The new Pixar animated film “Elio” takes up a question famously posed by astrophysicist Carl Sagan: “are we alone?” It’s in reference to the search for extraterrestrial life, but the idea, according to Sagan, is “the deepest of human concerns.” It’s a question both existential and intimate; galactic and earthbound. It dictates our day-to-day experience and our wildest dreams, motivating our every action and reaction. For our hero, Elio (Yonas Kibreab), the worry that he might be entirely alone on Earth is what spurs his desire to look for community elsewhere — in the stars.

Elio starts to wonder about this when he wanders away from his new guardian, his aunt Olga (Zoe Saldaña) at her job. She happens to be a major in the Air Force, working at a base monitoring orbital space debris, and Elio finds an exhibit about the space program Voyager, launched in 1977 to explore space and collect data. Recently orphaned and feeling so alone, the idea that lifeforms in outer space might be out there is a lifeline for misfit Elio. He becomes obsessed with aliens and spends his days and nights trying to make contact, begging to be abducted.

Be careful what you wish for, Elio. After causing mischief and mayhem in his quest for contact, he manages to send a message to outer space, and is swiftly picked up from sleepaway camp by a delegation from the Communiverse, a sort of United Nations of aliens. It’s a beautiful, utopian, but ultimately isolationist, community, and while they welcome Elio as Earth’s ambassador, he becomes mixed up in matters of intergalactic diplomacy, negotiating with a warlike alien group and their leader, Lord Grigon (Brad Garrett), while befriending young princeling Glordon (Remy Edgerly).

Though the writing and directing team of Adrian Molina, Madeline Sharafian and Domee Shi (along with writers Julia Cho, Mark Hammer and Mike Jones) spin a wildly imaginative and action-packed tale of celestial interaction that forever changes Elio’s life and outlook, at the heart of the matter, this is a story of family, friendship and realizing that you’re never really alone. Elio comes to understand that he never gave his relationships on Earth a chance before setting his sights on the skies — a notion that resonates deeply as the billionaires on this planet are giving up on this one while looking for other places in the galaxy to colonize. Maybe give Earth a chance.

“Elio” is a surprisingly succinct film to be packed with so many ideas, both big and small, and it’s stuffed to the gills with stunningly cinematic visuals, both on Earth and in the gorgeous Communiverse. At the heart is Elio’s relationship with his aunt, but his friendship with the adorable Glordon is the crown jewel of the film, with much of the humor coming from the juxtaposition of Glordon’s appearance (sea-slug body, many rows of razor sharp teeth) and his personality (adorable, snuggly, doesn’t want to follow in his father’s warmongering footsteps).

Both Glordon and Elio have to rectify their relationships with their parental figures, and in running away, their guardians realize that they need to show their own soft sides in order to connect with their kids, to show them that it’s OK to be vulnerable and emotional, and to accept these young ones for who they are — profoundly human concepts, even when expressed by fantastical extraterrestrials. This gem of a film manages to draw together our questions about the universe and ourselves into one single adventure story that hits every emotional beat. It’s what Pixar does best, and “Elio” is another knockout, a quiet but determined shooting star that earns its place in the galaxy.

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'ELIO'

4 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: PG (for some action/peril and thematic elements)

Running time: 1:39

How to watch: In theaters June 20

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