It is well known that Pixar's 2025 sci-fi adventure animated film Elio which was announced in 2022, faced multiple issues-from production delays to director Adrian Molina exiting the project. The story had also diverged significantly from its original vision, which reportedly contained an LGBTQ plotline.

Pixar Chief Pete Docter has now opened up on these controversies and why the sub-plot was removed during a major overhaul of the project. He said the studio had to tone down certain elements which might be difficult for younger audiences to process without parental guidance.

"We're making a movie, not hundreds of millions of dollars of therapy," Docter said, in an interview with Variety.

The film revolves around a young boy Elio who is desperate to get out of Earth to make new friends, and sends a signal to aliens. He is mistaken for being an intergalactic ambassador of Earth after being beamed up to the Communiverse by aliens where he must resolve a crisis which involves the warlord father of an alien he befriended, to win the trust of the members there.

Although the film had an interesting premise, early test screenings reportedly produced weak audience reviews, with many viewers expressing their disinterest in watching the film in theatres.

Following the results, Docter ordered a substantial reworking of the project even though much of the animation had already been completed. The overhaul led to the departure of the film's original director, Adrian Molina. Later, directors Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi came in to make several changes which involved scrapping of earlier versions that was suggestive of the character being gay, and him riding a pink bike and imagining a a future with a male crush.

The changes sparked massive criticism among audiences as well as Pixar's workforce. The backlash further intensified after its parent company The Walt Disney Company removed a trans character from Pixar's animated series Win or Lose.

The film was written by Julia Cho, Mark Hammer, and Mike Jones, from a story developed by Molina, Sharafian, Shi, and Cho. It has a voice cast featuring Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldaña, Remy Edgerly, Young Dylan, Matthias Schweighöfer, Brandon Moon, Brad Garrett, and Jameela Jamil.

Released in June 2025, the film received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office. An excerpt from our CE review of Elio read, "The universe in Elio is stunning, but it feels like the makers took the easier route of creating colourful characters to relate with younger audiences rather than sending you to a place where it could be truly deeply felt. Elio isn't the movie that Pixar promised its audiences two years back."