AND Who called me because there is fog in this room, but we don’t have to understand why. It’s just a presence that feels something. So we used all this on Elio to try to reproduce this almost nostalgic feeling.

Journal du Geek: The visual elements of your films have been playing more in recent years than ever, where inspiration for the new styles we have seen in Luca, Red Alert and now Elio come?

Pete Dock: I think in Pixar the style is based on history. The film must be supported by visuals that agree with emotions. If I take Up there As an example, we wanted this man to float his house in the sky. That’s why we needed aesthetics near dolls, something almost miniature, so that we could believe that his house could be raised balloons. Some of our upcoming films will experience even more with their style, but always appears from history itself.

Journal du Geek: Finally, Domee and Madeline, what was the creative process to restore the character of Elio? Why have you completely changed your personality to the point of rewriting so much of the film?

Domee Shi: When we joined the project to Madeline and we started to explore the character of Elio, I think, like any director, we tried to create a personal connection with the protagonist in some way. For us, our entry into the history was to give him this obsession for space from the beginning of the film. We have identified each other with this effort for belonging, this feeling of desire for a place where you feel in its place. You know, we were “bizarre” artists who wanted more than anything else at the animation school and ended up with Pixar surrounded by other eccentrics. We, too, have this obsessed passion. And I think this is what Elio has made for us to make a unique Sci -Fi film. Because very often, characters that are removed by extraterrestrials do not want. So we found it a fun approach. This simple change caused us to reworking its past, and this had the effect of the snowball on other elements of the initial concept. But we felt it was right, it happened to the story of a boy who learns to connect with the people around him with his native planet, we are a little away from a more intimate, smaller story to a more versatile story that many viewers can identify.

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